New Arrival :)

Happy Saturday!! The sun is out, but brrrrr it's chilly! And it's only going to get colder for us the next few days. Too bad it doesn't include any precipitation - yet :) Lucky for you, I have a layout with a sweet baby to warm you over ;)

I used the color inspiration at Scrap Fit This month --

Those colors took me right to my favorite DCWV stack - Linen. It's full of these colors and textile patterns; so soft and pretty. Perfect for this baby boy of my bestie.

I used my Martha Stewart "Doily Lace" punch to make the pleated heart border. The diecut came from my "New Arrival"cricut cartridge.

I can't believe this lil guy is almost 1 1/2... we had him this past weekend while his parents were away.. good things he is as good as he is cute! :)

Criss Cross Card :)

WOW! There are so many fun things happening this weekend on blogs and on Facebook for National Scrapbook Day. I am lucky to have a little bit of time today to join the fun :) I made a Criss Cross card for one of the challenges at Frosted Designs.

I love making this kind of card fold! I used papers from my Crate Paper "Restorations" 6x6 pad. I used a kraft card base inked in black.

Here's a close up of the belly band that holds the card together. I used that fun pinwheel flower from American Crafts with a Paper Smooches sentiment.  The recipient can slide it off to reveal the inside:

I used some of the border paper with the subtle pattern on the fuscia paper so I can write my message inside. I think this card will be for my bestie who is graduating grad school in a few weeks :) So proud of her. Thanks for stopping by today! :)

April Showers Bring..

That's our next challenge at The Paper Variety!! :)

Our prize for this week is an awesome "kit" put together by TPV, featuring Authentique's "Journey" papers, embellies, and extras.

I made these tags for Mother's Day using my "Flower Shoppe" cricut cartridge. They measure 4 1/2" tall (plus the ribbon ;)

All papers are My Minds Eye. I adore how they turned out! I think I'll be making more tags in the future :)

Hop over the The Paper Variety over the next two weeks to see what the rest of the design team created and link up your own handmade flower projects!

*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! :)

Friendship isn't a big thing..

..it's a million little things.

Isn't that the truth?! I thought that quote was the perfect title for my layout of my bestie, Jess, and I. This page is definitely in my top 3 for 2011! I am so happy with how it turned out.

It started with the sketch from Scraptastic Club and a twist to make it about an anniversary. This Keith Urban concert marked our "one year" friendship anniversary. We met teaching summer school the previous year (after going to a Rascal Flatts concert lol!):

All papers are Authentique's "Uncommon" collection:

A few details:

Love the punch outs die cuts that come 

with the Authentique collections:

My favorite "root beer float" thickers! paired 

with journal strips for the long title:

Stay tuned at The Paper Variety for an upcoming 

tutorial on how I make my faux paper lace:

Thanks for stopping by! TGIF! :)

I Love My....

Happy Thanksgiving Eve! :) I already blogged my more sentimental "thankful" layout (see it HERE). Today, I'm blogging about a more frivolous thanks ;) My second love lol.

My iPhone.

(click to view larger)

This is by far my favorite gadget (covering my cricut's ears) that I've owned. It's so neat! Keeps me connected to my family/friends, it's fast (to my husband's jealousy lol), it's fun - and it's hot pink. What is not to love?

I used Fancy Pants' "Summer's End" papers and chipboard on this layout. I embellished my heart mat with the Martha Stewart "doily lace" punch. I really like the look of the pleated edge.. and it was easier than I thought to do! :)

I think the Rootbeer Float Thickers ar emy favorite. Love the chunky font.

I'm sharing this layout with The Studio and ScrapFit.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! :)

Birdy in pink :)

I needed to make a girly birthday card today and am excited to enter it into a few challenges :) The colors were inspired by the Birthday Sundae's pink/green/white challenge and the overal design inspired by this card sketch at Sassy Little Sketches.

