The Spotted Leopard

BFF's, Accessory Friends and a Little Gift Bag

2012-01-16T00:01:00.025-06:00

Who's ready for a little Imaginisce release week fun? This is the first reveal for the new team and I am soo excited for the new gals. I'm still honored that they asked me to join the team again!!! They just released a fun little collection called Sole Sisters that was the original brain child of Lori Allred (prior to her departure from Imaginisce) and included input from the 2011 Imaginisce team, including ME! While many of the elements she presented to the creative team weren't included, some of it is. Here's a few things I created with the line...

Best Friends Forever layout - this is my daughter and one of her bff's playing outside in their princess dresses. This was a big step for my sensory child...she loves to dress up but she seldom gets the dresses on all the way and if she does they come off pretty quick. I hate that she struggles with playing dress-up or not because of this. What little girl doesn't want to dress up at some point in her life? I mean every.single. princess dress on the market has an itch factor. Seriously, if I were a princess I would demand some softer feeling fabrics. Luckily she has a crafty momma and two crafty grandma's who are making her some costumes! Until then, she wears soft clothes under the costumes or avoids it altogether. Anyway, here's my layout about my daughter and her bff. She chooses to have only a few close friends (M, J, I and A) and I think that's just fine!

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Supplies: Imaginisce Sole Sisters collection - Shop Till You Drop, Girl Stuff, I Pick You papers, Picture This Canvas Stickers; Imaginisce i-rock, i-rock LED Lighted Tweezers, Pink Jewel Tray, pink, black and clear hot rocks; Imaginisce Colored Foam Tape - white; Bazzill White Cardstock, Pink Cardstock; Studio Calico Mr Huey mist in Bonny Blue; homemade mist in red; Tattered Angeld Chalkboard mist in Charcoal; Glue Arts Glue Glider Pro adhesive, Zig Pen - black .5mm, misc. thread

A small gift bag perfect for a gift card and/or other small items

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Supplies: Imaginisce Sole Sisters collection - Shop Till You Drop, I Pick You, Chic Chat papers, Girl Die-Cuts; Imaginisce i-rock, i-rock LED Lighted Tweezers, Pink Jewel Tray, red and teal hot rocks; Petal Roller, Imaginisce Colored Foam Tape - white; Cricut Once Upon A Time cartridge - < Gift Bag 3 > size 11x9.9, Glue Arts Glue Glider Pro adhesive, Tombow Liquid Adhesive; Fabri-tac, misc. ribbon

Card: FRIENDS are the best accesories - sooooo TRUE! Want to know a little secret? The red background is part of the collection but it's not in any of the papers or embellishments...it's part of the packaging!

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Supplies: Imaginisce Sole Sisters collection - Shop Till You Drop, Purse-onality, I Pick You, papers, packaging from the Note-orious Chipboard stickers, Girl Die-cuts; Imaginisce i-top 2.0, 16 mm punch and 16 mm brads; Imaginisce Colored Foam Tape - black; Bazzill Moonstruck Cardstock, Glue Arts Glue Glider Pro adhesive.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you are leaving inspired! Make sure to head over to the Imaginisce blog and if you like my projects, leave me some love HERE and THERE! I know they will be giving away a fabulous Sole Sisters package so be sure to check out the new collection and what some of the other designers did with it!

It's Cookie Time

2012-01-15T12:04:00.001-06:00

Yep, it's that time a year again. Time for the Girl Scouts to be out in full force knocking on doors and accosting you as you enter AND leave the store. Well there's no avoiding it so you might as well order some from my little Brownie so she can earn a sleepover at the Aquarium!!!

We spent a couple of hours last week knocking on our neighbors' doors. We only made it down the cul-de-sac and over one small street and she sold 20 something boxes. Not too bad! I was so proud of her, politely asking, figuring out the check/cash/change thing and thanking them, whether they bought or did not buy. Yes, there was someone who turned her down but she just smiled and moved on. Of course I took pics of her doing her thing.

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I am just loving these Authentique papers included in this month's Birds of a Feather kit. I think Amy might have a few left! Thanks for stopping by today!

They Better Run

2012-01-12T08:16:00.002-06:00

Yep, all the boys that come around for our daughters had better know how to run FAST! Bryan has always said from day 1 with our girls that he'll be polishing his shot guns when those boys come around... Well the other day, Rheagan was talking about Justin Bieber coming over and so on and so forth and her daddy promptly replied with "He Better Run!" I snapped these pics of her the next day and it only made sense to title and journal it about her daddy's love, adoration and protectiveness of her.

Supplies from Scrapbook Circle You + Me kit coming within an hour.
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This is made with the Scrapbook Circle You + Me kit and the last challenge for the Sketchy Thursdays challenge blog. I am soooooo very sad to share this news. You can read all about the decision and where you might find more of Heidi and Diana's sketches on the Sketchy Thursdays blog. I just want to thank Heidi and Diana for all the work they put into make the site what it is and inviting me into the Sketchy Thursdays designer family. I feel like I have made lifelong friends with them, Julie and all the others I have designed with in my year and 2 months with them! I am a better designer because of all of them! {insert tears here}

So, let's see you playing along with the last official sketch on the blog. It's a good one! Thanks for stopping by today!
xoxo Heather

A Bit of This & That Class - Altered Wooden Block

2012-01-09T13:47:00.006-06:00

I started teaching a Tool School class at my LSS, Scrappn Savvy, last year. It all started at the request of the store owner, after finding out I am on the Imaginisce design team and we all know Imaginisce has phenomenal tools. It was a joint brainstorm to teach her customers how to use various tools out in the market. I held a couple of classes and did make-n-takes but make-n-takes aren't really my style because I am limited on what I can do under a very small budget. So, starting this month I am now teaching a class called A Bit of This & That. I'll still use a variety of tools but since it's a class, I have more flexibility with what we are creating.

A Bit of This & That is exactly how it sounds – we’ll focus on something different each class – from layouts to mini albums, home décor, cards and more. I am having my first class tonight and I just got a call from the owner asking me if we can increase the cap on the class because it is sold out!

In tonight's class, I will show how a little block of wood, paint, distress, paper and a Melting Pot, can create you create a beautiful décor piece for display in a home, office or to give as a gift. I'm using the My Mind’s Eye Lost and Found 2 Sunshine Forever & Sunshine Sunshine line & the Ranger Melt Art Melting Pot by Tim Holtz. I had so much fun playing with the Melting Pot, and today we're going to make glass-like pendants and beads.

Here's the project we are making.

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I encased my initial between the gorgeous paper and UTEE. I also made the bead that you see in the top middle. This melting pot is so fun to play around with! To make the perfect circle, I used cookie cutters and clay molds and poured the hot liquid into them.

Come back on Thursday for a peek at February's class, which will include a single page layout, card and mini-mini album. I will also include ideas to make a 2nd page layout.

If you live in the Houston area I would love to see you at one of my classes.

Thanks for stopping by today!

My Girl...and Her Dog

2012-01-06T10:09:00.010-06:00

This month marks the end of my term on the Birds of a Feather design team. It was great to be on Amy's inaugural team and the decision not to reapply was a hard one but I love the community over there so I'm not going anywhere. If you've never seen her kits you should definitely check them out. And this coming design team is sure to inspire you!

Here's a a couple of the layouts I've made from this kit.

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Supplies: Bo Bunny Double Dot "Chiffon Journal" and "Shitake", Authentique Gathering "Harmony", "Together", "Grow", "Bloom", Classic Type Alphas Item #SCC002; Making Memories “Paper Reverie Brun Antique” Lacy Stripe Artisan Die-cut paper; Kaiser Craft Fozz Fontz "Fonzo Alphabet Set" in Teal; Color-Me-Crazy Velvet Butterflies (misted bonny blue); Creative Impressions Twill - Caramel; Not in Kit - ADORNit Buckaroo alphas; Studio Calico Mr Huey Mists in 3 colors: Orchard, Pony, Bonny Blue; misc brown thread, Glue Arts Glue Glider Pro, Zig Marker .5 mm Black

The photo above was actually taken while my hubby and daughter were playing around. We were on the hayride at the Pumpkin Patch and she was making crazy faces and he would just reach the camera out and click, not knowing if he was even getting her in the shot. Most of them came out blurry but there were a few jewels in there. This was one of them.

This next layout is of the day we met our new dog, Spot. I was dead-set on adopting a dog that needed rescuing. I really owe the awareness of the importance of adoption to Pets Alive in NY, of which my favorite singer/songwriter, Rob Thomas and his wife, Marisol (and her family) support through volunteer work as well as through their Sidewalk Angels Foundation. I started following their Tweets (PA & SWA) and get their emails and it really took my heart. So back to Spot, we found her on PetFinder.com. We immediately fell in love with her (look at that face) and hoped that she was still available and also that she'd be a good fit for us. I love it that so many organizations post their animals (of all types) to it and you can look at most of those that are available for adoption and it takes you directly to the rescue facility. Spot came from Twyla's Friends and she was 7 months old when we got her. She's such a wonderful little pup. She's a mix but I found lots of full bred babies and adult dogs (they need a home too) so the next time you are looking at adding a new "furr-ever" family member, please consider adopting!!!! Thanks for reading through my PSA!

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Supplies: Authentique Gathering "Harmony", "Together", "Grow", "Bloom", Classic Type Alphas Item #SCC002; Bo Bunny Double Dot "Shitake"; Kaiser Craft Fozz Fontz "Fonzo Alphabet Set" in Chocolate; Studio Calico Classic Calico Chip Shapes Assortment~Butterflies, Studio Calico "Classic Calico" Die-cut Cardstock Pieces - Tags; FabScraps Die-Cut Chipboard Embellishment – Fleur Frame; Clearsnap Smooch Pearlized Ink – Ocean Soul; Creative Impressions Twill - Caramel; Not in Kit - ADORNit Buckaroo alphas; Studio Calico Mr Huey Mists in Piglet & Orchard; My Little Shoebox small alphas pink(?), misc button; misc pink thread, Glue Arts Glue Glider Pro, Zig Marker .5 mm Chocolate

So apparently I was in a banner type state of mind when I put these together. I know banners have been around a while but they're still "in", especially if you can find clever ways to mix it up.

Thanks for stopping by today!

The Power of Writing Down Goals...

2012-01-04T08:12:00.004-06:00

I've been sitting here thinking about last year's scrappy goals and how this year will compare. What I am about to write is not meant to be boastful, but to hopefully inspire you to set/reach for your goals. When I set them last year I really didn't think they'd all happen (afterall, I can't control other people's decisions) but I was hopeful. For the first time ever, I decided to write them down and I think that really made all the difference. Writing them down and keeping them in plain sight here at my scrappy desk really helped me navigate and focus on what I wanted to accomplish. I never really set goals like this before but now I can see how important it can really be.

My 2011 Goals:

Make a manufacturer design team - thank you Imaginisce & Lori Allred. For the record, there were teams I tried for and did not make as well.
Design for a kit club - have you seen the kits from Scrapbook Circle and Birds of a Feather?
Become a Sketchy Thursdays design team member - I have loved getting to know the team and players this past year!
Get published in an online magazine - Thank you ScrapStreet.com & Scrapbook News & Review
I didn't write this one down, thinking I'd save it 'til 2012 but it was in the back of my head - High aspiration goal to get published in a print magazine - See page 14 of Creating Keepsakes January 2012, picked up mid-2011.
I even accomplished a few things that weren't on my list - other great challenge blog design teams like The Studio and a guest designer spot for a new manufacturer, Simple Stories, etc.
Make new scrappy friends and grow bonds with my "old" friends - see my blog roll to the left.

So here I sit pondering this year's scrappy goals. I don't have them all ironed out yet but I'll share a few:

Make a new manu design team and/or secure guest spots; submit projects to be "spotted"
Participate in more online challenges
Take a photography class to get off auto mode; maybe a scrappy one too
Get published in at least two leading print publications - must remember that I have to actually submit my work in order to meet this goal!
Take a photo a day - Project 365
Q&A sessions with each member of the family
Participate in Project Life or Project 12
Hoard less, giveaway more...
Do more, faster so I can have more time to make memories with my family! This is the most important of all - more time with the family!

What are some of your goals? Leave me a comment or link me to your blog so I can read about your plans for 2012. As I clean out my scraproom I might just find some scrapilicious goodies for a RAK.

Before you go, I meant to post my "Best of 2011" projects on New Year's Day but better late than never, right? Here's a few of my FAVES in no particular order. Click to Enlarge.

Thanks for stopping by today. Don't forget to share your 2012 plans in my comments! I'm going to sit down with my family and do this exercise as well. I think it will be a great learning experience for us all. When doing it with the kids, I add some short term goals in with a long term goal because I think we all know 1 year is a long time to the kiddos.

2011 December Daily & LYB News

2011-12-23T17:03:00.001-06:00

I am so excited to say that I made the Little Yellow Bicycle "Paradise" Cycling Team. I cannot wait to create with their new Winter CHA "Paradise" collection in January. See the announcement and who else made the team on the Little Yellow Bicycle blog.

I'd also like to show you some of my December Daily mini album. This is the first year I participated and it won't be the last. I created it with my Birds of a Feather December kit, which included the album and lots of Fancy Pants & Lily Bee papers and embellies.

Note: the pages do not have dates, photos or all of the embellies on them. I have taken lots of photos each day so I decided my post-Christmas task will be to go through them all and add them to the album after Christmas, adding additional pages as necessary.

Cover - I painted it red and misted over it with Perfect Pearls Heirloom Gold mist. Once dry, I heat embossed with CTMH Olive Green embossing powder. I put it on heavy because I wanted it looking distressed (aka lumpy). I outlined the numbers with a black sharpie.

The Insides - I kept the photos small since there's so many. Click to enlarge.

There's always a to-do list for the holiday season...

I'm planning to put a photo where the banner is missing in the photo below.

I misted over a transparency in the photos above and below

Used my Imaginisce i-top 2.0 and small brad daddies to create this Christmas tree on the tag

A pocket and mini pages...

I was going for presents under the tree here

A little envelope...

Mini pages and a giant tag

The stockings were hung...

The tag above is made from filter flowers that I ripped apart and adhered to glue on the back of a rolodex card.

Finally, Christmas Day - presents and trees...

Whoo Loves You Baby?

2011-12-22T08:24:00.003-06:00

OMG, I just realized I haven't yet posted one of my favorite new layouts yet so I am sharing it with you today. I remember that I was holding it back because I had found these adorable little owl hats and had to get one for my girls and one for my friend, Audrey's, newest addition and I would have probably slipped up and mentioned it.

Both of my girls immediately put their hats on as soon as they arrived so of course I snapped a few shots. WHOO could not resist this adorable little owl (and the hat too)???

Supplies from Scrapbook Circle Note to Self December 2011 kit: American Crafts Chap Cameron Paper (background), Tab Bits; Jillibean Soup Sweet and Sour - Raisins, Crushed Tomatoes, Die-cut Shapes; October Afternoon Sidewalks - Marbles, Red Light Green Light, Word Stickers, Little Flyers, Basic Grey Indie Pom Poms, Echo Park Happy Days Bottle Caps Paper, Alpha stickers (small alphas); Pink Paislee Wood Shop Sawdust alphas (large alphas). Not in kit - Studio Calico Mr Huey mists.

