July 31, 2011

More Italy

I'm almost done with my Italy 2010 album. Here are 2 layouts I made this week. Sirmione is a little town at the south end of the Garda lake, then we drove around the lake on the west side to reach Riva di Garda, where Dada's conference was.
October Afternoon - Seaside - papers, word stickers and alphabet sheet from an Apron Strings blue-plate special. I ran out of "i" so I used brackets from the sheet. The American Crafts Robin's Egg Satin with Picot Edge that I used to make the flowers were also from the kit. Core'dinations cardstock, DCM floss and unknown buttons from my stash. Adhesive by GlueArts, Therm-o-web and Tombow.
 
Cosmo Cricket - Joy Ride - papers, October Afternoon alphs and Core'dinations cardstock. I punched and cut out elements from the papers and used different foam adhesive (GlueArts, Sticky Thumb, 3L, EK success) to give more texture. Other adhesive by GlueArts and Tombow. Ephemera from the map we got at Avis.

Two pages to go and I'm done with this album :)

Thanks for stopping by!

July 29, 2011

New wheels

Ali has a great sketch posted today at Sketches: Creatively Yours and the design team has added their own personal touches for your inspiration. Here is my interpretation:
I used papers by October Afternoon - 5 & Dime, Bazzill Cocoa cardstock and Maya Road Vintage Crochet Zig Zag Trim from the Apron Strings May'11 STBB kit. Thikers and SRM sticker sentiment from my stash. As you can see I ran out of "e" so I used "3" instead, and I rubbed some Ranger Distress Ink (Tea Dye) to mute their color a bit. The journaling is on a My Mind's Eye - Stella & Rose - paper from the Smaller than a Breadbox April '11 kit. Gel pens by Pentel and Uni-ball. Stitches were made with the WRMK Sew Easy (Zig Zag) and DCM floss. Scallop circle punch-outs were mounted on foam adhesive by 3L; other adhesive by Tombow and GlueArts. I won the Pink Paislee alphas at the Apron Strings birthday bash and the October Afternoon rubber charm at their blog hop. This layout is also for the Apron Strings Out With the Old, In With the New Day 15 challenge: try a Classic-style layout, paired with an older kit of your choice.

Here is the S:CY sketch 11-11:
As you can see I rotated the sketch 90 degrees clockwise and added a few more embellishments than the sketch suggested. There is so much room for interpretation!

I'm looking forward to seeing your interpretation! I hope you can join us at Sketches: Creatively Yours! Also, check out the S:CY Facebook Page!

Thanks for stopping by!

July 26, 2011

Blue Tongue & Happiness

I am really loving the Margarita papers from the June 2011 kit by Sweet Peach Crop Shop kit. Here is a layout I made yesterday -- bold colors make me happy!

Margarita papers, cardstock (blue, orange), Delights and Thickers by American Crafts. Tiny Type by Cosmo Cricket; Sakura Aqualip pen; adhesive by GlueArts and Tombow. The yellow cardstock I got at Discount Cardstock. I used the WRMK Sew Easy (zig zag) piercer and stitched it with WRMK floss.

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My last Party

This is my last post as a Party Planner at the Party Time Tuesday challenge blog. All good parties must come to an end and I'll miss this one very much. It's Anything Goes this week and Paper Pretties and The Robin's Nest are our sponsors. Here is my card:
I used the Glitter Plum Ants paper and the Birthday Balloons For You digi. The image was colored with Sakura and Uni-ball gel pens, then I added some Glossy Accents to the balloons and the dog's nose and feet. The two top ballons and the present were popped up on foam adhesive (Sticky Thumb). Cardstock by K&Co; SRM sticker sentiment; eyelets by We R Memory Keepers; GlueArts adhesive; unknown ribbon.
Here is the inside of the card:
It's hard to read the AdornIt mini alphas in the picture but they spell out "ant a better reason to".

I would like to take the opportunity to thank Jen for letting me join her first set of Party Planners and I would like to thank my fellow planners for all these months of inspiration. They are a great set of ladies and I will keep an eye out for their work.

I hope you can join the Party this week and I can't wait to see all the beautiful cards the new design team will create!

Thanks for stopping by!

July 25, 2011

New home cards

Dada asked me to make a card for a house warming party we attended. I invited him to pick the papers and he pulled out Jillibean Monster Stew -- he liked the little monsters. So I had to get a bit creative...
Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type, SRM sticker sentiment, unknown ribbon and cardstock. Adhesive by GlueArts and 3L.

