*Shabby Chic* Blog Hop! :)

Good Monday morning!! 

Welcome to the Shabby Accents blog hop! :)

If you arrived here from CallyAnn's blog hop you are in the right spot! Welcome! However, if you are just stopping by my blog, you'll want to start at my friend Theresa's blog so you can enjoy the hop from the beginning. You won't want to miss an opportunity to win prizes from our sponsors:

Sa Crafters-$20.00 Gift Certificate

The Funkie Junkie-$15.00 Gift Certificate


I created a "shabby chic" wedding layout for the hop, inspired by the last sketch at Colorful Creations.

I used the Lost and Found II collection by My Minds Eye:

I used my doily lace punch to give it that "shabby accent" effect. I used it both as a traditional border in black, as well as a faux paper lace in white around my photo.

Before you move on to the next blog on the hop, I'd like to offer some blog candy to a follower who leaves a comment :)

Authentique's Journey collection is one of my favs!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today; I hope you'll be back again! :) Your next stop on the hop is.. LINDA!

In case you get lost, here's the line up:

Theresa Neubaum - http://www.scrappyartcrafters.blogspot.com

CallyAnn Cornwell- http://callyanncraftycreations.blogspot.com

Suzanne- http://scrapwithsuzy.blogspot.com

Linda Coughlin - http://thefunkiejunkie.blogspot.com

Ashley- http://proudusmcwife415.blogspot.com

Amber Johnson - http://pixiperfectcreations.blogspot.com

Michele Eickholt ~ http://chelescrafts.blogspot.com/

Melissa Pinter- http://pinkpolkadotscrapping.blogspot.com

Janet Nagai http://www.createatdreamscrapbooks.blogspot.com/

Barbara Babe-http://barbarab3.blogspot.com

Gina Torres - http://californiascrappin-gcinderella21.blogspot.com/

Kristen http://huneebcreations.blogspot.com/

Erica Smole http://mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com

Monica - http://scraps2treasure.blogspot.com

Alina - http://neverstopscrapping.blogspot.com/

Liz Mullen - http://scrapiliciouslife.blogspot.com

Have a great week! :)

Good morning! Welcome to the..

If you stopped here from Elsa's blog you're in the right place!! If not, you will want to start the hop at Sylvia's blog !!

I am sneaking the "gift card holder" from The Digi Bistro as my treat box base. When it cuts, it looks like this:

Super cool right? Perfect size for a small candy bar, pack of gum, or of course, a gift card ;) What a treat!!

I embellished with the ADORABLE Count Dracula from the "Pick Your Poison" set. You MUST check out this set! Too cute to spook I say.

Ahh! I love it; super simple but not much time to craft this week :(

Here's a view from another angle:

The sentiment (get it?? COUNT on you.. lol) is actually from the School Days set at Scrappy Moms!

I hope you are loving the treat box hop as much as I have enjoyed participating! Thanks Sylvia for inviting me!!

Your next stop on the hop is Monica!

I would love if you became a follower and left a comment, come by and visit again sometime :)

Also, be sure to "like" The Digi Bistro on Facebook to stay update on all the latest releases!

Have a great weeknd :)

{{Welcome to the TPV Blog Hop!}}

Wahoo! it's the Paper Variety's one year blogaversary! We're celebrating with My Favorite Things Stamps with a blog hop to kick of the week long celebration. Even though I'm the first stop, head over to The Paper Variety to hear all of the details ;)

This week it's all about our "favorite things"! TPV is hosting 5 daily challenges of our favorite things and awarding 5 great prizes to 5 lucky random winners.  We hope you'll play along with us each day!! We begin today with a fun blog hop and our 1st challenge which is sponsored by My Favorite Things stamps .. is to use stamps!!!  Clear stamps, rubber stamps, image stamps, digitial stamps, sentiment stamps, you name it we want to see it ;)

My Favorite Things stamps is awarding a random challenge winner with a $25 gift voucher to their store!

You'll have until Tuesday noon to enter your project at The Paper Variety for a chance at the grand prize.

My Favorite Things also generously provided the entire TPV DT with stamps to use on our projects. Thank you, MFT!

 Here's the card I made:

I used the adorable "Emma and Wyatt" stamp set with my Bo Bunny "Crush" papers.

So adorable, no?

Before you go on to the next hop stop, I have some blog candy to giveaway!

I *love* My Minds Eye 6x6  pads and happen to have 2 of this cutie. 