I just love these Wood Shop alphas by Pink Paislee. It's thought about leaving them raw but they weren't showing very well on the background paper so I misted them pink to match the hat and then unscrewed the tops off the blue and green misting bottles lightly touched them to the wood and watched the ink spread in the grain. The alphas don't come with a question mark so I turned it into a statement and made a kind-of exclamation point out of the hearts. It was an experiment but I'm happy with how they turned out.

I also wanted to use this green circle frame but it's so big that one pattern paper just looked odd and it looked worse to leave it empty so I punched a bunch of strips of paper, layered them and then adhered the green scallop circle over it. I added a sentiment, flower and butterfly to top it off!

Thanks for stopping by today. If you love the Note to Self kit as much as I do, run over to Scrapbook Circle while you can still get one!

xoxo Heather

Easy Last Minute Christmas Treats

2011-12-21T00:01:00.001-06:00

I wanted to show you a few little treat bags that are super quick and easy to make and can really dress-up a little token of appreciation you may be giving. We made a few for my daughter to pass out to the people she interacts a lot with at school (nurse who helps her with her medicine, registrar who has taken her under her wing, etc). She also wanted to give them to her teachers so we added one to each of the gifts we had bought for them.

The cool thing is that Imaginisce and Clear Snaps teamed up and did a little product swap so I got to play with several of their products and the Imaginisce Santa's Little Helper line.
This first treat bag uses the Clear Snaps Smooch Spritz in Ice Rink and Ginger Ale. I also used their Design Adhesives, which has double sided patterns that you can apply glitter, embossing powder, etc. to. I used the Winter Frost glitter. Why is glitter so hard to photograph?

For this next project I made a little wrap to go around a Blockbuster gift card and microwaveable popcorn. We gave these to our mailman, my daughter's bus driver, our pest control guy, etc. I used Santa's Little Helper again and then added some bling to it using the Glue Gloss - adhesive on a stick - glitter and the Sparkle Fibers.

I glittered the snowman, birdie hat and peppermints. I added Sparkle Fibers to the ginger bread house in an attempt to make it look like icicles as well as the garland on the trees to go for the tinsel effect.

Thanks for stopping by today. Make sure to hop over to the Imaginisce and Clear Snaps blogs and participate in the blog hop for a chance to win some goodies for yourself.

Optimistic

2011-12-17T10:32:00.002-06:00

I originally decided that the word "Optimistic" would be my One Little Word for my oldest daughter in 2012 because we are finally getting answers to things we've been speculating about for years. The hubby and I are optimistic that we now have direction and can do things to make life easier for her and us. I'm sure I'll share more about that here on my blog eventually.

Anywho, the current challenge over at Scrapbook Circle is to create a project about your 2012 goals - be it Project Life, a resolution, your One Little Word, etc. I created this layout for my One Little Word.

Supplies from Scrapbook Circle Note to Self kit: American Crafts 12x12 Chap "Jim", Jillibean Soup Sweet&Sour Crushed Tomatoes, Jillibean Soup Sweet&Sour 12 X 12 Page of Die Cut Shapes, October Afternoon Sidewalks Word Stickers; Not in kit: Bazzill Grey and Red cardstock, red folk art paint, misc. thread, Black pen .05, Glue Arts Glue Glider Pro

The I Love My Life tab at the top is actually a hidden journaling card that pulls out to reveal my private journaling.

I used bright yellow Thickers for the alphas and used a paint dabber to match them to the mustard yellow in the paper. I added stitching, paint and kept the embellishments to a minimum on purpose.

I just love the typewriter paper so I fussy cut one out and used it as an embellishment since it tied in so well to the documenting goals. Of course, I just realized I wrote her birth year below instead of this year. Whoops, off to fix that.

Don't you just love all the goodies included in this month's kit? Some of it is sold out in stores so head over to Scrapbook Circle and get one for yourself for Christmas!
I have since decided that Optimistic won't just be my word for Rheagan; it will be my OLW in general for so many reasons. Make sure to share your projects with us on the Scrapbook Circle Facebook page by December 28, 2011 for a chance to win the limited edition the Jingle All the Way kit.

Faux Snow Day

2011-12-14T00:41:00.001-06:00

We don't see much snow down here in the houston suburbs so we have to improvise. These photos were taken years ago when my oldest daughter was just 3 (she's 8 now). Our neighborhood has an annual Chirstmas party and the kids just love that snow is brought in. It's really chipped ice but no one cares. We had a great time making tiny snowmen and throwing snowballs aka ice-balls.

It's super cold here now so I am hoping there's a chance for a bit of snow this year. fingers crossed!

Supplies: Pink Paislee Snow Day Collection: Cozy Sweater, Fireside, Warm Mittens, Snowball Fight, Frosty papers; Ephemera, Wood Shapes, bitty blocks alphas; Studio Calico Mr Huey white mist, Imaginisce i-top 2.0 and small brad daddy; Martha Stewart punch.

I did a lot of distressing on this layout and tucked in coordinating paper here and there in the exposed areas. I couldn't resist adding the heart shaped "i love snow" ephemera at the top. I also misted the wood elements with white mist and added a little paper for added touch.

A quick shot of my journaling spot and layered elements...

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you are staying nice and warm on what appears to be shaping up as a cold winter.

Beautiful Mess & DIY Candy Stocking Stuffers

2011-12-08T07:54:00.004-06:00

I have two completely different reveals for you today, which comes with two chances to win some yummy scrappy stuff.

First, my silly little girl loves to get all glammed up in her twirl dresses...yes, the amount of twirl is what she measures her clothes by. Anyway, she was dolled up in her headband-wearing-leopard outfit and I should have known something was up because she was quiet. She called me over to her to show me her "art", proud of it and all. She didn't write on her clothes, walls or carpet so I embraced it and snapped pics of course. This isn't the first time she's created masterpieces on herself and I know it won't be the last!

I used my Scrapbook Circle December kit, Note to Self, and this week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch to show of my sweet little beautiful mess that she can be.

Supplies from Scrapbook Circle December kit "Note to Self": Echo Park Happy Days collection: Retro, Bottle Caps, Journaling Cards, Alpha Stickers, Not in kit: Studio Calico Mr Huey mist (white), Imaginisce i-top 2.0, large brad, Zig .05 black pen, Glue Arts Pro Glider
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Here's a few close-ups:

Make sure to play along with us at Sketchy Thursdays for a chance to win some fabulous scrappy goodies!

Did you know? Imaginisce is celebrating Christmas this week so I made a few few stocking suffers with my Santa's Little Helper loot from Imaginisce.

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I cut the paper using my new Cricut Imagine and the Winter Frolic cartridge. The candy cane and tree measure about 6.5" inches tall and the stocking and ornament are about 5.5". To make these I simply cut two of each design, stitched them together leaving an opening to intert the candies and then completed the stitching. They are all funky lumpy because they are packed with as much candy as I could fit. I then adorned them with a bit of bling and trim. Leave a comment on the Imaginisce blog for a chance to win an i-rock sampler pack!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Detachable Ornament Christmas Card

2011-12-05T00:03:00.006-06:00

We are celebrating Christmas over on the Imaginisce blog this week. Today we are featuring Christmas cards. I just love seeing all the DIY holiday wreaths for the front doors and walls, specifically the paper cone wreaths. I decided to scale that idea down and use it on a card. Here is the end result:

Supplies: Imaginisce Santa's Helper Pattern Paper, i-top 2.0, 28mm brad, Imaginisce i-rock, Imaginisce red foam adhesive, Martha Stewart punch, Clear Snaps Glue Gloss, Clear Snaps Sparkle Fibers, Doodlebugs Christmas Twine, Glue Arts Glue Glider Pro

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Here's a closer look at the wreath. See that twine? I made it so that the wreath can be detached from the card and hung on a tree as an ornament!

Edited to add: here's how I made it detachable: I cut a large circle for the back of the ornament, adhered it to the back and slid a bobby pen behind the circle and through a little paper loop I added to the card.

Thanks for stopping by today. Make sure to head over to the Imaginisce blog to see more card inspiration and to enter to win the i-rock sampler giveaway!

Fall Home Decor

2011-11-22T08:27:00.006-06:00

Here in the States we are getting ready for Thanksgiving on Thursday and I am so excited to spend a few days with the extended family. The Imaginisce gang is also celebrating Thanksgiving all week here showing off fun things you can do with the NEW Imaginisce i-top 2.0.

I wanted to make something for the home and I stumbled across some canvases I had bought a few years ago, that were in the attic. Later that day I was walking the puppy outside and ran across some downed tree limbs and the project just all came together.

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This is a really easy project to make and you could really take the fundamentals of it and make all sorts of themed designs for any season. I', already picturing a buttons and brads and such formed into the shape of a Christmas tree, hearts, etc.

Here's how I made mine:

Grab a canvas whatever size best suits your project, the space you have on your walls, etc.
Pull out paint, mists, embossing powders or whatever you would like to use as a background. You could also keep it white or cover it with paper. I chose Gesso and mists.
I applied Gesso liberally because I wanted to add some texture to the canvas aside from the standard canvas texture. I set it aside to dry for about an hour.
While it's drying, start making your brads using your i-top and paper. This is a good thing to do while watching a favorite TV show or movie.
Once dried, I applied my lightest mist first - yellow. I dabbed it off with a paper towel. Then I added my orange and brick red and dabbed it off. Lastly, I applied the brown and dabbed it off. The dabbing helped blend it all together but having a bit of mist glops is nice too.
Step back and look at it. You may find you want to add more of one color.

Next I added my tree limb by adhering it with fabri-tac.
Then, I laid out my brad and badge i-tops so that I could get a visual for what it would look like. Once I liked the placement of them all I poked them through the canvas.

Thanks for stopping by today! Make sure to head over to the Imaginisce blog and leave a comment over there for your chance to win your own new i-top 2.0!

Oh and do you want to know the best thing about this project? I gave each of my daughters a canvas and let them go to twon on them with paint. I am going dedicate a blog post to them and their projects within the next day or two.

She's "fwee" Today!

2011-11-17T08:02:00.001-06:00

My baby girl turned 3 at the end of October, which is soo hard to believe! I was inspired to scrap the photos of her blowing out the candles on her cake by this week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch and the Happy Day collection sent to me by Simple Stories for being their guest designer this month (THANKS for having me). Check out those projects in yesterday's blog post.

Supplies: Simple Stories Happy Day Collection: Let's Party, Flash Cards papers; Signature Elements 2x12 & 4x12 Title Strip Elements, 12x12 Fundamental Cardstock Stickers; American Crafts Thickers "Stroll"; Cosmo Cricket Tiny Alphas in red/cream; Kaiser Craft Tiny Alpha Stickers "Toffee Apple"; Mister Hueys Color Mist in Lemonade; homemade blue mist; Shimmerz miniZ "Bed of Roses"; Zig marker in Chocolate; misc. red/white/blue twine; Martha Stewart punch; Glue Arts Glue Glider Pro; small wooden clothespins; misc. thread.

The papers and bits from the Happy Day collection were such a perfect fit, from the colors to the celebration sentiments. I just love how so much of it is done for you and helps take a bit of the guess work out. Don't get me wrong, it took me a while to determine which particular papers to use, layering, placement, etc but all in all it came together pretty fast.

To get the paint splatters more "clumpy" than spritzy I unscrewed and removed the spray nozzle from the container. Then I flicked it with my finger. It's still an unpredictable pattern but it's usually right where I want it. To get the circle ring, I sprayed some of the mist into the cap, turned it over and pressed it on the paper.

I had the red, white and blue baker's twine but I really wanted a bit of yellow so I laid it out and then misted it a bit with the yellow. I love how it came out.

The rest was layering, punching, gathering and stitching. Here's the sketch that inspired my layout above.

Make sure to head over to Sketchy Thursdays to see the prize that's up for grabs from Lindy's Stamp Gang for playing along this week. Oh and guess what, we're "off" for Thanksgiving so you have two weeks to play along AND they'll be drawing 2 prize winners instead of 1!!!!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Simple Stories Guest Designer

2011-11-15T05:01:00.006-06:00

I am soo excited to be guest designing for Simple Stories this month. I won one of their collections during one of their blog contests right before CHA Winter. Several weeks passed and I never got the any mail from them so after I knew they'd be back from CHA and starting to breath again I wrote a nice reminder email. It really never gets you anywhere but fired up when you're not nice and I knew they had bigger fish to fry than worrying about my little shipment! Through that, I kind of became cyber-friends with Jodi. After several email exchanges I got a guest designer spot! I sent Jodi my blog link and the rest is history! I guess it does pay off to be nice and now I have a new friend somewhere out there.

They sent me some gorgeous collections to play with and let me just tell you, they think of everything. If you haven't had a chance to play with their goodies yet, I highly recommend it! Here's a couple of things I created for them.

I fell in LOVE with you before i met YOU layout

Baby Steps Collection
***No, I am not pregnant, just behind in scrapping some of my preggy photos***

Supplies: Simple Stories Baby Steps Collection: Signature Elements 2x12 Border & 4x12 Title Strip Elements, Designer Cardstock Totally Adorable, Designer Cardstock Sweet Dreams, Designer Cardstock So Precious, Fundamentals Carstock Stickers; Martha Stewart Punch, Bazzill Cream Cardstock, October Afternoon Mini Market alphas in Kraft & Black, Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type alphas in brown and cream, Zig Marker in Chocolate, Tattered Angels Mist in Tattered Leather, Shimmerz Spritz in Bed of Roses, Misc. thread

Birthday Gift Card Holder Card

Happy Day Collection

Pack the Track Layout

Happy Day Collection

Thanks for stopping by today. I would love it if you would leave me a comment here of course but it would mean soo much if you would also stop over and comment on the Simple Stories blog!

Oh and I'll be showing you some more layouts made with their Generations line next Tuesday so be sure to stop by again!

DIY Washi Tape Birthday Card

2011-11-14T09:35:00.005-06:00

One of many things that I love about being on the Imaginisce design team is that we do swaps with other manufacturers. Glue Arts sent us a tons of adhesive and Glue Glider Pros - THANK YOU GLUE ARTS!

I came up with a lot of fun dimensional projects I could make with the stuff they sent but something told me to try something new so I decided to use the 3D adhesive like washi tape. Here's the card I made:

To make this I used the Glue Arts 3D Adhesive Pac which comes in one larges square. I cut it into strips, the size I wanted, cut the sides all "willy wonky" and then took as much of the tackiness off one side of the adhesive by just pressing my fingers on it. Then I pulled out all of the Imaginisce birthday bash collection stamps, inked them up and started stamping away. I set it aside to dry in the morning and came back in the evening to apply it to the front of my card. I topped it off with a few candles from the birthday bash line. Oh and I of course, always use my Glue Arts Glue Glider Pro for all my projects. They sent us one a few months ago and I just LOVE it! Back to the card...it's still a little tacky so I won't be putting it in an envelope; instead I'm going to attach it to the top of the present, which will be wrapped in kraft paper wrapping and stamped in select spots using the same stamp sets.

