Love You More & Snuggle Bug Kisses

I was uploading some layouts to various online galleries the other day when I realized there were a few layouts I created recently that I never posted here. Some are from older lines (gasp) and some are newer lines.  Here are two I created with older lines.  I'll post two from the newer lines in the next couple of days.

Snuggle Bug Kisses

The photos here were taken almost exactly two years a part.  My hubby was helping our oldest daughter get in a "better" mood for our family photo shoot and our fab photographer, Allison, was slyly clicking these shots capturing true family moments for us.  The photo of our youngest and her daddy was taken as he was holding her up in the air and giving nose kisses at the next year's photo shoot.  I absolutely love these real-life documented moments!

 Supplies: Bella Blvd Lovey Dovey collection; Imaginisce i-rock; CTMH flowers
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Up Close Shots

 I fussy cut some of the flowers and then machine stitched the stems. 

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Like you a lot. Love you more.

It's true...I like him a lot but I love him more. I had a lot of fun with paint, distressing, stitching and layering!

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BFF's, Accessory Friends and a Little Gift Bag

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

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

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

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

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...

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

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?

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

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.