You can win one by becoming a follower and leaving a comment below :)

You needn't enter a project at TPV to win my blog candy. My giveaway is just for fun. Although I do hope you decide to join the challenge, you could win a $25 My Favorite Things stamps gift certificate! Dont forget, there will be other challenges and prizes daily until Sunday at TPV inspiring you to use your favorite things! There's also a giveaway on the TPV facebook page so don't miss that! Join in the fun! :)

Your next stop on the hop is the fabulous Jackie !!

Click here to see her beautiful project created with MFT stamps!

Have a great day!! :)

{{Precocious Paper}} Blog Hop!

Good morning! 

Welcome to a very special {and picture heavy} post! So grab a cup of coffee and take it all in ;)  

First things first, HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY, TESSA!!

Tessa is one of the first scrapbooking bloggers I "met" when I started my blog more than three years ago. She is so super sweet and talented, too!  In addition to being a wife, mother to three adorable boys, and a dance teacher - she runs a very successful etsy shop, Precocious Paper!  I don't know how she does it all.

Imagine my surprise when I received an invitation to join a blog hop birthday BASH for Tessa's 30th birthday! Um.. yes please!!  This girl knows how to throw a party ;) Besides the AWESOME line up of bloggers, with tons of projects to share sponsored by Precocious Paper, she is giving away over $100 in Precocious Paper product!

So, if you've just happened upon my blog today, you will want to start back at Tessa's blog, so can hop from the beginning and not miss a stop.  If you are coming from the fabulous Jan's blog, you're in the right place! Welcome!

I had a chance to create with this assortment of Precocious Paper goodies:

The rolled fabric flowers are the first flowers I fell in love with in Tessa's shop. I bought some for my wedding layouts and I'm pretty sure I've accumulated every color she's made since then lol! They are so fun to work with and really add a touch of elegance and texture to a page.

I used these white ones on a wedding layout from my sister-in-laws ceremony in Colorado. I was inspired by sketch 132 at The Scrappiest. The papers are from DCWV stack "Lemon Flower".

(click to view larger)

Aren't they the perfect touch? Each set comes with one large flower:

And two smaller flowers:

The next layout I made uses both the sweet spots and the chocolate cupcake poppy! The design was inspired by the latest sketch at Let's Scrap. The papers and alphas are from Basic Grey.  I knew I wanted to showcase a bunch of candid photos from our trip. 

(click to view larger)

The sweet spots were just the subtle embellishments I needed to bring these two pages together. I added the cupcake poppy to the cluster next to the title:

I love how Tessa mixes felt, paper, brads, doilies, and pearls to create these fun accents! And you get a bunch..

I had a few sweet spots leftover and made a quick and simple card inspired by the photo challenge at Paper Smooches:

It says it all .. Thank you so much Tessa for including me in your celebration!!

Are you drooling over the Precocious Paper product you saw today?? Here's how to win!

* leave a comment below - Tessa will be choosing random blog hop participants to win credit to Precocious Paper

* become a follower of the Precocious Paper blog - one random follower will win a $20 gift card to Precocious Paper

* become a facebook fan of Precocious Paper - one random follower will win a $20 gift card to Precocious Paper

* complete the hop for a chance to win the grand prize - September, October, November AND December samplers (a $54 value!)

Tessa has added many new products to the Precocious Paper shelves! Treat yourself with this FREE SHIPPING code and receive a thank you gift, as well.

Code: SPBBHFREE

Thank you so much for stopping by today and celebrating Tessa's 30th birthday with us. I would be honored if you became a follower and came back to visit me!

Your next stop on the hop is... the fabulous Diana!!

Happy Hopping !! :)

{{Blast Into Summer}} Blog Hop!

Good Saturday morning and welcome to the {{Blast Into Summer}} blog hop!!!

If you are stopping by from Sue's blog - you are in the right place!  If not, you will want to start back at Wendy's so you're sure not to miss a thing.

As a teacher counting down the days ((okay.. hours)) until summer vacation, I am so excited to be a part of this fun hop!

We are celebrating the end of the school year by showing our appreciation to fellow teachers, colleagues, volunteers, students and parents! Well, everyone who touches the lives of children ;)

This is such a busy time of year, so I decided to make a 4 card set of thank you cards to stash in my desk when I need them the next couple days!

I'm so thrilled with how these turned! I've been in a scrapbooking funk - hoping summer was going to turn things around for me. Luckily, this hop inspiration brought it back a few weeks early! :)

I used my favorite DCWV Grade School stack and choose 4 colorful school word patterned papers. I stamped the notebook paper in white and layered an apple on top. I love how those pop off the black!

I used a fine tip red sharpie to pen the outline and tied a green satin ribbon around the card. The "With Appreciation" is a Scrappy Moms Stamp! Love them!  Here is another picture of the set..

