Hello, Cupcake! Gifts, Party Hats & Template/Tutorial

I can't decide which I LOVE more, the name of the new Imaginisce collection or the actual collection itself. Hello Cupcake!  I love the rich colors of the collection and all the little elements. I've been playing around with it all week so I thought I'd share two of the many projects I've made so far. The others are still in my head, wishing one of us was having a birthday soon.

Oh Happy Day Gift Bag

Whether you're giving a gift for a teacher or celebrating a birthday or any other special event, it's easy to dress up a simple bag. I used a Kraft lunch bag and dolled it up with paper from the Hello Cupcake 6x6 paper pad, doilies, punches, ribbon and lace. This can be used for any occasion and is sure to make someone's day happier!

Party Hat, Tutorial & Template

Everybody needs a party hat to celebrate their big day. Try this one on for size! Made with the new Imaginisce Hello Cupcake collection, a bit of trim and a template with step x step instructions available for download further down within this post. The honoree is sure to feel special!

My youngest daughter has been wearing this hat all around the house.  I think I will have to use the template I created to make other versions of the hat...maybe some princess themed ones with tulle and bling! Or, I was just looking at the hat and I guess you could also use the template to make a teepee. Does it look like a teepee to you?  All you'd have to do is change up the color combo and you'd be all set to play cowboys and Indians.

I created a free TEMPLATE download so you can make your own. I've also included step x step instructions and photo tutorial for you below. You can see more of my templates and tutorials by clicking the "Tutorials & Downloadables" tab at the top of my blog.

Here's how I made it.

1. I cut out my template and traced it onto the back of a 12x12 paper. I then cut it out of the 12x12 paper and glued the tab on one side to the edge of the other side.
2. Cut a strip of paper, measuring 1" x 20" and a 2nd piece 1" x 2". 
3. Fold each strip in half lengthwise and cut slits to the center. Not all the way through, just about 1/8" from the center.
4. Open the paper strips and adhere the longest piece to the bottom of the hat and the short piece to the top of the hat. Tip: align the seam of the paper strip to the seam in the back of the hat. 
5. Add additional trim to the hat as desired.
6. Decorate the middle of the hat, if you are so inclined. To make mine, I cut scallop circles from my Spellbinders dies, added some red jute around each scallop as seen below and added the sticker over the top.
7. I then blinged the scallop circle and the gifts.
8. Last but not least, add some ribbon to the hat to help keep it from falling off when you blow out the candles!

Click to Enlarge; Right Click to Print or Save Image

Thanks for stopping by today. Make sure to head over to the Imaginisce blog to enter for a chance to win a collection of Hello Cupcake!

She's "fwee" Today!

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

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!

Cherry on Top Please

Are you a fan of bling?  If so, you have to check out the new i-rock embellishments that are being released today from Imaginisce. The new colors and textures are super fun and I'm pretty sure I can't live without these little beauties.  Check out this card I made using one of the new stencil kits, called Bracket & Border, and the new glitter Hot Rocks.

Supplies: Imaginisce Enchanted Papers, i-rock tool, new Hot Rocks glitter rocks, Cricut Birthday Bash cartridge.

I'm not sure if you can really see the glitter in the photo above but it's there and it just adds the extra touch of sparkle every cupcake sprinkle deserves.  I used the paper strips to anchor the card and then I used the stencil border to mimick the white cupcake frosting and put a red glitter hot rock on the top center of each to look like a cherry on top.

To make the cupcake, I cut the blue paper in a rectangle and then accordian folded it. Then I cut the top of the cupcake and the cherry from the Cricut Birthday Bash cartridge.  I covered the cupcake top with white lace to make it look like white frosting and went to town with ALL the new glitter hot rock colors to add the sprinkles.  The cherry on top was super fun to do. There are two sizes that the hot rocks come in so I covered the cherry with the larger ones and then filled in the empty spaces with the little rocks. Lastly, a little ric rack trims out the cupcake.

Here's what I used but you have got to visit the Imaginisce blog to soo ALL the new rocks that were released today.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Make sure to visit the Imaginisce blog today to see what some of the other design team gals did with their new ROCKS and check out today's giveaway!

Make a Wish - Sketchy Thursdays December Guest Designer

OMG, I am soooo excited to be the Guest Designer for Sketchy Thursdays this month!  You are going to love, LoVe, LOVE the  sketches they have coming up! So, let's kick the month off with this amazing sketch and my take on it.  Make sure to check out the rest of the design team creations AND play along this week.  You could win a $20 gift certificate to the Paper Maniac store!!!

Supplies: Imaginisce Birthday Bash - Wish Big Paper, It's a Party Paper, Surprise Paper; Flags Paper Ribbons, It's My Birthday Chipboard Stickers; misc ribbon

I just love this Imaginisce paper I found.  It screamed "fussy cuts" and doodling!  The banner is part of the paper and then I colored it in to match the pattern in the "Happy Birthday" above it.  I cut the ballons out individually and then put them in a bundle of 7.  I think my favorite part are the 2 flowers I made out of the flags paper ribbon.

 

Now head on over to Sketchy Thursdays and give them some LOVE.  Tell them Heather sent ya!

1st Birthday!