Make sure to head over to the Imaginisce blog as well because they are giving away an entire collection of Santa's Little Helper!!!

Finding our way through the Corn Maze

2011-11-08T00:05:00.009-06:00

If you've been following along, you probably know how much we love out annual trip to Dewberry Farm. There's a pumpkin patch, jumping pillows, petting zoo, tons of rides and so much more, we always have a blast! There's also a corn maze. We always go through it but we never finish it.

A couple of us on the Imaginisce design team were give an assignment. It's called the Art of Journaling. That's all we were given as guidance. I took the assignment very literally.

Supplies used: Imaginisce Happy Harvest colleciton - 003337 (Autumn Splendor), 003338 (Apple Crsip), 003339, 003342 (I Love Fall), 003353 (Fall Friends Icon DieCuts); i-top 2.0 small & medium brads, 18 & 22 mm punches; Bazzill Basics (Navel); Copic Sketch Markers in YG63, YR07, Y17; Kaisercraft Tiny Alpha Stickers (Toffee Apple); Cosmo Cricket Ready - Set - Chip adhesive chipboard alpha - Red Line (Used the negative space); green rafia; misc orange and chocolate ribbon

Pin It

I put a lot more focus on my journaling than I normally do and I got a bit creative with my Copics. Here's what I did. While sketching out my layout, I purposefully set aside about 1/3 of my "white space" for the journaling. I put the layout all together and then I wrote out my journaling on a scrap piece of paper. I chose certain words I wanted accented. Then I took about half of those and drew a box around them. I took the other half and wrote them in different font. This was my guide for spacing on the actual layout. Once I had it how I wanted it I drew lines on my layout in pencil and starting writing with my chocolate marker. Once dried, I erase the pencil lines, drew my boxes and just randomly started coloring.

Pin It

I also used the new Imaginisce i-top 2.0 tool that I recently got. I have to tell you that I just love the new i-top. It's just easier to use and the rubber grips at the top are much improved. Like I said, it's just easier, not that the other was hard. :)

Did you notice that the brads I made are made from rafia? I wanted to try to mimic the corn maze. Being on the DT (and actually just in general), I am all about trying new things with the tool. Here's what I did:

I punched the disk out of green paper, applied adhesive to the paper with the goodies Glue Arts sent me and then I pressed the rafia to the adhesive. I was so happy at how well it stuck to it!
Then I cut the snipped the rafia, cutting around the circle as well as between the crevices.

Then I attached the brad using my i-top like I normally would with paper of fabric. It was a bit bulkier but it held extremely well!

I want to show you one more thing...I made the title by tracing the negative space of alphabet chipboard. I did this because I didn't want to detract from the photos or the journaling but it could also come in handy if you are running low on alphas. If you're like me and haven't cleaned up your scrap stash lately, you probably have some alpha chipboard laying around somewhere.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Family: Then & Now

2011-11-03T09:00:00.003-05:00

The Birds of a Feather November kit is filled with gorgeousness from Simple Stories and Bo Bunny. When I first looked at the kit the most obvious thing to do with it was to make a layout about my Family. This Then and Now layout, inspired by this week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch, features my daughters 3 years ago with their great grandma (my grandma).

Supplies from Birds of a Feather November 2011 kit: Simple Stories Generations collection: Remember When, Live.Laugh.Love papers, 2x12 border & 4x12 Title Strip Elements paper, Flash cards paper, Expressions Cardstock stickers, Fundamentals Cardstock Stickers; Bazzill Basics "Brown"; American Crafts Elements Pearl Brads "Earth Tones"; Shimmerz in Sunflower; Fiskars Punch; Zig marker in Chocolate.

Both my girls absolutely adore their Mommy Little. What I really love is seeing my grandma's face light up when she sees the girls. As a matter of fact, they had her laughing soo hard last night. What a great thing.

Thanks for stopping by today. Make sure to head over to Sketchy Thursdays to see the sketch that inspired this layout and see what the other DT gals did. Oh and play along this week for a chance to win something great from Paper Issues.

Itsy Bitsy Spider

2011-10-31T00:01:00.021-05:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I haven't blogged in over a week, which is soo not my norm, but I've been busy celebrating my now three (or "free" as she says it) year old's birthday, going to pre-school Halloween parties, helping my oldest daughter dress up every day last week for various activities at school - superhero day, camo day, book character day and more. We also went through some evaluations for my oldest daughter and found out she has severe ADHD possibly coupled with something else that I'm not ready to blog about yet since we need to do more evaluations but either way, we are so relieved that we are starting to get some answers to things we've all been struggling with!

Anyway, I was just trying to say that we've been busy but I'm here today to show you a couple of things I made for Halloween. The first is a tribute to Reese's favorite nursery rhyme (last year). It just made sense to dress her as a spider for Halloween last year.

I used the Bella Blvd Too Cute to Spook product line that I won in a Bella Blvd contest a couple of months ago. It's just too perfect for my cute little spider girl! Lots of fussy cutting, hand stitching and machine stitching but oh so worth it! I made one of those spiders with my sewing machine!

Love the clouds and those little stars were very tedious to cut and glue. Some are even popped up.

Thanks Bella for the great line to work with!

The next is a little Halloween project I created for Imaginisce. If you have kids, you've probably been Boo'd by another neighbor kid but if this is new to you basically, you leave a little "boo" gift and poem by the front door, then ring the doorbell and hide. If you're good and hide like a ghost, they never know who boo'd them. Anyway, I created these little "Boo" candy corn door hangers, which contain you guessed it - candy corn.

I made a little cone out of scrap paper to get it the shape I wanted and then I used that pattern to cut the different colors. I cut the yellow a little bigger on the top and then gave it a pretty trimming with a punch. I used white for the entire cone and stitched the orange and yellow to the white, adhered it with ultra strong glue. Then I used a Martha Stewart lace punch to create the pretty lace handle. I cut out some of the lace on the handle and threaded black ribbon through it for that "extra touch". I found the mini chalkboard signs at Joann's. I painted the frame orange and wrote "BOO" in chalk.

Thanks for stopping by today!

She's Growing Up Too Fast!

2011-10-20T09:00:00.016-05:00

My oldest daughter turned 8 on October 1 and all I think about when I think of her age is how fast it's gone by. Seriously, too fast.

We took the family out for a birthday celebration and let her choose the restaurant. If you know my daughter, you would understand how WONDERFUL it was that she wanted to get so dressed up, from the headband to the fancy shoes. Then, she was willing to pose for these photos...AMAZING, trust me!

Supplies from Scrapbook Circle Fresh Picked October 2011 kit: Pebbles Fresh Goods Windows Display paper, Pebbles Fresh Goods Embossed Masking Tape Stickers, Crate Paper Textile 12X12 Random Collection Paper, Fancy Pants School Days No.2 Pencils paper, Studio Calico Scrap Pad, Pink Paislee Sawdust Wood Alphabet, Girls' Paperie Tiny Alphas Tinsel, .05 black pen, Glue Arts Glue Glider Pro, Close to My Heart Red Ink

I created this layout with the Scrapbook Circle Fresh Picked October 2011 kit and this week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch. This layout was a total breeze to pull together. I mean, I had to put some thought into the photos and sizes and do some fussy cutting and place everything "just so" so it still took me a while but not as long as usual.

The alphas are actually wooden alphas that I inked red and then stamped over in blue, using different stamp designs. I love how they turned out.

What I don't love is how messy they made my layout, AFTER I ADHERED EVERYTHING TO THE PAGE! You see, after I glued everything down I wrote all my journaling. When I was done, I looked at my layout and this is what I saw:

[insert GASP! here] I looked around my page and as suspected, there were red and blue random smudges here and there. I looked at my arm and yep, my palm and arm were covered in ink. I washed it off again and again and again.

I debated on adding "artistic" smudges to the rest of the layout but it wasn't going to work and wasn't the look I wanted so I resigned myself to start over. FUN...NOT! Most of it came off the page easily, except the border at the top that ripped and the alphas and hearts that I glued with super ultra bond glue. Can you hear my sarcasm as you read this?

Yay for me (again, sarcasm)! This is what I get for scrapping under the influence (of seasonal allergies) and being impatient waiting for the ink to dry. Luckily, I was able to salvage it but like I said, I did have to re-work the whole thing. Oh and I looked at my arm again 4 hours later, and I found a distinct backwards "ro" that I missed in my initial scrub-down. And there's still traces of ink on my hand and fingertips too. [ sigh ]

Thanks for looking today. Tell me I'm not the only one who has had to re-make a layout for one reason or another.

Now head over to Sketch Thursdays and play along with us! You could something great from Let's Capture Our Memories

What do a Pinecone and a Beehive have in common?

2011-10-19T00:34:00.000-05:00

In this case, they are non-traditional shaped cards. Imaginisce challenged a couple of us designers to create cards that don't fit the typical shape and size that you normally think of for cards. I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I REALLY wanted to create a pinecone but I couldn't get the shape right and I didn't seem to have the right Cricut cartridge in my small stash of cartridges. I searched through clip art and even attempted to hand draw one but they just looked like weird blobs. On to Plan B, my next thought was a bee hive and I was lucky to find one immediately on my Sentiments cartridge. It even had a pretty overlay - SCORE!

I cut it out and then traced it over white cardstock and cut the shape so that it made a card. I added the sentiment, a bee and a pretty bow. I topped it off with some black bling. It's very cute in person and not so cute in the photo - you can't see the dimension of the overlay, the popped up buzzing bee and most importantly, you can't make out the bling.

Being the perfectionist that I am, I searched through my cartridges for another idea and low and behold, it's like angels started singing - I spotted a pinecone on the Create a Critter cart. This card came together so quickly.

I cut a base out of brown and then cut 4 more pinecones the same size out of 4 different pattern and cardstock colors. Starting with the bottom layer, I cut the first piece and adhered it, leaving the tip unglued so I could fold it up a bit. I cut the 2nd piece up from the bottom and adhered it over the bottom piece, again leaving the tips unglued. I did it again on the 3rd piece and the remaining pieces, though I had to add my own scalloping since I was cutting apart the cut-out. I wantd the scallops to be oddly shaped so did some random cuts. I topped it off with some ribbon and mesh looking ribbon that I also inserted into the pinecone here and there. After stepping back to look at it I decided to add the sentiment inside, though a cute little dangling tag would also be cute.

Supplies: Cricut Create a Critter shadow 5 3/4" cut; cut out of 5 papers - Bazzill Basic Brown T9-943 Mono (background) on Bazzill white cardstock card base. Layers - Bazzill Navel; Imaginisce Happy Harvest Collection - 003339, 003337, 003340; Misc ribbon

Monkeying Around

2011-10-17T00:08:00.011-05:00

Things are a little bit sketchy over at the Imaginisce blog today. Melinda gave a few of us a really great sketch to work with. I saw the sketch and I had an idea of what I was going to do with it but as I was searching through my paper stash and my photos I came across this photo of my hubby helping my daughter swing on the monkey bars. The Animal Crackers collection was a perfect fit. Here's what I did with it.

One of my goals for the layout was to make it look like ropes a monkey would swing from so I cut the banners and pieced them together. I fussy cut a little monkey and dangled him from one of the banners. I added bit of bling in different patterns on the two banners.

My favorite part of the layout is the frame I made. I adhered my strips of paper and then I laid down some mesh and painted over it with yellow paint. I removed the mesh and this was the effect I got. Once dried, I outlined it with black and white pen.

And here's the sketch. As I mentioned, I didn't use a circle photo. A sketch is for inspiration but does not have to be followed to the "T". The key is to use it as your starting point and to go from there.

Thanks for stopping by today! -xoxo Heather

Travel Mini Album - Bon Voyage!

2011-10-11T00:01:00.003-05:00

Hi there. I wanted to let you know that I am "hogging the blog" over at Imaginisce today. I am sharing a fun little suitcase mini album I made using the new Imaginisce Bon Voyage collection and a chipboard album I got from Clear Scraps. Here's the cover for my mini. Head over to the Imaginisce blog to see the rest of my mini and while you're there, I'd love it if you'd leave me some LOVE in the comments!
- xoxo Heather

Always My Favorite & a Mini Me!

2011-10-10T07:06:00.002-05:00

I just realized that I shared my latest big news on Facebook but haven't shared it with my blog friends. Scrapbook Circle just announced it's new design team and Lisa has some incredible talent lined up for the next 6 months. I will be staying on the team - YAY - but will be moving in a social media strategist role, which is sooooo up my alley. This means I still get to be creative with the kits but I also get to interact more with you on the Scrapbook Circle Facebook page, Twitter and Pinterest! I am beyond excited. Make sure to follow Scrapbook Circle on all these networking sites because we will be offering promotions exclusive to each network.

With that fun announcement out of the way, let me show you 2 layouts I did with the gorgeous October kit, Fresh Picked.

This first layout is all our our dinner tradition. Every night, we gather around the table and say our favorite and not favorite part of the day. This came about because my daughter would come home from school and we'd ask about her day and she'd say "I don't know." This helps draw it out of her and now it's just part of our dinner routine. We talk about our not favorite things too because it's important for so many reasons.

For this one I misted, layered and even re-purposed the packaging from the Pink Paislee alphabets (ledger paper below). I misted the alphas with yellow and once dried I doodled around them with a marker. I painted the hearts red. The title was easy...the favorite part of my day, every day, is being with my family - they are "always my favorite"

Supplies from Scrapbook Circle Fresh Picked kit: Lilybee Memorandum Collection: timeclock, whiteboard, 9 to 5; Crate Paper Random Collection: Textile; Elle's Studio Today's Tags, Red Pennant Embellishment page; Pink Paislee Sawdust Wood Alphas and packaging insert; Shabby Chic Crafts Chevron Tag; Scrapbook Circle Printable; homemade mist; Zig .5mm chocolate marker

My 2nd layout today was inspired by the "Lifting You" feature we do at Scrapbook Circle. We love it when Scrapbook Circle subscriber share their projects on the Facebook page. When you do, you just might get "Lifted". So here's my take on Brianna's layout (also shown below):

Supplies from Scrapbook Circle Fresh Picked kit: Pebbles Fresh Goods collection: Simple Joys, Window Display; Crate Paper Farmhouse Collection: Cross Stitch; Jillibean Homemade 6 Bean Soup "Barley Pearls; "Pink Paislee Sawdust Wood Alphas (used as a mask) and packaging insert; Scrapbook Circle Printable; homemade mist; Zig .5mm chocolate marker; not in kit: Imaginisce i-top with medium and large brad daddies; Imaginisce i-rock (various sizes, styles and colors)

And here's the original, from Brianna. Isn't it gorgeous? Here's what I focused on: 1 photo, tone-on-tone circles, the layered papers and the circle embellie on the upper right corner. If you look closely, there are a couple more similarities but you get the point, right? Thanks for the inspiration, Brianna!

Thanks for looking today!

Home Grown Girl & A Birthday Blog Hop

2011-10-07T07:00:00.006-05:00

Happy Friday, everyone! Today we are kicking off a big birthday celebration at Birds of a Feather (BOAF). Amy, owner of Birds of a Feather kit co. is celebrating her birthday TODAY and it's also the 1st birthday for BOAF so we are celebrating by hosting a blog hop and an online crop this weekend.