I plan on writing a note of appreciation for my principal and PTO at my school, among others. Both have been such a great support system as our district is going through lots of changes!

And now, a blog candy giveaway!! I have a DCWV Grade School mat stack to gift to one lucky follower who leaves a comment :)

You will love the fun, bright and glittery papers in this collection! Perfect for school projects.

Time to {{blast off}} to the next blog -->

Ellen from Life At Walnut Hill :)

You have until tomorrow at midnight EST to complete the hop! Be sure to stop back at Lynda or Wendy's blogs to see the grand prizes.

Remember to become a follower ((if you aren't already!)) and leave a comment for a chance to win my blog candy.

Have a great weekend! :)

PS - also linking up to the Wee Memories stamping challenge :)

Bunny Hop :) :) :)

Good morning!

Welcome to the Cricut Cardz Bunny Hop!!

If you are hopping from Melissa's blog, you are at the right stop :) If you are just visiting by my blog today, you want to head back to Cricut Cardz so you don't miss a thing!

We are showcasing all things bunnies today :)

I made a square card featuring the cutest bunny from the new SVG set at MyScrapChick!

I cut him out with my Sure Cuts a Lot program on my cricut and pieced him together. So adorable! The "silly rabbit" stamp is from Emma's "Color Me Happy" stamp set!

What's a blog hop without *candy*? 

How about a brand new My Minds Eye 6x6 paper pad?! 

The Stella Rose collection is so pretty and springy!

Become a follower (if you aren't already ;) and leave a comment to be entered to win! :)

Your next stop in the hop is.. Candice!!

Happy Hopping!

Wacky Wednesday!

I was so thrilled when Paula from More Than Favors invited me to be a guest designer on her blog today! It's WACKY WEDNESDAY and the theme is "St. Patrick's Day" :)

I used the current sketch at Sketch Inspirations for my multi-photo layout.

This is our ADORABLE niece Alexandra. While at my sister-in-law's bridal shower, she set up camp next to the food table and smiled sweetly at everyone who walked by - asking of course for a cupcake ;) So sneaky!

(click to view larger)

I  used my FAVORITE leprechaun from Simply Charmed, with a winking Peachy Keen face.

I used the same shape/shadow as my background mat, as I did for the journaling box - doing white stitching around each. I really like how it turned out!

The green patterned paper is so shimmery! Both that paper and the shamrock base paper are from Reminisce. I love stopping by my LSS for themed papers! ;)

THANKS again Paula for letting me join your team for a week. Be sure to stop by More Than Favors to see more of the design team projects and enter your own :)

I am also linking this project up to:

Lasting Memories (green/white)

Peachy Keen Challenge (stitching/face)

Emma's Throwback Thursday (St. Patrick's Day)

Cooking With The Cricut (2 shades of green)

Have a great week!

Happy New Year!

One of my resolutions this year is to ACT on the inspiration I feel when visiting all of the wonderful blogs out there. I can spend hours reading, learning, contemplating, and *cough*cough*shoppping*cough* instead of actually CREATING. So, starting the new year off right with my friend Mel!

We both LOVE Jen McGuire's blog. A few months ago she paired up with a few other bloggers and they each made different projects using the same stamp set. It was very cool!  So, Mel and I decided that we would use the Hero Arts music background stamp that she so generously gifted me. Thank you Mel :)

Without further ado, here are 3 things I've made *so far* with this versatile cling stamp!!

I started off simple with my new favorite color combo - kraft and black! I cut these stars out on my cricut at 2.5 inches and stamped/inked in black. These will make quick and easy embellishments on my next project!

When I was at my local Michaels, I found this "just a note" wood block stamp in the $1 bin! I knew it would be a perfect pair with the background. I embossed the music stamp in white on red cardstock. I adhered a piece of coordinating red satin ribbon on a white strip (that I punched with my threading water border punch). Last, I stamped the "just a note" in the same color ink and mounted on red and I was good to go!

 I really like how it turned out, so much that I made a matching set of 3. I think my purple is my favorite ;)

Lastly, I made a premade 12x12 layout {another resolution}. I was inspired by my new-to-me Everyday Paper Dolls cartridge. This little rocker is so cute! I cut him at 5" with cardstock and silver glitter paper from DCWV. I downloaded and cut the "guitar hero" font with my Sure Cuts a Lot program. The music note background was the perfect touch!

Thanks so much for stopping by. I just noticed I have 200 followers! What a way to ring in the new year :) Here's to many more accomplishments in 2011!

Be sure to hop over to Mel's blog to see the fabulous projects she made with the same stamp!!