Well I guess you could say I am a bit behind on scrapping the "main events".  These can be quite a daunting undertaking.  You see, I scrap more "moments" than events, I think because the events usually mean an excessive amount of photos.  This particular event was my baby's 1st birthday (she's 2 now).  I was overwhelmed with the amount of photos I took on her birthday so I separated them into themes - presents, cake, family.  I decided to tackle "cake" first. I still had lots of pics and I didn't want the layout to look cluttered so when I saw this week's Sketchabilities sketch I had an idea.  First, here's the sketch and the layout.

Supplies: Sassafras Serendipity "Hog Heaven" - Chirp Chirp, Pinstriped, Lots O'Luck papers; Hog Heaven Journal/Tag Stickers; Hog Heaven Sweet Treats cardstock Stickers; Tattered Angels Pink Bubblegum and Spring Rain Glimmer Mist; Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type alphas; American Crafts crocheted flower; Queen & Co Felt Fusion; My Mind's Eye Twine


There's actually 12 photos on this layout.  I made a sort of mini album by cutting 2 strips of cardstock and then folded them evenly like an accordian.  I put the photos in the appropriate sequence on the folds.  I have 3 on the front and 3 on the back of each set. 

I used the very last sets of folds to journal on... 

I glued these cute little buttons on the top flaps and tied some twine around it.  I'm thinking I'll cut slits in the page protector so that people can untie it to see the photos instead of having to pull out the entire page. 

I also free-hand drew the balloon and then misted the background paper and the "1". The mist was a homemade mix of purple "gypsy" re-inker and Ranger Perfect Pearls "Blush" that I misted in a mini mister tube.  Then I used self-adhesive felt fusion for the balloon string. The felt typically runs in a continuous loop in the same direction, like in the upper right corner, so I cut it up and turned it around to give it the effect of floating in the air, hence the cloud. I LOVE clouds on my layouts, btw. The banner is actually made from the decorative cutaway trim that came with some of the coordinating paper. I just cut it up, free-style hand cut the purple starbursts and then applied alphas and then more twine.

BoBunny Challenge & Hippity Blog Hoppin' Time!

Here for the blog hop? First, check out my take on BoBunny sketch challenge and then scroll down.
Supplies: BoBunny - Back to Basics Sophie Dot, Sophie Silhouette, Petal Pushers Chipboard, Alphas and borders; Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type alphas; Queen & Co Little Letters black; misc. bling.

Now, I have to tell you how excited I am for this blog hop.  5 different challenge blogs have teamed together to provide you with a "recipe" challenge.  How cool is that?? It starts with an awesome sketch and then you hop around to the rest of the blogs to get the ingredients.  Once you've completed the recipe, post your layout to the final site for a chance to win the grand prize. 

I'm participating as part of the Crop Suey design team.  This challenge was so much fun that I'm going to do a random suprise giveaway too. Just become a follower of my blog if you aren't already and leave a comment telling me your favorite holiday dish/dessert/drink (including the recipe gets you a bonus entry since this is a recipe challenge and I always like to try new things). I'm asking international participants to pay the difference in shipping.

Here's the sketch and my layout.

Supplies: Glossy Accents; Sassafras Pattern Paper - Buttercream Bliss, Gum Drop Garden, Sugary Love, Fruit Slice Land, Sprinkled, Dreamsicle; white Delta paint mixed with Close to My Heart Crystal Blue re-inker; CTMH pink and blue sparkles; misc. thread.

Now hop around to get the full recipe! Here's how I incorporated the ingredients:

• Sassy Lil' Sketches - see the sketch above
• Crop Suey - I inked the edges of every paper and used paint (colored it blue with re-inker; spattered and brushed on with my fingers)
• Scraptiffany - the lace is actually fussy cut inside the cloud in the upper left square
• Cuttlebug Spot - it's hard to see the embossing but it's randomly on the paper cut outs. I also added lots of texture with the stitching, glossy accents and paint splatters.
• ScrapFIT - my three things are the birds AND I also stitched 3 peace signs on the squares and and on one of the birds I cut out to pull out the peace sign in Rheagan's shirt.

Thanks for looking!

Celebrate 6 - WOW 20 Photos

This week's Nuts About Sketches sketch was a 2 pager packed with photos.  Here's the sketch and my layout, which happened accidentally on purpose.

Click to Enlarge

This sketch was perfect for all the pictures I took at Rheagan's 6th birthday party (last October).  I wanted to break up the rows of photos in the sketch plus I had more pictures than spaces for photos so I made them the sizes I wanted using Adobe InDesign.  After I printed them I wished I had made some smaller to frame them and not have them all pushed together (I was afraid you wouldn't tell where one ended and the other began). I was meeting my friend Audrey at a LSS so I didn't have time before I left to re-size and re-print them (bummer). I had already cropped the photos so trimming them smaller wouldn't work. To my surprise, a few of my photos printed the wrong size, which worked out perfectly so I was able to implement my revised plan. Yay!

I journaled about the party and included Rheagan's friend's names as a pull out card under the group photo. I knew I wanted to include some bear fluff and hearts so I asked for some at the party and the BAB staff was happy to oblige.  I like how it turned out and how it wasn't really planned but ended up how I had hoped.