So let's get this blog hop going. If you just started the hop here at my blog make sure to click HERE to start at the beginning. If you came to my site from Amy, welcome to my little piece of the scrappy world!

Amy's kits are packed is so much yummy stuff every month but I have to say that October's kit has been my absolute favorite. I've created 4 layouts with it so far and I still have A LOT left over to play with still. I've posted some of them on my site HERE and HERE and here is my most recent one:

Hint: This layout might just be part of one of the challenges this weekend. ;) What do you think it could be about?

Back to the hop...to celebrate this fun 1st birthday,

I am giving away a stash of Basic Grey goodies.

For a chance to win, I'd love it if you would become a follower of my blog if you aren't already AND leave me a comment on this post. It's THAT easy to win the giveaway I'm doing!

The grand prize for the overall BOAF blog hop is a package of Bella Blvd products valued at $50!!!

You'll need to add this word (after Amy's word) to help complete your mystery phrase:

Make sure to head over to the forum, introduce yourself and play along with all the challenges we have going on over there.

Prizes will be given away with the GRAND PRIZE being a kit of your choice!

Thanks for stopping by today! Your next stop on the hop is Krissy.

The Journey

2011-10-06T08:03:00.007-05:00

I'm excited to about this layout today for 2 reasons...one, this is the first reveal for the new Sketchy Thursdays design team and I am sooooooooo excited to be returning to the team. Make sure to stop over there to see what the new team did with this sketch. I also created this layout for an online crop happening this weekend over at Birds of a Feather. Lots of challenges and prizes to be giving away starting Friday so stop over and play along.

Can you see all the jewels I added with my i-rock? They are a bit hard to see so I will be posting some close-ups shortly.

The little tag can be pulled off the layout and used as a gift tag or bookmark but I am keeping it for my layout and will be adding journaling after my "tool school" class next week at my LSS.

A Little Bit of Dewberry Farm Life

2011-10-01T11:10:00.000-05:00

Have you seen the October Birds of a Feather kit? It is definitely my FAVORITE BOAF kit so far...I just love the rich colors, the hints at fall and most of all, it's all so inspiring that my projects almost come together on their own.

These photos were taken on our annual trip (last year) to our local pumpkin patch, Dewberry Farm. They have turned it into what I like to call an "ag-venture" park, with hay rides, pig races, animals of all sorts, corn maze and sooo much more. I can't wait to go to the farm this year!

The girls just love to climb on the tractors. They each pretend they are driving and plowing the fields.

Supplies from Birds of a Feather October 2011 Kit: Crate Paper Farm House - Cross stitch, apple pie, handpicked and Farmer's Market Papers; Adhesive Backed Chipboard Stickers; Jillibean Soup Rockin' Red Corrugated Alphabets, soup labels - apple cheddar soup; American Crafts Elements pearl brads; My Little Show Box mini alpha stickers in Pearl.

My 2nd layout today just fell into place. The quilt-like paper just needed to dominate the page (after my photo of course). It's a little less than 1/2 the page. I stitched the brown lines between the squares with brown thread and then I fussy cut some of the orange paper and stitched it on the orange spots with orange thread. Lastly, I made some brads out of some scraps using my Imaginisce i-top tool. The rest of it came together using punches, chipboard and paper strips.

Thanks for stopping by. Head over to Birds of a Feather to see more great projects using this kit.

Here's a sneak of the kit...full of Crate Paper Farmhouse, Fancy Pants Off to School, Jillibean Soup, Maya Road and so much more....

Scrapbook Circle Kit Giveaway WINNER!!!!!!!!!

2011-09-26T17:56:00.002-05:00

Thanks to everyone who left such sweet comments on my blog about the Scrapbook Circle "The Good Life" kit and the projects I made with it. I am happy to announce that random number generator chose #17

Congrats, Suzy!

Send an e-mail with your shipping address to heather [at] spottedleoparddesigns.com. I'll get your info to Lisa at Scrapbook Circle so she can get the kit out to you! I am sure you will LOVE it!!! I can't wait to see what you make with it. Make sure to share your projects on the Scrapbook Circle Facebook page.

Thanks again for all your comments. I always read each and every one!

Scrapbook Circle Kit GIVEAWAY

2011-09-24T10:39:00.000-05:00

Did you see the projects I did recently with the September Scrapbook Circle kit, "The Good Life"? This kit is packed with so much yumminess! Here's a few things I've made with it...

Now you can win one for yourself here on my blog! Lisa from Scrapbook Circle just celebrated her birthday and she is in the giving mood so she offered kits to the DT to give away.

Just leave a comment here on this post and become a follower of my blog, if you aren't already...it's THAT easy! You have until Sunday, 9/25 at 11:59 p.m. (EST) to enter. I'll randomly select and announce the winner on Monday.

Slice of Paradise...Bon Voyage

2011-09-22T06:21:00.027-05:00

I have so much to share with you today!

First, I am soooooooo excited to say that I've been invited back to serve on the Sketchy Thursdays design team! I just love those gals and the sketches they create each week are AH-MAZING! I've said it before, but I'll say it again...I feel so lucky and honored! See the announcement and who else made the team HERE!

Second, below is my take on this week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch. The reveal happens to coincide with my reveal for the new Imaginisce collection, Bon Voyage. These photos were taken on our first trip to Turneffe Island Lodge several years ago. The island is a 1 1/2 hour boat ride from Belize City to the southern tip of Turneffe Atoll. They spoiled us by picking us up on a helicopter and it was exhilirating and sooo breathtaking. See that little island? It's so intimate and I think you can walk around it in 5 minutes. We've been three times (by boat now) and have plans to return again (hopefully soon). If you are a die hard scuba diver, this is the place for you!!!

Supplies: Bazzill White Cardstock, Imaginisce Bon Voyage Collection - Postcard from Afar 003378, Incredible Journey 003380, Stateroom Baggage 003377, First Class 003375, Travel the World Chipboard Sticker 003388, Destination Die Cuts 003390

Make sure to play along with Sketchy Thursdays this week for your chance to win goodies from Your Memories Here!

Third, I also created more fun things for the Imaginisce reveal...some I am showing today (see below) and some I am reserving for an upcoming date that I will be "hogging the blog" over at Imaginisce - a 2 page layout and a mini travel album!

I created this card using the Bon Voyage line and cut the compass with the Cricut Going Places cartridge. I have no idea why the ribbon looks lighter in the photo...it's a perfect match :-o

My last reveal today is a pair of luggage tags. I used them on a recent trip and it made spotting my bags super easy!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Sweet Summertime Pool Pals

2011-09-15T06:29:00.009-05:00

It's an exciting time over at Sketchy Thursdays this week. We've teamed up with the ScrapFit challenge blog for a mini blog hop! You have multiple chances to win prizes from Sketchy Thursdays (Burlap & Buttercups prize), $10 gift card to Design by Diana on etsy and ScrapFit (Paper Issues prize). Here's how:

Create a project based on this week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch using the following prompt on the page: F Is For Friendship
Share your projects over on the Sketchy Thursdays and ScrapFit sites

Here's my interpretation of this challenge using Little Yellow Bicycle goodies I won from them (thanks, LYB!)

Supplies: Little Yellow Bicycle Sweet Summertime Collection - Sunshine/Summertime Stripe, Stripe/Watermelon Slice, Summer Garden/Lime Stripe, Fireflies with texture and glitter, Journaling Cards with thermography, Canvas Sticker Borders, Dimensional Pop-up Stickers, Clear Cuts - Shapes with glitter, Cardstock Favorite Pieces Stickers with glitter and buttons, Glue Arts Glue Pro Adhesive, Zig Marker in Black .5mm

Head over to Sketchy Thursdays for more details and to see the sketch. While you're there, check out what the rest of the design team did! You might even see double...this layout was especially fun this week because my friend, Audrey, who just happens to be on the Sketchy Thursdays design team too, and I chose to use the same pics of our daughters at the pool playing together this summer.

Let the Good Times Roll

2011-09-12T07:03:00.000-05:00

The afternoon after going to meet the teacher, hubby went back to work but I took the day off and let Rheagan choose something fun to do. She chose bowling and we had a blast. I created this layout, based on my own sketch for Create 365, a LSS I am now designing for. If you are in the Louisiana area or driving through on I-10 just outside of Lafayette in Scott, you must stop in. You'll fall in love with the store and Amy, the owner! In the meantime, check out her blog and "Like" her Facebook page.

Supplies: My Mind's Eye Lime Twist Happy Go Lucky Collection: Happy "Blooms" paper, Hello "Bubbles" paper, "Lines" paper, Cute "Buttons" paper, Perfect "Butterflies" die-cut paper; "Cute" journaling card; "Happy" Accessories sheet; "Happy" twine; Out of the Blue "Playful Alphabet; American Crafts ribbon "Sharcoal; American Crafts Thickers Fabric Letters "Aqua"

Thanks for stopping by today!

Meet the Teachers

2011-09-10T10:43:00.003-05:00

I am so in love with the Scrapbook Circle "The Good Life" kit this month! It's full of Amy Tangerine, Fancy Pants, Crate Paper...yummy!

Today, I'm sharing a layout of my daughter's Meet the Teacher day for 2nd grade. By now, you probably know that my style usually includes lots of layers but I went a little "clean and simple" (actually not so simple) with this one because I knew I would need a lot of room to journal about her two teachers plus how we were all feeling that day. I soon realized it would be best to hide the journaling. Take a look...

I actually journalled in three spots here on the page. The first is the little sticker tab that says No. 1. That sticker was chosen because that is my daughter's main homeroom teacher and it's affixed to cardstock that has the teacher name and bio on it. The 2nd hidden journalling is under the "Hello my story is" sticker which is is also affixed to cardstock and has teacher #2 on it. They just slide right out from behind the photos.

The last bit of hidden journaling is on the library index card peeking out on the upper left hand side and that includes our personal thoughts on 2nd grade.

I'm really pleased that I was able to fit paragraphs about each teacher so that we can look back YEARS later and know a little bit more about the teachers we had and how excited Rheagan was to start 2nd grade.

Here's the sketch I made. I will be posting them to the Sketches page, which can also be found by clicking on the "Sketches" tab at the top of my blog.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Reese @ 4 Weeks

2011-09-08T06:56:00.003-05:00

It's really hard to believe that my little majita chicadita will be turning 3 is a little over a month. Here's my sweet little Reese when she was just 4 weeks old. Her hemangioma was well on it's way to showing and growing and this was just the beginning. I won't focus on that except to say that we are so blessed to have such wonderful doctors here in Houston who have cared for us in so many ways and now it's barely visible. I bet you probably haven't even noticed it in previous layouts I've done of her.

Anyway, I used the Birds of a Feather September 2011 kit combined with this week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch and came up with this sweet layout for my sweet little girly girl.

I chose to journal on the back and use one of the phrases from the Echo Park Victoria Gardens collection as the title because it was perfect for this...NATURAL BEAUTY is what you are born with. It's so easy to judge people because of the way they look or act and trust me when this grew to the size of a quarter and was raised 1/4" by the time she was 6 months (or sooner), we got looks from not just kids (I understand curiosity) but adults? REALLY??? I'll refrain from saying anything more than that but next time, just think about your words, actions and body language when you see people with imperfections or unruly kids. You probably don't know half of their story and more than likely I bet they could use a little empathy!

As for us, this child is perfect in every way, she has taught me sooo much and she helps put everything in perspective!

Back to scrapping...make sure to check out what the other amazing Sketchy Thursdays designers did with this sketch and play along for your chance to win a great prize from My Memories Suite!

Two Reveals. One Day. Jet Plane. 2nd Day of 2nd Grade.

2011-09-05T00:01:00.004-05:00

I have two reveals for you on the same day and I decided to combine them into one. I am sooo excited for both of these.

REVEAL #1 - Have you seen the new Scrapbook Circle "The Good Life" kit for September? It is TDF cute with all sorts of Amy Tangerine and Crate Paper goodies in it. I can already tell I am going to use every last little bit of it. Here's the 1st layout I did with it - I was also challenged to lift one of Scrapbook Circle's subscribers layout, which also happened to be based on a Sketchy Thursdays sketch that we revealed a couple of weeks ago. Too funny. I just love it when I am IN LOVE with a layout and I really do want to marry this one; think my hubby will mind?

Supplies from Scrapbook Circle "The Good Life" September 2011 kit: American Crafts Amy Tangering "Work in Progress", "The Good Life", "Wanderlust", remarks, bits die-cut shapes (kit add on); Crate Paper Random Collection - phrase stickers; Fancy Pants Off to School ABC's; Maya Road canvas button. Not in kit: twine; Studio Calico Bonny Blue Mister Hueys Mist.

Here's the lift my layout was based on. Isn't it gorgeous? Thanks for the inspiration, Andrea!

Want a chance to be lifted and featured on the Scrapbook Circle blog? Link us to your layouts on the Scrapbook Circle Facebook page and we might just spot you!

And here's a sneak at the Scrapbook Circle "The Good Life" September 2011 kit. The Amy Tangerine "bits" I included in my layout above are a kit add-on and trust me, you will want them!

REVEAL #2 - The September challenge over on the Imaginisce blog is a sketch challenge. I decided to do a layout using their new Geek is Chic collection that's all about my daughter's 2nd Day of 2nd Grade! I posted HERE a week or two ago for the Geek is Chic reveal party that I was going to do a sign every year on the day of the year she is going into so this is the 2nd day of 2nd grade, which is also the day she jumped off the bus BEAMING and holding something special in her hand - a treasure box holding the tooth she lost while at school!

Here's the sketch. Make sure to play along with us and post your entry (using at least 75% Imaginisce product) to the blog by September 25th for a chance to win a great prize package!

A Birthday, a Blog Hop and some Fun Altered Goodies

2011-08-29T08:00:00.009-05:00

Yay, I am so happy to have you here today, whether you are new to my blog or one of my wonderful followers. Before I tell you anything else about my post today, I have to give a birthday shout out to my sweet friend, Tessa, who will be celebrating the BIG 3-0 in just a couple of days. In honor of that, she has asked me (and several other fabulous crafty friends) to participate in a blog hop, sponsored by her Etsy shop, Precocious Paper. If you've never visited her store, make sure you check it out (and use my discount code at the end of this post).

Throughout this blog hop, starting today through the 31st, Tessa is giving away over $100 in product! So, let's get this party started...If you've been hopping along and just came from Anna White-Sharman's blog, you're in the right place. If you just started the hop here, make sure to start at the beginning by visiting Tessa's blog first.

I've had the opportunity to design with some of Tessa's products all month long, as her August guest designer and again as part of the hop! I just love all of Tessa's collections, but I have to say the August sampler, Summer Twilight, is one of my most favorite. Here's a couple of things I made with it...

A 6.5x5" "Sticky Note Set" box found on clearance at Target.

This is going to make a great little birthday treat for someone special.

I used the main Summer Twilight collection and then added some "felt roses", "sweet spots" and "butterfly doilies". I just love that she offers mix-n-match sets!

The inside of the box.

I plan to stamp the recipient's name on the paper set on the right side (but not yet in case she sees this post).

