Thursday, January 31, 2013

Thank You

So glad you have stopped by today! :) I have been sooo busy with things lately that I haven't had much time to craft... BUT I remembered that I had made this card a while back but never posted it! 


I am soooo loving the look of wood paper these days! Even in this teal color, the wood is gorgeous!  I used some doily stamps from My Thoughts Exactly along with some white embossing powder to make my wood background layer even more beautiful. 


I cut a flower (from Silhouette store) out of pink cardstock and inked it up with frayed burlap Distress ink then added a pearl in the middle. My sentiment is from the Everyday Banner stamp set from Pink By Design. 

Thanks again for stopping by!! 

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Families are like fudge...

It's Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons day!!! I have the cutest card to show you today... 


I used the Acorn Faces Cutting Files for my little 'nut' and the Layered Labels 2 Cutting Files for the little window. The paper behind my acorn is from the Pumpkin Spice Gingham & Plaid collection. The goofy little face on my acorn is from the Corny stamp set from Peachy Keen and my sentiment is from Pink By Design. I also used a touch of gold shimmer twine from The Twinery.


I popped my whole top layer up on foam stickers, as well as my acorn to make it look like there is a window that the acorn is in. I have a second layer under the 'wooden' paper that leaves a green border. I embossed the top of the acorn with a herringbone embossing folder and inked around it. 

Now make sure you head over to the Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons blog to check out the projects from the rest of the DT! There are some great ones, as usual!!! 

Monday, January 28, 2013

Naturally Sweet

I don't know about you... but I'm ready for summer - and summer projects!!! Bria told me yesterday that she can't wait until summer so she can fly kites, have picnics, ride her bike and pick strawberries in the garden!! I love how kids remind us how to see life through the eyes of a child! 

Today my project was totally inspired by my little sweetie! 


We made a cute little strawberry holder for Grandma. I got this strawberry shape from the Silhouette store and used polka dot Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbon digital paper to fill my shape. We filled the strawberry up with green mini eggs! One of Grandma's favorites! 


I recently received a Jaded Blossom stamp set (Love Stings) as a thank you for participating in their guest appearance month in January, that I was super excited to play with! This sentiment fit perfectly with my little strawberry!! I also used digital paper for my leaves, but I cannot for the life of me find out which set it was from!! (I have a LOT of digital paper!!) I used some Divine Twine and a button from my stash to top my strawberry off. 

I hope you enjoyed our little taste of summer today!! :) 

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Sweet Birthday Wishes

For the Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbon Valentine Blog Hop Click HERE!!! 

Happy Sunday, everyone!!! I have been on a mission lately to find some new, fun challenges. I know there are a TON out there so I have been keeping my eyes peeled. The other day I stumbled upon Your Next Stamp stamps who have the yummiest challenge going on. This is the inspiration photo for the challenge:


Like I said. Yummy. :) 

All these bright colors totally reminded me of the Nancy Kubo Mommy & Me set (from Lettering Delights). I decided to make a very bright card with little graphic "sprinkles". 


I used the icons from the Mommy & Me set, traced around them in Silhouette Studio, printed and then cut. I inked around the edges of the circles with blue chalk ink because I don't really like the white edges that can show when cutting printed paper. 


I used the stitched circle dies and All Around Sentiment stamp set from My Creative time for my center flower. I added a little button from my stash in the center. The yellow background layer of my card was embossed with a Happy Birthday Cuttlebug embossing folder. My finishing touch was some timeless twine and a bow. 

Hope you liked my super colorful card!! 

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons Valentines Blog Hop

Hey there!! Welcome to the Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons Valentine's Day Blog Hop!! 


If you came here from Jeanne's Blog, then you're in the right place!! To start at the beginning of the hop, head over to Lisa's Blog - Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons

My project today is a shape card!! The base is from one of Lisa's cutting file sets (picture of files later on in the post...), and the beauty of this set is that the shapes fit PERFECTLY within the size of an A2 card. This means I can still use exactly half a sheet of my letter sized cardstock for a shaped card! Win-Win! :) 


I used the newly released Valentine Kids Cutting Files set for this card... 