I liked the card in the end, but it took me an hour to get over the deer-in-the-headlights feeling the papers caused.

Now this one is more what comes to my mind when I think of a new home card:
American Crafts cardstock, paper (Abode Collection), ribbon (Dear Lizzy), and foam Thickers. The color of the Thickers was a bit off, so I smeared some Ranger distress ink (Tea Dye) to darken it a bit. I also dabbed some of the ink on the punched scalloped circle to help it stand out. Ribbon adhesive by GlueArts. Foam adhesive by GlueArts and 3L to get the different heights.

Thanks for stopping by!

July 24, 2011

Tin of cards

The main reason I bought the June 2011 kit by Sweet Peach Crop Shop was because I'm in love with the Margarita Collection by American Crafts. Here is my first project with this line:
The 'Mambo' paper was applied to the 'Sheer Bliss' ice cream tin with Mod Podge (Matte). I sealed it twice with Matte then once with Gloss to add some shine. The butterflies were hand cut from the 'Flamenco' paper and coated with Mod Podge Gloss. I made the antennas by twirling strips of the bar code boarder  of the 'Merengue' paper. The sentiment on the card is a Colorbok gel sticker.

Here are some more shots around the tin:
The pink butterfly on top was colored with a Sakura gel pen and covered in Diamond Stickles. I added a little Mod Podge Glitter to the other ones (except the blue ones that come already glittered).

Here is the set of cards I made to go inside it:
Cardstock, Flair and delights also from the Sweet Peach kit. The cards are 3x3 inches and I could fit the 8 cards and 8 3.5x5 envelopes in the tin:

I think this will make a nice little gift :)

Thanks for stopping by!

July 23, 2011

Decoupage

Here is a project I made for a friend of mine. This was a series of firsts as it was my first shot at decoupage and my first time with the glue gun.
I used a painted Pottery Barn picture frame and applied  BasicGray - Lauderdale - paper from the June 2011 kit by Sweet Peach Crop Shop with Mod Podge. The Prima flowers and Offray ribbon were attached with a glue gun (GlueArts) and the Jillibean Sugarpicks were added at the end.

I never thought I would have enough patience for decoupage, but I found out that Mod Podge takes as long to dry as I take to fold a load of laundry. I might have to come up with more laundry day projects now...

And here is the coordinating card:
BasicGray - Lauderdale - papers, SRM sticker sentiment, baker's twine from DKMdiva, pearl brad from Eyelet Outlet & Brads. I used the glue gun to assemble the flower, then added some Diamond Stickles to embellish the glue.

Thanks for stopping by!

July 22, 2011

Feeding Birds

Lori is having great challenges this month over at the Apron Strings blog. I got back from a 2 week vacation last weekend so this is my first try at the challenges... I have not been up to speed on my crafting & blogging because work is getting in the way ;)

Anyway, this LO is for the Out With the Old, In With the New Day 13 Challenge: use your oldest kit with the scariest (to you) embellishment in it and combine it with a new embellishment or paper that has no "scare factor". Nothing scares me more than chipboard, so that little bird down there is very scary to me. To get around the "scare factor" I decided to try something different and colored it with Sakura gel pens which are my go to for scary assignments (like stamps).
I used the Smaller than a Breadbox April '11 kit: My Little Shoebox Home Tweet Home papers, Bazzill Carob Cream cardstock, Button Galore Cocoa Matte Buttons, American Crafts Sheer ribbon. The alphas (unknown) I won at Apron Strings' birthday bash, the white Bazzill cardstock was from my stash. I cut the oval pictures with a Coluzzle template and the corner one with my WRMK magnetic circle cutter. Adhesive: GlueArts, GlueDots, Scrapbook Adhesives. Sakura gel pens, Bic marker. Eyelets from Eyelet Outlet & Brads.

Plus, we have a guest Sketch Artist over at the Sketches: Creatively Yours Blog this month! Her name is Charlotte AKA Suepup and she creates beautiful Sketches! Check out her feature here. I played with sketch #3, but I did not finish it in time to send it to Ali, so you just get to see it here.

I hope you can play with Charlotte's sketch too! Don't forget to share it at Sketches: Creatively Yours!
Thanks for stopping by!

July 20, 2011

Summer CHA 2011

It's CHA week and I've already spotted my favorites. Can't wait for these to hit the stores!