A headband

Ribbon for headband and flowers from the main Summer Twilight collection plus a navy felt rose.

Summer Twilight sampler Sweet Spots

Butterfly Doilies Felt Roses

In case you missed them from a previous post, here's a couple of other items I made as part of my guest design spot earlier this month.

Coupon Clutch (from Target $1 section)

With extreme couponing being all the rage

these days I figured I should attempt to

do some couponing. I won't go to extremes

but I'm going to be fashionable as I save Candle wrap for my mantle

a few dollars! really makes a difference

Would you like some Precocious Paper goodies to work with?

If you complete the entire hop, leaving a comment on every designer’s post by the 31st, you will be entered to win the grand prize – the September, October, November and December Samplers ($54.00 value and dozens upon dozens of hand-crafted scrapbooking embellishments). WOW!
Follow Tessa’s blog to be entered to win a $20.00 credit to the shop
Follow Precocious Paper on Facebook, you could win another $20.00 credit.
Tessa is also giving away surprise credits to blog hop participants, so be sure to leave a comment on this post and I would love it if you would follow my blog if I inspired you in any way!

Before you hop to the next blog, check this out...Tessa has added many new things to her shop as part of the celebration, so be sure to stop by and take a peek. Use this code during check out - HLBBHFREE - you will receive free shipping (minimum $5 order) and a free thank you gift. This code is unique to me and the designer whose code is used the most get a little sumpin' sumpin' so I would just love it if you would use it for any purchases you make. The code is good until September 5th!!

Thank you for stopping by. Now hop on over to Rebecca's blog!

10 Things She Loves @ 2

2011-08-25T06:36:00.004-05:00

Here's a fun little layout I do to highlight the things my daughter LOVES at the age of 2. I used this week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch and changed the circles to squares.

Supplies: American Crafts Hello Sunshine collection: Papers - Radiant, Dandy, Glow, Frolic, Spree and Remarks Stickers, Delights Paper Embellishments, Black .05 pen, Imaginisce i-rock and glam rocks, misc. buttons

To make the "10" I cut out a "10" from an old pattern paper stash I have that I will never use and laid it over ly blue background paper like a mask and misted in the negative space. Then I hand drew the word "things" in pencil over the "10" and hand stitched it. I did the same thing for the "@" sign on the bottom right of the page.

I did a lot of layering, popping, and placing of all the elements around the page. You can't tell from in these photos but some of the squares hactually have circles cut out on the sides where accordian elements are placed. This is one of my recent FAVES because of all the different dimensions.

Thanks for looking today. Make sure to visit the Sketchy Thursdays blog to play along with this week's sketch for your chance to win from My Creative Classroom.

Geek is Chic Back 2 School Goodness

2011-08-24T00:01:00.004-05:00

I am so in love with this new school themed line from Imaginisce. It's packed with great colors, grid papers, tone on tone patterns and adorable embellishments. I've barely dug into the possibilities with this collection but I'm dying to show it off to you. I hope to inspire you with these projects below and then keep reading to see how you might be able to get your hands on your very own sample pack of Geek is Chic.

My first project is this cute little apple basket that I made for my daughter to give to her teacher at Meet the Teacher. I packed it with lots of Hershey's Kisses because I am sure she needed a chocolate fix after her first day with all those kids. ;)

Then I realized I couldn't give her a gift without a card so I made her this card. I used the alphas that My Little Shoebox generously gave to all of us on the Imaginisce design team. I made the brad using my i-top!!!

Then I ran into a problem. The evening before Meet the Teacher I learned that my daughter had two teachers this year - one focusing on Language Arts and the other focusing on Math/Science. So the night before I made another apple and a 2nd card.

I just love ruler and captions paper. Of course I HAD to fussy cut the captions.

Here's a little collage I put together so that you could see different angles of the apple. Once I made the template (anyone want me to share it?), it was SUPER easy to put together.

Every year I have my daughter make a sign to hold up. Check out the signs we made last minute as an after though the mornings of Kinder and 1st grade.

Awww, my little Kindergarten girl!

Going into 1st grade (no, she wasn't bald, her hair was in a braid)

Okay, let's be honest, those signs just weren't working for us and I just couldn't stop playing with this collection so I found a chalkboard sign at Hobby lobby and transformed it into this...

Much better, right? The only problem is that the night before her 2nd day of 2nd grade, I decided that every year starting with this year, I am going to take a photo on the day # of the grade she is going into. So, 2nd day of 2nd grade, 3rd day of 3rd grade, etc. So here's the official sign and photo. I am sure you will see a layout about her 2nd day of 2nd grade in the very near future!

So, what kind of grade would you give me for these projects? Of course, I would love you to tell me here by commenting on this post but I would love it just as much if you would share your love for my projects over on the Imaginisce blog TODAY. Plus, they are offering a chance for you to win your very own sample pack of Geek is Chic!

Sittin' on the Dock...

2011-08-23T07:08:00.001-05:00

I just abso-FREAKIN-lutely love this captured moment of Reese with her big brother. It's one of those photos that I've been wanting to scrap but I needed the right elements so as to not overshadow the photo yet give the page some pop. The mistables that came in this month's Scrapbook Circle You Are My Sunshine kit were perfect.

Here's the layout and I'll walk you through how I created this page.

Supplies from Scrapbook Circle You Are My Sunshine Kit: American Crafts Kraft Cardstock, Pink Paislee Mistable Stickers; Basic Grey Out of Print "Punblication"; Not in Kit - Studio Calico Mr Hueys in Piglet, Bonny Blue, Clover, Lemonade and Pickle.

To make this layout I fussy cut the tree from the mistables sticker sheet and laid it over my Kraft cardstock (since many trees are brown) so that the mistable side was facing down. That was to avoid getting the mist on the flowers still attached to the tree that I would later cut out of the tree.

Then I misted the tree with my green mist - "pickle" color because I wanted it to signify the green leaves in the photo. I also misted 2 other areas of the paper to complete my triangle. I carefully listed the mask from the page and this is how it looked...

I then doodled around the tree limbs to give it a more defined look, cuffy cut each flower and misted them in several different colors, being careful to remember where each flower was to be placed on the tree. Here is what the tree looked like when it was all said and done.

I then misted the larger flowers and layered them over each other to give them a bit of dimension. For some reason however the colors were more saturated on the larger flowers than on the tree's flowers. Oh and to make the leaves, I misted a smaller flower with green and cut it in half.

I am satisfied with this layout but I have to tell you that for some reason it just looks WAY better IRL than in the photo. Also, this layout is more simple than usual because I really didn't want to take away from the photo or the tree but I have to admit it's not my typical style. I still really like it but I think I'll stick to my layers.

A Taste of Culture

2011-08-18T07:51:00.003-05:00

On a recent trip to Mexico we dined at a Japanese Hibachi grill, staffed by the people of Mexico. It was both odd and fun at the same time. I used this week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch and my Birds of a Feather August kit to create the 1st portion of my double page layout on this. The 2nd page will be posted soon.

I had a lot of fun altering the paper, canvas and alphas on this layout. I'll post a tutorial soon showing my process of changing the colors so that I could get the pops of red I was shooting for.

Here's this week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch. Make sure to check out what the design team did with this sketch and of course we'd love to have you play along. You just might win a great prize from ARTchix Studio!

Enjoy the Moment

2011-08-15T07:51:00.000-05:00

I just adore these photos of Miss Reese. We went to Mexico recently and I snapped these after having dinner at the hibachi grill at the resort. The first pic was what I got when I told her I wanted a picture of my beautiful girl all dressed up and the 2nd photo was from the walk home. The walkways at the resort had these smaller stone paths embedded in them and my sweet little Reese just LOVED walking the lines.

I used this month's Scrapbook Circle You Are My Sunshine kit. Each month, the design team members lift a layout posted to the Scrapbook Circle Facebook wall. This month I lifted Doreen. Here's my take on her layout.

Supplies from Scrapbook Circle You Are My Sunshine kit: Echo Park Countryside Bee's Knees; Sassafras Lass sunshine broadcast - flourish, border from sunshine broadcast - static; Basic Grey Out of Print Publication; Simple Stories Hello Sunshine paper; Elle's Studio Lil Snippets - Labels (Yellow); Elle's Studio Lil Snippets - Dates; American Crafts Kraft Cardstock; Maya Road Gold Ruffle Edge; Scrapbook Circle Digital Download; Studio Calico Mists (not in kit).

If you look closely you can see that I did my standard fussy cutting. I cur some circle and doilies from the Simple Stories paper but I also hand cut circles from the Basic Grey Publication paper and then I backed most of them with a contrasting paper.

I kept the overall design of Doreen's layout with just a little different spin. Here's her original...

Make sure to post your layouts to the Scrapbook Circle Facebook wall for your chance to get "lifted".

Coupon Clutch and Candle Decor

2011-08-12T07:19:00.002-05:00

I am sooo excited to be the guest designer for Precocious Paper this month. I always SWOON over Tessa's gorgeous monthly samplers! August is no exception - have you seen the August Sampler - Summer Twilight?

With all the extrme couponing hype I decided to dabble in some couponing, not in the extreme way but just to save a few bucks here and there. So I had all these coupons but nothing but a ziploc baggie to store them in. I was wandering through the Target $1 section when I stumbled across this organizer, which matches the Summer Twilight sampler PERFECTLY! So I made this stylish coupon clutch to organize my coupons.

I couldn't stop there so I decided to wrap a candle with this gorgeous assortment and I just love the little added touch it brings to my mantle.

Here's the Summer Twilight sampler I got to play with.

You may notice that I haven't used the yellow bits yet. I still have more projects that I did with this collection but you'll have to wait until the end of the month to see it as it will be part of Tessa's Birthday Blog Hop...lots of artists, great projects and a GREAT giveaway so stay tuned!

Oh and before I go, I have to show you the gorgeous wrapping my sampler came in. Tessa impresses me every day! Please stop by the Precocious Paper blog and check out her amazing items. While you're there, tell her I sent ya. ;)

Daughters Are The Flowers of Life

2011-08-07T06:11:00.001-05:00

We're back from vacationing in Mexico, had a GREAT time, took lots of pics but unfortunately we got sad news halfway through it that our beloved pup of 15 years had passed. Needless to say, the hubby came back early and it's just been hard because Jenny was very much a part of our family. We knew the day would come but the sweet gal was never sick and was just plugging along with us. It broke my oldest girl's heart and we HATED to tell her because that meant hurting her but it had to be done. They were truly best friends but after she cried it out, we made a pact that we still had Buddy, who is 14 years, and we could tell he was confused and depressed so we needed to take care of him and help him get through this. Rheagan immediately stopped crying and made it her mission to help Buddy. It's amazing how much better they both are doing a little over a week later. Did I mention how wonderful my hubby is to come home early to ensure everything was taken care of before we got home?

Okay, so that's where I've been the last few weeks (previous posts were scheduled while I was gone) but I am back now and ready to get crafty again. So without further ado, here is that sweet little daughter of mine who is blossoming more and more every day. I used this week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch, which I missed revealing last Thursday due to the whole situation above. You have until Wednesday to play along with us! I used the Scrapbook Circle "You Are My Sunshine" kit, which is gorgeous by the way.

Supplies from Scrapbook Circle "You Are My Sunshine" kit: Echo Park Country Drive Collection - Bee's Knees, Just Dandy papers; My Mind's Eye Lime Twist Out of the Blue "Playful" alphabet; Scrapbook Circle August 2011 Digital Download; Girls' Paperie jubilee sticker market from May 2011 kit.

Lots of fussy cutting and elevating!

Thanks for looking!

Sweet Summertime - Lemonade Stand

2011-07-28T06:37:00.009-05:00

I was a lucky winner of the Little Yellow Bicycle Sweet Summertime collection. It was perfect for these photos of my girls and their impromptu lemonade stand. Wanna hear how I won? Little Yellow Bicycle had posted a photo of a bicycle on their Facebook page and did a random drawing of everyone who guessed what town the photo was taken in. They actually had to run the contest twice because no one got it right the first time. The first day, I guessed Cape Cod but little did I know that Cape Cod is not a town; it's an area made up of little towns. After digging around for a few minutes on day 2 of the contest and looking at all the clues, I figured that out ... so did 1 other gal but I was the lucky winner!

Anyway, I used their sweet line for this week's Sketchy Thursdays design team reveal.

Supplies: Little Yellow Bicycle Sweet Summertime Collection - Sunshine/Summertime Stripe, Watermelon Hopscotch/Blue Skies, Summer Garden/Lime Stripe, Lemonade Stand/Lemon Drop, Clear Cuts - Shapes with glitter, Cardstock Favorite Pieces Stickers with glitter and buttons, Crepe Paper Lace Stickers, Fabric Favorites - Self Adhesive, Fresh Verse Stickers with debossing, Glue Arts Glue Pro Adhesive, Zig Marker in Black .5mm

For my journaling, I felt that layout was too busy to add even more elements. So I made it so that the journaling strips could be tucked in a little pocket. I used little stickers to pull them in and out. Here's the sketch that this layout is based on.

Make sure to stop by Sketchy Thursdays to see what the rest of the design team did with this sketch. Don't forget to play along with us this week for a chance to win a great giveaway from Crop Stop!

Christmas in July - Gingerbread Banner & Magic Reindeer Food

2011-07-27T15:27:00.001-05:00

I’ve been working on Christmas in July for the new Imaginisce Santa’s Little Helper collection. I have to admit it’s been a little challenging to think about Christmas when it’s 100+ degrees here in Texas but on the other hand, I’ll be ahead of the game with some of my decorations and such, at least a little.

I made several projects for this release but today I am showing you a banner I made using a fabulous Clear Scraps acrylic banner I got at CKC recently and some magic reindeer food for my girls and some of their friends.

Gingerbread House/Gingerbread Man Banner

Magic Reindeer Food

Thanks for looking today. Make sure to stop by the Imaginisce blog and leave a comment over there to be in the running to win 1 of 3 Santa's Little Helper collections they are giving away!

UPDATE: I used are upcycled Close to My Heart containers. It's the containers that the ribbon spools, My Accents embellishments and little craft jars come in, at least they did a few years ago; not sure if they still do. ;) You could also use Crystal Light containers and I think SRM Stickers sells some long clear tubes.

Surf, Sand y Mi Cabana

2011-07-26T06:38:00.000-05:00

I've been debating whether or not to try out for the American Crafts 2011-2012 design team. One of the items needed to apply for the team is an altered project. I honed in on the Mexican aspect of the Margarita collection and turned this little wooden gazebo into a cabana.

For the cabana, I painted it all different colors (because every wall in the house in the movie Fools Rush In were different colors). Then I used red raffia for the thatch roof. I trimmed the rest out with paper from the Margarita and Hello Sunshine collection. I added the Bienvenidos tag to complete the cabana to welcome out guests!

I used the Just Write journaling cards as the floor inside the cabana. I also used other Just Write cards to fussy cut the margarita and flowers out of. The umbrella/flowers in the Cha Cha pattern paper looked like drink umbrellas to me so I cut one out and threaded the margarita straw through it.

The last little details included stringing laterns up all around the cabana (you can see the laterns through the cabana if you look closely). Oh and since my cabana is nestled on the beach overlooking crystal blue waters I added sand to the floor.