I love this set because you can change up the kids' heads and accessories!! Endless combinations! 


I get a little tired of traditional holiday colors, so instead of reds/pinks I decided to go with my two favorite colors - purple and teal! My teal Trendy Twine matched perfectly!! 


I used a cute little Peachy Keen face from the Princess Assortment set. Using Colorbox fluid chalk ink, I inked around the edges of my cuts to add dimension. The paper I used was from Echo Park's Little Girl Collection. I used a white gelly roll pen to add details to my heart - it's supposed to look like a kid wrote it, but I don't think I got "messy" enough! 

My card base was a cutting file from the layered labels 2 cutting files


And of COURSE Lisa has some awesome blog candy!!! 


In order to win this...

1.  Be a follower of EVERY BLOG in our little hop. There are just 7 of us, so that shouldn't be too hard.  

AND

2.  Leave a comment at EACH blog along the hop. Be sure to let us know you are a follower and leave us your e-mail address.

That's all you have to do. If you would like EXTRA entries, you can also do one or more of the following:

3.  Like the Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons Facebook Page.  Leave Lisa a separate comment on her blog telling her you did.  Don't forget to leave your e-mail address.

4.  Sign up for the Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons Newsletter and leave a comment on Lisa's blog telling her you did.  You'll get a weekly e-mail telling you about new files, coupon codes/sales, and freebies. Don't forget to leave her the e-mail address you signed up with. :)

Here is the lineup, in case you get lost along the way!! 

Ana Maria ~ http://www.shortycreations.com/

I will be linking this card up over at the Peachy Keen weekly Challenge - Hearts, as well as the Raisin Boat Challenge - Love

Now head on over to Ana Maria's blog, Shorty Creations, to see her great project!! 

Friday, January 25, 2013

I love you - Trendy Twine Guest Designer

Happy Friday!! :) 
 I am sad that today is my very last day as a guest designer over at Trendy Twine!! I love all the ladies on the DT, as well as the owner Lesley, and am so grateful for the chance to join them this month! 

Since my last two projects were layouts, I wanted to come up with a card. I am so happy this card turned out exactly how I had pictured it in my mind! :) Super duper rare for me! 


I don't know why, but I have never really used textured paper before!! I have recently discovered how great it looks on projects and now I'm obsessed!! I love that little extra detail! 

I cut out three hearts all of the same size and glued them together to make a more sturdy heart that I could easily wrap my twine around. I used the Berry Twine, which seems to get used a LOT in my craft room! 



The man, woman and heart shapes were all from the Silhouette store and my sentiment is from a Pink By Design stamp set. I used digital paper from Sassy Designs to create my chevron background. I am also soooo in love with digital paper, as you all probably know by now! :) 

Thanks for stopping by, and remember, you still have time to link up your project for this month's challenge over at Trendy Twine! :) 

I will also be linking this card up at the Raisin Boat Challenge Blog

One more reminder - tomorrow is the Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons Valentine Blog Hop!! 


Don't forget!! :) 


Thursday, January 24, 2013

Hello Sunshine

Hey friends!! I have another cute, simple card to show you all today!! AND a video! :)

My card today is for my mom, who is definitely a ray of sunshine... She's one of those people who  is almost always in a good mood and great to be around. 


I knew I wanted to use a sun and clouds (I've had this idea in my head for a while) but I wasn't too sure about a sentiment. I was lookin' around the Paper Smooches blog and saw a great little sentiment freebie, so I added it to my cloud in Silhouette Studio.

Here's a quick little video to show you how I put this card together. 


I'm linking this card up over at the Paper Smooches SPARKS Challenge color challenge (I was inspired by the light blue). 



Hope you liked the card!! Tomorrow is my very last day as a Trendy Twine guest designer so make sure to come by and see my card!! ALSO, Saturday is another Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons Blog Hop! The theme for this one is Valentine's Day! Write it on your calendar! :) 

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

LOVE Layout - Nancy Kubo


Hello!!! I am so glad you have decided to stop by today! I LOVE visitors! :) 

Today I have a layout to share that turned out so adorable. I purchased the Mommy & Me files (by Nancy Kubo - always cute!) from Lettering Delights a while back and I have been ITCHING to use them. The background paper for this layout was actually the very first 12x12 sheet I printed using my new printer! I printed it on textured white American Crafts cardstock and it came out amazing! Take a peek! 