This little birdy is part of the Simply Tweet collection at The Digi Bistro! I don't have the Straight from the Nest cartridge that the Scrappy Moms challenge called for, so I used a similar cut.  The sentiment is from their Everyday Greetings set.

This was my first time using liquid pearls! I think I'm hooked! I also used my Martha Stewart doily lace punch :)

  

I'm also entering this card at the Paper Trail and Fantabulous Cricut for birthday cards :)

Have a great Saturday!

{{Berry Sweet!!}}

I've been hoarding saving my Imaginsice Berrylicious papers and diecuts for a special page. When I saw the monthly sketch at Imaginisce, I knew this was the layout! 

I wanted to use an adorable photo of my nieces (all dressed up for the rehearsal dinner) from our Colorado trip:

Only of course, the colors clashed. 

So, I converted the photo to black and white and created this:

(click to view larger)

I'm thrilled with the result! I used ALL Imaginisce Berrylicious line for this page and let the photo shine.

I fussy cut the seed packets from patterned paper and added thread, popping one of them up for dimension.

I love the die cut titles and images in this collection! I *had* to add googly eyes to the strawberry ;)

Thanks so much for stopping by today! It felt so good to create a layout this week! ;)

Have a great day!

Cricut Cardz - Challenge #87

Welcome to another challenge at Cricut Cardz! This was a real challenge for me. Create a thank you card using any cricut cartridge, use a heart image, AND no red/pink. I was stumped!

First, I picked out the heart I wanted to use on the Sweethearts cartridge.. then I sorted through my paper and nothing non red/pink was jumping out at me. Then, I turned to my ~cough cough~ stacks! ~cough~ of neglected 6x6 pads and decided to use papers from Crate Paper's Restorations line.

I ~love~ the result!

What do you think? I love how challenges help stretch our creativity and step outside our box ;)

Stop by Cricut Cardz to see what the rest of the design team created and enter your own creation!

You Crack Me Up! :)

Sherry is having a fun card sketch challenge at Seasons of Change:

I decided to make a spring card for Fantabulous Cricut. I just love the Simply Charmed cartridge!

I love dressing up  my die cuts. I ran the shell through my Cuttlebug "D'vine Swirls" folder instead of cutting out the layers. I used the funny stamp "you crack me up" from Emma's My Creative Time stamp set for Paula's Wacky Wednesday challenge this week, too.

Hope you're having a crafty Saturday! ;)

Pretty in Pink

My first bridal shower layout this year... and boy will there be many more :) 2 big weddings (1 down, 1 to go) and lots of parties, planning, and PICTURES! :)

This is the first layout for the bridal shower I did for my best friend's wedding (this past weekend). The photos are of the party preparation and decorations. So pretty!

(click to view larger)

I used 2 different sketches for the 2 pages.

The first page, used the current sketch at Frosted Designs. I loved the arrangement of the photos!

I had to adapt it for my horizontal pics, but I think it has the same look. I kept the flower embellishments in the same places as well as the journaling elements - hidden tag for the right side and a library pocket (from my friend April!) on the left side. Fun journaling pieces!

For the 2nd page, I used the current sketch at Get Your Sketch On. I loved the center focal point!

I decided to switch my photos to the background quadrants and make the circle an embellishment. 

I cut the scallop circle from kraft cardstock and wrapped pink floss around it. I scraplifted this technique from my friend Sandi! I layered another flower and brad on top to carry over the same look from the first page. I just love how it turned out!

This layout is also to highlight The Paper Variety's latest challenge. Abby has a fun theme: create your own 1-2-3 recipe. Be sure to tell us what your ingredients are ;)

Each side of my layout has 1 border punch (Martha Stewart - Doily Lace), 2 patterned papers (green stripe is My Minds Eye and pink floral is Recollections) and both have 3 word titles :) Easy cheesy right?!

And look what you have a chance to win..

The April kit from Artful Delight!

Just link up your 1-2-3 paper projects by Tuesday at noon. And stop by TPV to see what the rest of the design team created! :)

Have a great week!