So, who would like to be my first guest?

Supplies: American Crafts Margarita Collection - Cha Cha Paper 35428, Santo Domingo Paper 35430, Empanada Paper 35429, Just Write Journaling Cards, Long Variety Tags; Hello Sunshine Collection - Brilliance Paper 35415, Glow paper 35408, Fanciful paper 35394

I also used these yummy American Crafts lines for my reveal at The Studio this week, which happens to be my last reveal for my term with them. We have a really great sketch challenge going on over there this week.There are so many fun papers and elements in these collection and it's perfect for our recent beach pics.

Supplies: American Crafts: Hello Sunshine - Kraft 35398, Dandy 35397; Margarita Paper Series - Merengue 35438, Aruba Glitter Finish 35425, Variety Buttons Elements, Printed Long Variety Tags Bits, Cabana Details, Blue Iguana and Melon Varnish Pattern Thickers, Paradise Remarks Dimensional Stickers, Just Write Cards; City Park collection - Mountain Park paper

I had a lot of fun playing with dimension for this layout. I cut the squares out sporadically from the pink paper and then cut a second set of some of them and popped them up but what I love the most is the cut out round border strip. The brown kraft paper was hand-cut and popped up over the round circle-doos. Then I added the drops of water to reflect the splashes of water.

I incorporated my journaling with my title because the rest of the layout already had so much going on with it. Thanks for looking today.

Boo!

2011-07-22T13:58:00.000-05:00

Today was my first design team reveal over at Birds of a Feather. It also marks the start of a Housewarming Crop to welcome the new design team. There are many different challenges going on over there all weekend so make sure to play along and of course tell them I sent ya! One of the challenges I am leading is called "Que Dirty". It's aptly named after my great aunt. When all the grandkids were home for the holidays we used to get together and play board games and cards. It was soooo much fun (miss it!). Anywho, when we would beat Aunt Minga she would say "QUE DIRTY" meaning we were cheating. It picked up and I love to say it whenever I can!

Back to the challenge - get dirty with your layout, card, or altered project using paint, ink, mist, actual dirt, whatever. Here's my sample for the challenge - I used Mr. Hueys white mist, Jenni Bowlin "chili" paint dauber and Smooches black liquid ink and of course the rest of the supplies are from Birds of a Feather.

Supplies: Basic Grey Out of Print, House of Three, Coordinations Tim Holtz Cardstock

Now head over to the Hen House at Birds of a Feather, introduce yourself and join in the crop this weekend! You just might win some goodies over there!

Harvest Pumpkin Tutorial

2011-07-20T02:19:00.019-05:00

I had several requests on the Imaginisce blog and my blog to show you how to make the pumpkins I created for the Imaginisce Happy Harvest release earlier this month so I put together this little tutorial for you.

Supplies:

Clay pots in 3 different sizes - I went with the smallest one I could find and went up one size from there for the next two
i-bond or other fast drying adhesive
Petal Roller
1 - 2 sheets of Fall into Fun pattern paper
1 sheet Dancing Leaves pattern paper for the curly stems
1 sheet cardstock - I used Bazzill Navel
Happy Harvest Die Cuts
Twine
Circle cutter/punch

Here's how to make them (click to enlarge or right click to download and save to your computer):

I can't wait to set these out this fall and fill them with candy for our visitors to enjoy!

'ello gov'na

2011-07-14T10:07:00.001-05:00

Every time I get a new sketch from Sketchy Thursdays I remind myself how lucky I am to be on their design team and how much I adore all the gals over there! I whipped this page together so quickly on the last morning of my scrappy getaway with Audrey this weekend because I was soooo inspired by this week's sketch!

I got these papers on a recent trip to my in-laws. I was passing through Scott, LA and stopped into Create 365 and immediately fell in love with the store and the owner, Amy, is a sweetheart. If you are ever passing through on I-10 you must stop by and tell her I sent ya. In the meantime, make sure to follow her blog or Facebook and check out her online store.

Oh and today is the last day to VOTE for my Beat the Heat layout on the American Crafts Facebook page. You have to Like the American Crafts facebook page first and then go back and like my layout I'm all tied up for 1st place so I'll take every vote I can get. And don't forget that I am paying it forward and doing my own American Crafts GIVEAWAY - details in the previous post. You have until tomorrow morning at 9 ET to "Like" my layout.

Beat the Heat Again

2011-07-12T07:27:00.001-05:00

It's so hot in Texas, I'm hoping that by reposting this layout that I enhanced today will help cool it down. Unrealistic Optimist? There's another reason too...

Please "Like" Me...Okay, I'm not really that desperate but I am in the running over on the American Crafts Facebook page to win a complete collection of my choice plus $50 of AC cardstock. The layout that is featured is the one I posted Sunday - Beat the Summer Heat. In order for me to win I must have the most "LIKES" on my layout by 7/15 at 9 am. If you are crafty and do not already follow American Crafts on Facebook, now's a good time...lotsa good inspiration over there!

After seeing the layout online I just had to go back to it and work on it a little more. It just didn't feel complete. Do you ever have layouts like that? So, I added some white caps, like those I used to see growing up on Canyon Lake, I doodled with white around the aqua cardstock, I added more stitching to better hold the journaling tags and I moved the upper right flowers around. NOW I am loving it! Here's the revised layout, which unfortunately is not the one on the AC Facebook page but I'd love it if you'd Like it anyway!

Supplies: Kraft Cardstock, Mr. Huey Mist Orchard, American Crafts Margarita Collection - Empanadas Glitter Finish 35429, Horchata Varnish Finish 35432, Aruba Glitter Finish 35425, Santo Domingo 35430, Merengue 35438, Printed Long Variety Tags, Variety Buttons Elements, Paradise Remarks Dimensional Stickers, Signo White Pen, Misc Orange Embroidery Floss

GIVEAWAY!

If you can take like two minutes and "Like" my photo I would REALLY appreciate it. Wait, that literally just made me think of something...I will pay forward the chance to win someting with you. I think I'll put a little prize package together for everyone who "Likes" my layout over there and comments here about my layout as well. What will it be? Definitely something made by American Crafts!!! So, you have until 7/15 at 9 am CT to participate. And thanks for the many of you who already voted for me. I will make sure you are included in the giveaway. Also, don't forget to play along with the Lazy Days of Summer challenge over at The Studio!

Here's some close-up shots that I didn't include in my precious post...

Beat the Heat

2011-07-10T04:44:00.000-05:00

With Texas soaring into the 100+ temps lately, we have to find different ways to beat the heat without being couped up inside all day. We usually hit the pool but we were at my husband's father's house last weekend and he lives about a mile from the beach so we packed up the beach toys and spent our day there.

We had a great time filling buckets with sand, making sandcastles, burying each other in the sand and just playing in the waves. What do you do on lazy summer days? Share your layout with us at The Studio for a chance to win a great prize!

As you can see I had "fun" fussy cutting the waves and layering them over each other with different dimensions. I included hidden journaling behind the two pics on top by hand stitching lines to hold them in place and slidong the label tags behind the pics. Thanks for looking, today! Now, pop over to The Studio to see how the other layout designers spend their lazy summer days.

Walk with Grandaddy

2011-07-07T07:21:00.005-05:00

I am just loving how versatile this month's Scrapbook Circle kit is. It's obviously great for anyone who has boys because of all the OA Rocket Age goodies but you know what? I don't have boys and I am loving it so don't let it scare you. Make sure to check out the projects the other design team gals are sharing in the Idea Gallery.

We only make the road trip to my husband's home town once a year with the kids because it's such a long drive. Technically it should only be 7 hours but it's been known to take 10 hours with 3 kids. Anyway, we went over the 4th of July weekend a couple of years ago and we headed down to the beach to watch the city fireworks from afar since my oldest daughter can't take the noise.

I snapped this picture of her walking towards the ocean as the tide was going out. And of course I got all the grand kids together for the group shot. We may only make it there once a year but they love spending time with their grandaddy.

I used this week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch as inspiration and made little accordian half banners because they felt very Americana to me. I used the scraps leftover from the scallop punching to trim the journal spot and also to create some edging to the blue & red mat.

Supplies from Scrapbook Circle Blast Off! kit: Crate Paper Toy Box Collection "Explore" paper, Simple Stories Book Work paper, Simple Stories Elementary Expressions Cardstock Stickers; October Afternoon Miscellany Pack - ribbon, buttons, chipboard, journal tag; White Bazzill 1/2 the Edge border. Not in kit: Kraft and Red Bazzil paper; homeade mist.

Make sure to play along with this week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch for your chance to win some scrapilicious goodies from Cozy Dog! Thanks for looking!

Meeting Buzz Aldrin

2011-07-06T06:28:00.002-05:00

How cool is that??? I've been at my new job for a little over 4 months and the rewards have been amazing. My CEO has deep relationships with lots of people in LA. I've met many celebrities and have been involved in some pretty amazing opportunities. Here's a little background - I was my now boss' client for about 3 years when I joked about going to work for him. A few months later I was at my first day on the job and I was at a cocktail reception at the City Club in downtown Los Angeles with Buzz Aldrin, among several others.

I was having a cockatil when I spotted this glammed up older lady sitting at a table alone, while her husband was busy with the many people who kept coming up to talk to him. I decided she needed some company. I discovered that her name is Lois and she was dressed to the nines in her fur shaw, her swarovski crystals that were covering her manicured nails and bling like you wouldn't believe. We sat and drank wine together and really hit it off. She told me stories of her younger years. She told me the key to a happy and long marriage, like her 20+ years with Buzz. She also told me stories of how the younger ladies are hitting on her husband, who I learned was Buzz Aldrin. She asked for my contact info because she thought I was "adorable". We hit it off so well that I snapped some pictures of us. She told me how she doesn't allow women to take pics with Buzz unless she's in the picture too. It was quite comical.

She then grabbed Buzz and introduced me. I really did want to meet him but I certainly didn't want to bother him. He was very nice. It ended up just being the 3 of us who shared a table that night. If you were friends with me on Facebook at the time, you may have played the "guess who I'm sitting with game" where I snuck in some pics of his ring and gave fun little clues. Here's the picture clue I gave. Pretty sneaky...Ha ha!

As the night ended, Lois offered to take a picture of me with Buzz ALONE. She even took the picture. Here is the layout I made reflecting on this fun little evening. This month's Scrapbook Circle Blast Off! kit was absolutely perfect for this! I treated the OA cards like they were 3 more photos completing the story, which really allowed me to use so many together without feeling like they were cluttering it up. Buzz was one of the first human beings to go to the moon, he is indeed considered a Space Ace, he actually used real moon shoes

Supplies from Scrapbook Circle Blast Off! July 2011 kit: October Afternoon Rocket Age Incoming Transmission paper, Miscellany Pack; Crate Paper Toy Box Imagine & Explore papers; Simple Stories Elementary Book Worm; Bazzill Cardstock (red); Simple Stories Elementary Expressions Cardstock Stickers; Scrapbook Circle Self Adhesive Cork Stars, Maya Road Crystal Star Pins, White Bazzill 1/2 the Edge

Did you know? Buzz and Neil Armstrong agreed that Neil would be the first to step on the moon and Buzz would be the first to walk on the moon.

P.S. Buzz filed for divorce from Lois in June...

Cutest Pumpkin in the Patch

2011-06-30T08:23:00.000-05:00

I created this pumpkin patch for the Imaginisce Happy Harvest release this week and I used this week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch. I just love it when they do 2-page sketches but you can choose do use just one side of the sketch!

So this layout is from last year's trip to the pumpkin patch. We had a great time walking through the fields looking for the perfect pumpkins.
Supplies: Imaginisce Happy Harvest collection; Bazzill Navel cardstock; misc. brown trim

Prize Giveaway

Check out what the Sketchy Thursdays design team did with this sketch and play along for your chance to win a great prize package from Inspired to Scrap!

Fall Projects...and Summer Just Began

2011-06-29T00:01:00.002-05:00

Yes, I know that we just celebrated the first day of summer last week but Imaginisce just launched their Happy Harvest collection so I've been playing around with it. I also think I am secretly hoping for cooler fall weather to cool down these 100+ degree days!

Here's a couple of the things I have made...make sure to look below to find out how you can win your very own Happy Harvest Sample pack.

Pumpkin Bowls

I plan to add some hershey's kisses in the fall colored wrappers when they come out!

I will post a tutorial for these so check back in a few days. These are so easy peasy to make and you won't believe what I used to form them!

Imaginisce Happy Harvest Collection: Fall into Fun 12x12 Paper, Dancing Leaves 12x12 Paper, Autumn Splendor 12x12, Fall Friends Icon Die Cuts, Fall Phrases Word Die Cuts, Bazzill Navel Cardstock, green twine

Napkin Rings

I wrapped the napkins with 1.5 inch strips of paper and then I punched paper "flowers" with the i-top and added photo brads using the i-top large brad daddies.

Fruit Trio

Made from strips of Happy Harvest papers, mod podge and die cuts. I found these fruit at Michael. They are made from newspaper and were in the Michael's clearance bin for .50. I am definitely going back when I get home. The pumpkin is made from the apple mold so I tried to do the stripes up and down to look like a pumpkin and then did the apple with little bits and peices of paper.

I'll be posting a layout featuring this collection for tomorrow's Sketchy Thursdays DT reveal!

GIVEAWAY!

Head over to the Imaginisce blog to see how you can win your very own Happy Harvest Sample pack! While you're there make sure to tell them what you think of these projects I posted here today. Thanks for looking,.

24/7 Mommy

2011-06-26T00:08:00.002-05:00

I have 2 jobs...one that pays with a check every two weeks and one that pays in hugs and kisses! They both give me attitude but somehow the latter of the two is sooooooo much more rewarding and of course my #1 priority. This week's challenge over at The Studio is to do a layout about something you dislike about your job.

I just couldn't bring myself to scrap about things I dislike about my paying job as Sr. VP of Marketing for a small business but I really didn't want a layout about that! So I switched to my job as wife and mommy. I thought about doing it about disciplining my children but I decided otherwise. I though about Mt. Laundry and how it seems impossible to reach the top of that mountain but it wasn't thrilling me. I could have chosen my absolute detest for cleaning bathrooms but to tell you the truth my hubby steps in and does all the things I hate to do around the house (he's such a great man!). Instead I chose to focus on the demands of being a mommy and how it's a 24/7. So my layout isn't necessarily a dislike for my role as mommy but rather how I don't mind being "on" 24/7 for my girls versus how I would feel if my paying job demanded me 24/7. Luckily I have the best of both worlds because I work from home so it's quite flexible and I can also be there for my kids at all their school activities, getting on and off the bus, etc!

Supplies: Crate Paper Portrait Collection: Pearls paper (both sides), Something Blue Paper (both sides and one sign misted from orange to pink), Bouquet paper, 6x12 Cardstock Stickers - Border stickers and Phrase stickers, Eclectic buttons, ruler, Glue Arts Glue Glider Pro, .05 black pen, black/white twine, CTMH Hollyhock ink.

Make sure to head over to The Studio to see what the other DT gals did and to play along with us!