Almost everything on this layout was print and cut. Hopefully you didn't notice right away, but my printer seems to catch on the bottom of my pages for some reason... I loved this sheet so much I couldn't waste it, so I decided to use it anyway... I'm too much of a paper hoarder to waste! (Although, the great thing about digital paper is knowing I can easily print another sheet of the same pattern!!!)


I love to type and print my journalling since I don't really like the look of my writing on layouts.


These clouds are another file I have been wanting to use. They're from the Silhouette Store. 


I am the biggest fan of printing my own cardstock, but sometimes I hate how it can look so 'flat'. The textured cardstock definitely helps, but when I can I like to add even more texture. Glossy accents or glitter works great for this. I put glossy accents on a few of the graphics on the background paper to give it a more 'expensive' look. I also used some twine from my stash (Divine Twine, I think) and pearls to add some more little details. 


Overall this layout was so quick and easy to make, and still turned out great!! 

Hope you loved my project today!! Come back again soon!! 

Monday, January 21, 2013

4 Beautiful Years

"Holy layouts, Batman!!" is what you're saying, I bet?! :) Yep, I have been on a layout streak! It's been because of my new printer and all my new digital paper! LOVE how easily I can create a matching layout!! 

This layout is super special to me... It's for Bria's 4th Birthday. I always have to make sure the layout's for my girls' birthday parties are really nice for some reason. It seems like the most important layout of the year!! 


It was on Bria's 4th Birthday that I realized how grown up she had become. She had become sooo into dressing up and fashion. Somewhere between ages 3 and 4, she had become FANCY! (For all of you who also have Fancy Nancy fans in your home!) On her Birthday, and for her party, she got to wear her favorite princess dress all day. I even took her uptown to run errands in it and she felt so special. It was one of the cutest things I have witnessed as a mother. Can you not tell how special she felt, just by looking at these pics?? Anyway... onto the layout! Enough mommy babble....


I made a pretty small bow with 3 Girl Jam ribbon and my bow maker. The sentiment is from the Inner Princess stamp set from Pink By Design. All the paper on this layout was cut from the Luzianne digital paper pack from Sassy Designs. 


My cupcake is from Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons. I think this is my all time favorite SVG cupcake, I love how the icing looks!! I used a 1" epoxy sticker to put over my 4 circle to make it look like a store bought embellishment. I added some Recollections pearls for some more little detail. 

I'm linking this up over at the 3 Girl Jam Challenge - Anything Party and also over at The Verve, following this sketch:


Have an awesome day, and thanks for stopping by!! 

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Mini Me Layout

Hey Everyone! I have a quick layout I did the other day that I thought I would show you. It's definitely not my best work, but it's still ok.... I wanted to play with the Today, Tomorrow, Forever stack by Recollections. I think it's my favorite stack ever made!! 


Just a question.... Do you just HOARD those crafty items that you buy and totally LOVE? I do... I'm trying not to though. I find that I hoard them, and then they sort of lose their appeal!! The ribbon on this layout is one example. I bought this rose ribbon in two colors about 7 months ago, and this is the first time using it. Now, it just doesn't seem so beautiful! :( Consider this my pledge to stop hoarding my favorite crafty goodies! :)






This layout was super quick compared to most of my layouts since I used design elements included in the stack. I think I'd also better get using this stack before I lose interest in it as well!!

Thanks for stopping in! :) I have had a few projects on my blog this past week you should really check out, if you haven't already. Next week I have a TON of projects I want to share. I have been crafting like CRAZY! ANNNND lovin' it! :) 

Have a great Sunday! 

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Fish in The Sea




Hey friends! Today my project is a bit different than my usual style. I was inspired by a couple different places Alley Way Stamps Challenge as well as a sketch I saw over at Chick-N-Scrap




I was also inspired by orange in the inspiration photo at Verve Stamps. 