1) Dear Mr. Claus by Cosmo Cricket: I just love the classic colors and the beautiful images!
2) Night Fall by American Crafts: the all-purpose fall line.




3) Lily Bee sticker sheets: so many colors in one sheet! I pre-ordered all 3 sets for the new collections at Stop and Scrap but I need to wait until August!


4) WRMK Sew Stamper: I love my Sew Easy, but this would be a great way to "stitch" fast.
5) WRMK Sew Ribbon: This just looks awesome! I love threaded ribbon but the border punches only work for borders.

Can't wait to get my hands on these!

Thanks for stopping by!

July 19, 2011

It's Time for another Party!

It's time for a Party Time Tuesday challenge! We have another amazing sketch from Stacy this week and two great sponsors! Paper Pretties and The Robin's Nest are our sponsors for the entire month of July! I used the Glitter Red on Autumn Daisy paper and the Garner digi for my card this week:
I used an unknown cardstock from my stash for my base and hand cut the shape. The red cardstock is American Crafts. I stamped Ranger Distress ink with a foam blotter and traced the edges with a red Bic marker.The image was colored with Sakura gel pens. SRM sticker sentiment, Dew Drops by Robin's Nest, Offray ribbon. And here is Stacy's sketch:
I hope you can join the Party this week!

Thanks for stopping by!

July 12, 2011

A sunny party this week!

It's time for another Party Time Tuesday challenge! The theme is this week is blue skies sunshine and we have Paper Pretties and The Robin's Nest as our sponsors for the entire month of July! For my card I used the aaaaahhhhh digi and the Aquamarine glitter cardstock paper.
I added a SRM sticker to the sun, which is from the Butterfly Glitter Sticker collection by The Robin's Nest. The alphas are by Scenic Route and I colored the image with Sakura gel pens and popped it up with Sticky Thumb adhesive foam. The matching yellow card base and envelope (not shown) were bought at Walmart.

I hope you can join the Party this week!

Thanks for stopping by!

July 9, 2011

All Girly

We have a guest Sketch Artist over at the Sketches: Creatively Yours Blog this month! Her name is Charlotte AKA Suepup and she creates beautiful Sketches! Check out her feature here. For my layout for this week's sketch I really took a stroll out of my comfort zone and went all girly:
I used the Glitter Purple Flowers paper and Dew Drops that I got from The Robin's Nest. To seal the glitter on the paper I applied a thin layer of Mod Podge Gloss with a paintbrush, I really liked the brushstroke effect. I also added some Mod Podge Glitter to the receipt and part of the top photo. The petals on the bottom left are repurposed from a flower broche I got as a gift on which I sew some buttons (unknown). Glitter Thickers, Core'dinations whitewash cardstock, Reminisce journalling tag. And here is Charlotte's sketch #2:
I'm looking forward to seeing your interpretation! I hope you can join us at Sketches: Creatively Yours! Also, check out the S:CY Facebook Page!

Thanks for stopping by!

July 5, 2011

A Double Party!

Party Time Tuesday is ready for another challenge! The theme is this week is square cards. This will be such a fun month: we have Paper Pretties and The Robin's Nest as our sponsors for the entire month of July! And this week Flower Soft is sponsoring us again!

The DT received a huge pack of papers and embellishments from The Robin's Nest and I used the Glitter Pink on Gold Daisies paper for the card below, along with one of the beautiful Charlie's Ark Sepia - Hearts & Flowers - card topper I received from Flower Soft. I gave this card to Dada for our 8th wedding anniversary last week.
The cardstock base and rose ribbon are by American Crafts. I decorated the image on the card topper with a Sakura Aqualip gel pen, Diamond Stickles, Glossy Accents and a SRM sticker sentiment. The topper was popped up with foam adhesive (3M) and the ribbon was glued with Mod Podge Glitter.

For my next card (I did say it was a double Party!) I used the Tommy digi by Paper Pretties and the Glitter Seashore paper and Water logged rub on by The Robin's Nest:

I colored the image with Bic and Zig markers Sakura gel pens, then I added some Glossy Accents on the nose. The image was popped up with Sticky Thumb foam. The floss is by WRMK. And here is the inside of the card, where I used more Water logged rub ons and the journaling card from its packaging:
I have to say I loved the rub-ons -- they were the easiest to transfer, ever!

I hope you can join the Party this week!

Thanks for stopping by!