Imagine the FUN over at Sketchy Thursdays

2011-06-23T12:00:00.002-05:00

I'm so excited to tell you that two of my design teams have collided this week! Imaginisce is sponsoring this week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch and we are giving away an i-top and a sampling of accessoriea!!! Here's some of the projects I have made with my i-top. Make sure to head over and play along with Sketchy Thursdays this week and please leave some Sketchy Thursdays love on the Imaginisce Facebook page or blog.

The possibilities with the i-top are endless, from barettes to headbands, headbands, magnets and of course embellishments for your crafty projects.

Want a chance to win your own i-top? Head over to Sketchy Thursdays and play along with this week's sketch for your chance to win.

Fancy Girls

2011-06-16T07:08:00.016-05:00

Now THIS week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch is soooo fun!!! This is the 2nd layout I got "done" when Audrey and I got together this past weekend.

My girls got dressed up for my Mother's Day lunch, from their glammed up shoes to their tiaras and little purses. It was so sweet. Check them out...

Supplies: Teresa Collins Timeless "Time Clocks"; H of 3 Soiree "Floral" paper and Mini Notes & Labels; Tattered Angels Chalkboard Mist in Charcoal; Pink Floss; square scallop punch; Sew Easy.

I just loved how versatile the House of Three mini notes are. I punched them to little squares but they weren't popping on the paper, nor were my photos. To help, I cut a circle and used the negative side to mask the background paper. Then I misted it with charcoal mist and hand stitched around it. I used the Sew Easy tool, which I had heard wasn't worth the money but I disagree. It saved me so much time and helped make sure my holes were evenly spaced. So that helped with the photos. I then outlined the squared with black ink and that really made them pop. Of course I couldn't have a layout without a bit of fussy cutting.

Now head over to Sketchy Thursdays to see what the other DT members did and play along with this amazing sketchy for your chance to win a great prize from EAD Designs.

Papa Bear Father's Day Card

2011-06-15T00:00:00.002-05:00

We're celebrating Fathers today over at Imaginisce. Some of the design team made Father's Day Cards. Since making the one a few weeks ago with the folded shirt tutorial I realized that my dad is now retired and my hubby works from home, so I really needed a different card for him. Well the Happy Camper line was PERFECT, specifically the bear. I combined the die-cut bear, some fussy cut elements and the Spellbinders Impressabilities and came up with this...

Front of Card - Papa Bear

I used the Impressabilities "Circles" template that Spellbinders sent me and misted over it to get that cool background behind the heart. I cut out a little heart and tucked it into Papa Bear's hand, then I used glossy accents and applied a tad bit of glitter. One end of the twine is tucked in his hand (which you can see better below) and the other comes from the side around the back to tie into a little bow to keep the card closed.

Inside of Card - with his 3 bears (3 kids)

I just love to do cards that have an inside and an outside. It folds together and stays closed with the twine only to reveal the little bears and that cute little mama bird flying around watching them. It looks like they are standing in the grass flying a kite.

GIVEAWAY!

Make sure to head over to the Imaginisce blog and tell them how much you love my Papa Bear card. Once there you have a chance to win your very own Happy Camper collection!

My Busy Little Bee

2011-06-14T07:09:00.003-05:00

I've been dying to scrap these photos I took of my busy little bee in this gorgeous littlw swim suit. Isn't it the cutest??? These are pics from Miss Charlotte's birthday bash in May. You can see her peeking out in the background with my older daughter. The little bee just wanted to play with the buckets and the water.

These photos were just too perfect for today's OIW (one item wonder) over at Scrapbook Circle. I was assigned the filter flowers! These are so cool. They come in different shapes and sizes.

I decided to cut one in half and cut one of the halves again so that it made the shape of 2 hearts, which I then turned into bee wings. The filter flowers were originally white so I added a little yellow mist and then I outlined them with some Smooch. I used the other half of the flower on the upper part of the layout. To complete the layout I added some buzzing bee dashes here and there.

On a side note, I never do monochromatic layouts but that's about to change. I just love it!

Gold Digger

2011-06-12T10:18:00.001-05:00

This weeks layout challenge at The Studio is to use up some of your die cuts. You can use ready made die cuts or cut your own with a cutting machine.

I made this fun little layout that my daughter will probably kill me for later in her teen years but I just couldn't resist it. She'd been digging for a few weeks now. Not constantly but enough to make you go "ewww". We tell her no but we laughed he first time so now she thinks it's funny. And the fact that I whipped out my camera and took pics of her doing it only added to the fun for her.

I had fun with paint on this layout and so did this cute little booger. The paint strokes in this layout are mine and the gloops of paint are hers and I love the added touch she did. ;)

Come play along with us at The Studio for your chance to win some scrappy goodness!

I went scrapping for a few hours last night and got 3 projects "done" - 1 card and 2 layouts! That is according to Audrey's definition of "done". She got 8 layouts "done" but she started on hers in the morning and I started mine late afternoon. ;) SYTYCS

A Day at the Lake

2011-06-09T07:05:00.008-05:00

I have been wanting to scrap these photos from our camping trip in 2009 since I took them. The camp site wasn't the greatest but we made the best of it. Our daughter had been talking about going fishing for a while so her daddy bought her a new pink rod. We spent an afternoon at the lake trying to catch something...anything but they weren't biting. We still had a blast and Rheagan learned how to cast and do all the other fun things you do when fishing.

Supplies: Imaginisce Happy Camper Collection - "Tree Hugger" (front/back), "Happy Camper", "Thermal Jammies", "Don't Feed the Bears", "Fireside Fun". "Gone Fishing" (front/back), "Fresh Air" papers; Great Outdoors Die-cuts; Camp Critter Die-cuts; Story Telling Sticker Stackers; White paper misted with homeade mist; i-top and large brad daddies; October Afternoon Red & Cream Mini Market Stickers; Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type alphas/phrases; CTMH re-inker colors.

I used this week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch. It's a FUN one....

I had the vision for this layout but it just wasn't coming together and I had it sitting there with all the elements for 2 weeks while I noodled on it and worked on other projects. It finally dawned on me that I needed to find some teal-ish solid paper but it was late at night when the inspiration hit so I made the paper. Well, I colored some white paper. Of course I didn't have the right color mist so I figured I didn't have anything to lose except time so I pulled out some of the CTMH re-inker colors I had in my stash - Pear, Lagoon, Pacifica and chocolate and mixed it all together with water in a mini mister. The color came out perfect and I love the appearance. To make the sun, I punched the paper with the i-top 28mm large punch for the base and then I punched a 2nd one and covered a large brad daddy with it.

Check out what the other design team gals did with Sketchy Thursdays this week. They never cease to amaze me. Don't forget to play along for your chance to win a great prize from Scrap Bits. Have you seen their Etsy shop? I love their goodies!

Gift Tags Blog Hop with Imaginisce, Echo Park and Spellbinders

2011-06-08T07:00:00.026-05:00

I sure do love a good little BLOG HOP! You should have arrived here direct from the Imaginisce blog and I hope we teased you with our tags. I was so excited when I got the generous gifts from Echo Park and Spellbinders! I just love doing swaps with other manufacturers. Thanks so much!

I have to admit that I didn't use my Spellbinders dies for this project because I couldn't find my CuttleBug at the time I was making my tags. Note to self: do not clean your scraproom because then you can't find anything. LOL. Anyway, I have since found it and have already made a few projects with it that I will be revealing soon. THANK YOU SPELLBINDERS!

So, when I started making my tags I actually decided I wanted to make "calling cards" for my daughter since it was the end of the school year and she wanted to make sure a few of her friends could call her for summer play dates. I liked them so much that I decided to do another one but this time I planned to use it as an actual gift tag for a birthday party we had last weekend. These might not be what you traditionally think of when we talk "tags" but they serve the same function. :) You can write a greeting and your name or your phone number in my daughter's case on the back.

Supplies: Imaginisce Enchanted, Animal Crackers and Happy Camper Collection; Echo Park Candy Shoppe Dots & Stripes Collection; Fonts - JoliScript, Cutie Pop, Starry Night; Imaginisce i-rock and glam rocks

I had a ton of fun with these, playing with different fonts that I downloaded from the Internet for free! Then I just started stacking it all together, some popped up, some not, and I got my fine tip scissors out because every single little element (trees, flowers, carriage, birds, clouds, banner...) were fussy cut.

My daughter was so proud to hand these out to her friends at school and I have gotten so many compliments from the moms :blush: and Rheagan has a couple of play dates set up!

Here's a picture of the tag on the gift bag. I plan to make more of these for all our presents now, whether it's a gift bag or wrapped box.

I have to tell you that the Echo Park Dots & Stripes paper that I got were great matches to the Imaginisce lines. It smells good too (don't ask). THANK YOU Madison and all of ECHO PARK!!!

GIVEAWAY!!!

Make sure to head on over the talented Miss Frances' blog but BEFORE YOU GO, I'd love it if you'd leave me a comment and follow my blog so that you can have a chance to win a selection of Imaginisce Happy Camper Papers, a selection of Echo Park Papers and a set of Spellbinders Nestabilities. How's that for a FABULOUS prize?

When you have finished your blog hop go back to the Imaginisce blog and leave a message to say your finished and to be entered in todays give-away. Winner will be announced at the end of this week! THANKS!

Fight Like a Girl

2011-06-06T08:29:00.001-05:00

It's lift time again at Scrapbook Circle and I got to scraplift what Yoshimi did with her sketch that I also did previously so it was a new twist to one of my recent posts. I LOVED Yoshimi's take on it so I went pretty literally on it and it came together relatively quickly.

The pics are of my daughter and one of her BFF at Field Day. They are on these huge tubes trying to bump each other out of a circle drawn in dirt. They had a ton of fun with this.

Supplies from Scrapbook Circle Garden Party kit: Girls' Paperie "Hey Day" paper; House of 3 SIOREE "trellies" paper; My Mind's Eye Stella & Rose Gertie "You & Me" Numbers paper, My Mind's Eye Lovely Sticker Labels, My Mind's Eye Fancy Sticker Tags; Pink Paislee Hometown Summer "Summer Fun" paper; Jillibean Soup "Corn Kernels" paper; Maya Road green resin bloosoms; Basic Grey Woolies "Hello Luscious" felt stickers; Glitz teeny alphas ivory blocks. From previous Scrabook Circle kits: "jubilee" sticker market and "on holiday" travel text

Can you tell I used this background paper for another project? Yep, I loved the flip side of this paper and used it for a previous layout. Before I started on that other layout, I did a little strategic planning. I knew I wanted to use the grid side at some point (which is now today) so I cut out the center of the paper. I put an older scrap paper on the back of this to adhere the photos to in the center and none one will ever know, well except all of you.

Yoshimi's inspiring layout

Read Me Layout and SILVER Lining Card

2011-06-02T06:43:00.003-05:00

I think I say this every week but I just LOVE this week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch AND the new Scrapbook Circle kit is WAY to fun to play with. This Thursday is even better than a normal Thursday because I was lucky enough to play with 2 Sketchy Thursdays sketches this week so check them out...

I had a great time creating this layout of little Miss Reese and her Big Daddy (my dad). These pictures were snapped while my mom was working on my Mother's Day gift to her, which was painting pottery with the girl's handprints. While she was painting the base colors on the pottery, Miss Reese asked her Big Daddy to "Read Me" and these are the photos I snapped. Aren't they the sweetest? She just adores him!

Supplies from the Scrapbook Circle Garden Party June kit: the girls' paperie "jubilee" Hey Day & Carousel, Pink Paislee Hometown Summer "Summer Fun", Pink Paislee House of 3 Soiree "Music", jillibean soup corn kernels, Studio Calico Wood Veneer Butterflies, My Mind's Eye Stella & Rose "Lovely" Sticker Labels; Not in kit: Imaginisce i-rock and glam rocks; Bazzil cardstock, CTMH Twilight ink, misc. stamps.

I mentioned how fun this kit is...I love the wood veneer butterflies. I contemplated keeping them the wood color that they are naturally but they weren't popping on the colors on the paper so I stamped them and added a little decor. I also fussy cut the flowers and butterflies out of the Ho3 paper and popped them on the page. Oh and those "READ" letters were cut from the Pink Paislee Summer Fun paper and I cut them into banners to give them a little bit more kick. I hope you like this layout as much as I loved playing with the kit.

Make sure to play along this week with this layout sketch below for your chance to win a June kit from The Sampler.

Don't go anywhere just yet...

The Sketchy Thursdays layout sketch that they did for Scrapbook Circle recently was so successful that we're doing another one. This time, it's a card sketch. Here's my card, which is already en route to someone VERY special who deserves a little pepping up.

Supplies from the Scrapbook Circle Garden Party June kit: the girls' paperie "jubilee" Hey Day & Carousel, Pink Paislee House of 3 Soiree "Music", jillibean soup corn kernels, jillibean soup gruyere cheese; Not in kit: silver speckled felt, Imaginisce "Clouds" Snag 'em stamps (Happy Camper collection); CTMH Twilight ink; Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Four Small; misc. ribbon.

I lined the sentiment with silver metallic ink and then I doodled on the paper cloud with the same silver metallic market. Can you see the specks of silver in the felt? I love the silver lining touch it gives to the clouds.

Here is the great sketch I based my card on. We hope you’ll join us and play along in this challenge over at Scrapbook Circle! Create a card based on the sketch, then post a photo of your creation on your blog, a gallery, or on our Facebook page. Leave a link to your card in the comments on the Scrapbook Circle Challenge #9 Card Sketch blog post by Wednesday evening, June 15th for a chance to win a Crate Paper "Neighborhood" collection kit.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

2011-05-29T07:06:00.000-05:00

My youngest daughter's FAVE song right now is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I snapped these photos of her the other day singing and acting it out. The pics were perfect for this week's challenge at The Studio. It's actually a sketch challenge. I stuck to the sketch because it was just WAY too perfect.

Today's layout is pretty simple looking and not my usual style. I wanted to showcase the large star and that cute little girl.

Supplies: Imaginisce Happy Camper collection (papers and die-cuts), Imaginisce i-top and i-rock; October Afternoon Tiny Alphas (misted with Tattered Angels Spring Rain mist); Jillibean Soup Corrugated alphas (white misted with homeade mist); Thickers (white misted with homeade mist)

To make the star, I cut an 11" star from the George Basic Shapes Cricut cartridge. I used the cutout as a mask to mist over the blue. Once dried, I stitched around it with mustard yellow thread to outline the star. I didn't have the right color of alphas so I found some that were a close match or white and then I misted them until I got the colors I was looking for. I blinged up the die-cut and the paper strips, made a couple of homeade rolled flowers and there you have it!

Play along with the sketch for your chance to win a great prize and check out what the rest of The Studio's design team did with it. The results are amazing, as always!

Nuts About You | Happy Father's Day Card & Tutorial

2011-05-26T12:37:00.005-05:00

Have you seen this adorable new "Happy Camper" line from Imaginisce? OMG, it's soooo FUN! I have so many camping photos that I am working on for new layouts but in the interim I thought it would be fun to challenge myself to use it in ways that aren't camping specific. Make sure to scroll to the bottom to read about the giveaway!!!