Once in a while I try my hand at CAS (Clean And Simple - for those of you who don't know what CAS means, like me not too long ago! :)) but for some reason, I always feel like I need more on my cards... I think I feel like the more effort I put into a card, the better it will be. 


This sentiment is from Pink By Design and the fish is a free digi file available from The Alley Way Stamps. I took the digi (in PNG format) into Silhouette Studio, traced it and filled in various pieces of the fish. The fish's body is filled with digital paper from the Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons. Then I printed out the fish, and cut it with my cameo! To avoid seeing any white along the edges, I used a black Zig pen to color in any white spots. I used a glossy sakura pen to draw my bubbles. 

I am so happy with this card and love how it turned out!! I will definitely be working on more CAS cards!! 

Friday, January 18, 2013

Snow Cute - Trendy Twine Guest Designer

Hi crafty friends!! It's my day to post over at Trendy Twine again!! This week I have a project that fits this month's challenge theme: Show Us Your Mittens

For all the details of the challenge click HERE

I LOVE the Watermelon Taffy twine and it matched perfectly with some cute mitten paper I had on hand. 



I used an adorable bear cutting file from Kadoodle Bug Designs and added a Peachy Keen face. I really need the new bear face stamps from PK... I don't think the stamp I used is actually a bear face, but it works, right?! ;) With some ZipDry glue on the back of my die cut to hold the end of the twine, I wrapped my twine around the bear's hat. My snowflakes are cutting files from Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons and I created the title myself in Silhouette Studio. 

Here is a closer peek at the twine on my cute little bear....


I used chalk ink to ink up all the edges of my bear's pieces to give it a little more detail. Love how she turned out! :) The snow the bear is walking on is actually a border from the Silhouette store. All the paper is from a Recollections Christmas stack in stores this past Christmas. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Make sure you link up your projects using twine, mittens, snowflakes, buttons and PINK right HERE!! :) There will be a $10 store coupon up for grabs, as well as a $2 coupon for ALL qualifying entries!! How sweet is that?! 

Next Friday I will be back on the Trendy Twine blog for my last appearance with a cute card!! Make sure to stop by then! :) 

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

PPPR - Warm Birthday Wishes

It's Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons Wednesday!! Always a great day! :) 

Today I used some prints from the Natural Love collection...



And two sets of Lisa's cutting files...

(these are sized perfectly for an A2 card)

Here's what I came up with...


Doesn't it make you want some hot chocolate?? I had to have this set since EVERY time my girls go outside to play in the snow they HAVE to come in and have hot cocoa! I even got them special Disney Princess mugs for Christmas that they can have their hot cocoa in. 

I also have a SURPRISE for you all! :) I actually put together a video of how I assembled this card.  I'm always so scared of videos but after doing my haul video the other day and then this one, I think I'll be doing them on a regular basis. They're actually kind of fun! :) 


Let me know what you think! (Other than that it's really amateur! :)) 

Make sure to head over to the Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons blog to see what the rest of the DT made!! And if you haven't done so yet, make sure you sign up for Lisa's newsletter! She always has sneak peeks, project spotlights as well as information about the occasional sale! 

Have a great day!! 

So Much Enthusiasm

Hi everyone! I recently sat down with all my Pretty Little Studio goodies and went to work on a layout! I LOVE Pretty Little Studio and tend to hoard all my PLS goodies!! If you have never been to the PLS blog, make sure to head over there!! They have great inspiration and challenges!!


I did a photo shoot with Bria this summer and I loved soo many of the pictures that I had to make a double layout. These pictures of her playing at a playground totally make my heart smile. She has such a zest for life and I hope it never fades. 


I used plain kraft paper and added my own paint splatters. I mixed acrylic paint with some water and used a paint brush to make splatter marks. Love the "grungy" look it gave. I used some lace that I picked up at a thrift store a while back that fits the vintage style. 


Almost all the paper and embellishments I used are from the Sandcastle Collection. 


I made my own flower by taking lace trim and stitching some thread through one edge, then pulling the thread to gather the trim. I used a wooden button and an adhesive pearl to finish off my flower. 


I hope you enjoyed my layout today! Tomrrow is Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons day and I have something a little different to show you! Different for me, anyways... :) "See" you tomorrow!