Nuts About You Card

Happy Father's Day

with Step x Step Tutorial

I put together this step x step tutorial to make the shirt. Just click to enlarge. You could use the shirt in so many ways...on card or layouts for a variety of themes like, a new job, college graduation, father's day, etc.

GIVEAWAY!

Want a chance to win a sample pack of the Happy Camper line? Head over to the Imaginisce blog and tell them how much you love my cards and tutorial! Oh and you have to tell them which Snag 'em stamp is your favorite from this collection. Or you can check out what some of the other DT did with the line and tell them what your fave project is.

Sweet Little First Grader

2011-05-23T00:08:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe 1st grade is over in a little over a week. If this is any indication of how the rest of her years will fly by then I'm going to go sit in a corner and cry. It's just flying by WAY too fast.

Supplies from Scrapbook Circle Anniversary Kit: Studio Calico Elementary Library, Lily Bee Happily Lost Stroll, October Afternoon 5 & Dime Jaw Breakers, Lily Bee Happily Lost Hammock, Daily Junque Tabs; Girls’ Paperie Jubilee Sticker Market; Daily Junque Ephemera

These photos are from the Spring 2011 school pics but they are not the yearbook pics. They are the "Lifetouch" photos that every school seems to do so I feel compelled to buy them and scrap them every year. The lift I was given to do this month for Scrapbook Circle was PERFECT for these photos. I loved the design so I kept the lift pretty true to the original. Here's the original lift. Thanks for the inspiration, Sara!

Enjoy the Ride & A Flower Window Box

2011-05-20T00:01:00.002-05:00

It's a pony ride for Little Miss! This week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch was fun to play with. I got out this paint dabber that I hadn't used yet so I just went to town making circles to resemble going round and round and round on the pony ride.

Supplies: The Girls' Paperie Jubilee, Crate Paper Portraits Bridesmaids; Jillibean Soup Burlap Chipboard Alphabeans; Glitz Teeny Alphas Cream; Jenni Bowlin Paint Dabber Chili Powder

Pleay along with us this week for your chance to win a Miss Art's Papercrafting School 60-day Extra Credit Subscription, a $30 value!!

Today I am featured ont he Imaginisce blog again but this time I teamed up with fellow designer Aphra to show you some Click it with Cricut projects. The theme is April Showers Bring May Flowers. My project is below but make sure to visit the Imaginisce blog to see how I made it and to see the adorable card Aphra made. Oh we are giving away eight 3-month Cricut Circle memberships. Details for winning are below. Man, I wish I could win one!

Supplies: Garden Party collection: Darling Dahlias, Blossoms of Blue, Brambleberry Blossoms, Wild Flowers, Rows of Posies; Pink Cardstock; Roly Rosies - Warm flowers and Petal Roller to roll the flowers AND the grass; i-top, small brad daddy; i-bond, i-rock and glam rocks; small box with foam insert; scissors to cut the grass; dowel to glue flowers to so they stand upright and don't flop over.

Okay, in order to win a 3 Month Cricut Circle Trial Membership there's just a few things you need to do but it's worth it because the prize is a REALLY great one!

1. Become a follower here at my blog and leave me a comment.
2. Head over to Aphra's blog HERE and tell her how much you loved her project, don't forget to become a follower.
3. Lastly, visit the Imaginisce blog HERE and leave a comment telling us what collection you think we will be releasing next week... hint, it might require you to pitch a tent.

Thanks for visiting today!

My "Tool Time" Video with the Imaginisce i-bond

2011-05-16T07:31:00.008-05:00

Imaginisce asked me to do a Tool Time video to show the many things you can do with the i-bond cordless glue gun.

Doesn't this tool and those gorgeous colored glue sticks look like so much fun? Well check out this video I made this video to show you a few of the things I have created with the tool. The video is packed with multiple projects, tips, techniques and ideas. So without further ado, here's some things I'd like to share about the i-bond....

Check out some close up photos of the projects I made in the video and then feel free to tell me what you think in the comments below AND leave me some love on the Imaginisce blog!

Little Cutie Girl Card - flowers embellished with purple glitter glue using the i-bond

Snag 'em Stamps Sweet Baby Doll stamped in pink glue using the i-bond

Little Cutie Boy line - buttons embedded in brown glue using the i-bond

Thanks for stopping by today! Make sure to swing my the Imaginisce blog and leave a comment there as well for your chance to win your very own i-bond!

xoxo Heather

She's Got Style

2011-05-15T10:43:00.000-05:00

Little Miss definitely has a style of her own. I have soo many photos of her in crazy silly clothes. The photos below are not crazy at all; I just thought she looked super adorable in her rock pj's, sportin' her older sister's hippie costume bandana, with her pink painted toe nails in those fancy little dress-up shoes. It actually color coordinated okay for once. ;)

Our challenge for you this week at The Studio is to add dimension to your page. Layers, chunky embellishements, you name it, build up those pages! Here's my take on it:

Supplies from Scrapbook Circle May 2011 Grandma's Attic kit. Sketch from this week's Sketchy Thursdays reveal.

I really love to add height and dimension to my projects and if you follow my blog I'm sure you've noticed that. For this layout I fussy cut the blue scallop paper and used it as a border. Then I used the corrigated elements from the kit, covering the inside of the flower with patterned paper to make it stand out a bit.I incorporated stickers, more fussy cut pieces that I popped up even more with pop dots and then I did a random ruffling of the ribbon (not included in the kit) to finish it off.

Make sure to check out what the rest of the design team did with The Studio challenge and while you're at it, combine that challenge with the Sketchy Thursdays sketch challenge. The challenges are not affiliated with each other so make sure to link your layout up at both sites for a chance to win the fabulous prizes they are both giving away! I love combining different challenges like that.

Here's the sketch. It's a 2-pager but I chose to only do 1 page and you can too!

Dimensional Scallop Circles Tutorial

2011-05-14T22:39:00.001-05:00

You asked for it...here's a step x step tutorial to make your own dimensional scalloped circles like those featured in the Redneck Spa Day layout I posted on May 1.

Cut 5 circles or scallops any size you wish. The ones pictured are 1 3/4". There are more than 5 shown below but you only use 5, unless you want to add more.

Fold them in half. If you are working with scallops, make sure the scallops will line up with the one before it that you are adhering it to. Also make sure they will lay at whatever angle you want (my castle scallop and the words scallop is a good example...I didn't want one lying right side up and the other upside down).

Once you know they will line up like you want them, start gluing them together.

Once you have glued all 5 together it should look like this. Make sure not to glue the last circle or scallop to the first one. You want the end result to be a half circle that you can then glue down on the page.

Here's how I integrated it into my layout.

Thanks for looking! If you try this, I would love it if you would leave me a link to your projects in the comments below.

Bouquet of Rosies and a Semi-Homeade Necklace

2011-05-11T00:01:00.014-05:00

Have you been following the Roly Rosie projects all this week on the Imaginisce blog? They just released new roly posie collections that are oh so fun to work with. They have new warm and cool colors, neutrals that are TDF cute and fabric flowers.

I want to show you a coupe of projects I made on NSD this weekend when I was crafting with my girl friends. This first one is a new collection to my wardrobe/accessories. I used the Roly Rosies Fabric - Pink Swirls for it.

Here's how I made it...I used the pink swirls fabric flowers. Included in each package are 3 different flower types and there are 2 sets. I used all three flower types. First I pulled out my new white glue sticks and turned on my i-bond to get it nice and hot. I rolled the flowers and adhered them with the glue. I knew I wanted to use them with my faux pearl necklace so I added "balls" of white glue to the center of each flower to coordinate with the pearl necklace. Once I had all my flowers done, I glued one one the newly released i-top badge/pin combo to the back of all three flowers. I threaded the pin to the clasp of the necklace and voila I turned a plain pearl necklace into something spectacular.

Here are the 3 types of fabric flowers in 3 different colors.

My next project was originally going to be a topiary but I really liked how it looked as a "pot of glory". Turning it into a bushel happened by accident...a happy accident. I completed the flower ball at a friend's house and forgot to bring a small dowel with me. As I was putting it away to finish it at home I plopped it into the flower pot and I fell in love with how it looked.

To make the flower bushel I rolled and glued various flowers. I bought a small styrofoam ball from my local craft store and used straight pins to attach the flowers to it. I started at the top with one bigger flower and then filled it in with various sizes. I was going to paint the pot but the terracotta matched the color of the flowers so well so I trimmed it with ribbon and it was complete. I have this sitting here with me at my desk to brighten up my day.

Want in on a little secret? If and I do mean if I ever get tired of my bushel, I can pull the pins out and re-use the flowers on another project.

Make sure to swing by the Imaginisce blog to see what some of the other design team gals did and make sure to enter into the prize giveaway!

Oh and guess what? I went to a crop at my LSS store recently with my friend Audrey and I had all my Imaginisce tools with me. The owner offered me a teaching job. She wants me to do a "Tool School" using a mix of various manufacturer tools but definitely Imaginisce tools. I'm on the fence about it because of time limitations but I would really love to do it. Either way, it's such an honor to be asked.

Boobies On & A New Bike from Santa

2011-05-05T06:28:00.000-05:00

Yes, you read that right...I said BOOBIES ON! My two year old came into my room while I was putting on my make-up one day and I had chosen to NOT go with the super comfy VS bra and go for the super sexy one instead. I was just standing there putting my face on when I heard Reese say repeatedly, "BOOBIES ON, MOMMY; boobies on mommy". I turned around and she was wearing my bra and wearing it PROUDLY. I laughed soooo hard (with her, not at her) and then I made her repeat it to daddy while I snapped these pics. It is seriously one of the funniest moments with her. I posted about it on Facebook the same day and one of my girl friends said "If only it was that easy." LOL. Look how she's poking her "boobies" in that last pic. I couldn't have wished for better placement! HA ha ha ha

So, I used a sketch designed by Diana from Sketchy Thursdays that was created specifically for the Scrapbook Circle month long anniversary celebration.

The Scrapbook Circle sketch reveal just happens to fall on the same day we are revealing the Sketchy Thursdays site reveal sooooo, I have two Sketchy Thursdays reveals for you today.

This second one is going back to Christmas 2009. The papers in the Scrapbook Circle Anniversary kit just screamed at me to use these photos but I almost didn't because it seemed a bit too literal to me. Obviously I changed my mind.

Please make sure to check out what the Sketchy Thursdays and the Scrapbook Circle gals did with these sketch and make sure to play along with us!

Prima Ballerina

2011-05-03T07:08:00.001-05:00

I love the fact that I am starting to be on track with scrapping this year's moments/events. Don't get me wrong, I've still got a lot to do but I can finally feel okay to go back and scrap some previous years that have been neglected. That is just what I did for today's layout. The items in this month's Scrapbook Circle, Grandma's Attic kit were just too perfect for it - the colors, music sheet journaling card, ballet ticket, florals, etc. I just love this kit! I've already completed at least 4 layouts and the kit still feels so full.

Anywho, my One Item Wonder challenge was to do something different with the Girls' Paperie alphas. I chose to ink them and then tediously poke little holes in them and then thread each of them together. I tried to relate my technique back to ballet and I just really felt like threading the alphas together was sort of like the meticulous work that often goes in to those gorgeous little ballet outfits and tutus. I chose the "x" stitching to resemble the look of her plie in the picture. Another thing to note about the chipboard alphas is that I had already used all my "a" letters so I used a capital "V" and turned it upside down and made it into an "A" with my black pen.

Supplies from Scrapboo Circle Grandma's Attic kit: Crate Paper Emma's Shoppe Collection - Quilts paper, cardstock stickers, Girls' Paperie "karlee" chipboard alphas and "jubilee" sticker market alphas and words, misc. tag, Hambly Screen Prints Rub-ons "Banners & Pennants". Not in kit: Shimmerz Mist Bed of Roses, Tattered Angels Spring Rain Mist; My Mind's Eye Stella & Rose Gertie "Girly" doily stamp; CTMH white embossing powder.

I used sketch 154 from Creative Scrappers, which happens to be designed by Nicole, also on the Scrapbook Circle design team. It was just too perfect and I used it almost literally.

I'm slightly ashamed that it took me a couple of months to use the doily stamps that I couldn't wait to get my hands on and made a special trip to my LSS just to get it but they are sooo awesome! I used white embossing powder to create the doilys and I inked over them wiping away the resisted ink.

Oh, want to hear something funny? Well I wasn't laughing at first but now I am. I was showing the layout to my hubby, like I always do. He's so good about looking at them and pointing out something nice. Well when I told him how I chiseled the tiny holes into the cardstock and how long it took because I wanted such tiny holes he said, "oh I could have drilled them for you in a matter of seconds with my drill press." Gee, thanks honey. I'll remember that though.

Redneck Spa, 1st Steps, Scrapbook Circle Blog Hop and a Re-Worked Layout

2011-05-01T06:00:00.004-05:00

Well today is proving to be a big scrappy day here on my blog. My apologies now for this super long post but there's so much news to share! Let's get this started...Welcome to Scrapbook Circle’s 5th Anniversary Blog Hop! We will be celebrating all month long with several giveaways each week from amazing sponsors, so be sure to check out our blog throughout the month. I'm talking some serious sponsors!

This month there is not only a regular May Kit, Grandma’s Attic, but there is also a special Anniversary Kit. Let me tell you, they are both AMAZING! Current subscribers can get the Anniversary Kit, a full sized kit, for only $18 - a big discount as a thank you for your support. If you aren’t a current subscriber, but still want to pick up an Anniversary Kit, you're in luck. Just go to this page for purchasing info. But wait, if you start your subscription with our May Kit, that qualities you for the discount on the Anniversary Kit.

May Kit Sneak: Anniversay Kit Sneak:

Check out a couple of the layouts I have made with the two kits and then make sure to hop along. Each member of the design team will be giving away a $10 Scrapbook Circle store credit. All you have to do is follow my blog and leave me a comment. The hop will run May 1 - 3 so get your comments in by then to be eligible to win.

The layouts shown here are just a couple that I have already created with the new Scrapbook Circle kits. I have so many more but I just can't show them to you yet so check back soon!

This next one was created for today's challenge over at The Studio. Amanda challenged us to create a 2-page layout with at least 3 photos. I had 13 photos, so I knew I should keep away from using too much pattern paper so I experimented with paint, misting ans stencils. It looks so much better in person than here. Why is that??? I really like each page separately but the jury's still out on it as a 2-pager.

I posted this next layout about a week ago and quite honestly I just wasn't happy with it. I pulled it back out of the album and did a little bit more work on it. I added some more mist, some twine and some little doilys that are sort of football shaped to the side of the photo. I'm better with it now!

Those were all created with the new Scrapbook Circle kits and like I said before, I have several more to show you over the next couple of weeks. I am saving them because they are my FAVES!

Make sure to follow my blog and leave me a comment for your chance to with the $10 Scrapbook Circle giveaway I am doing on my blog and then hop over to Diane's blog so you enter enter for her giveaway!

Jennie http://www.scrapbookcircle.com/blog/ - Start the blog hop here
Heather {YOU ARE HERE}
Diane http://dianepayne.typepad.com/ Your next stop!

Good luck! Thanks for hanging in here on this super long post. My posts are usually short and sweet!