Halloween Countdown Calendar

Hi there! I wanted to pop in and quickly share this super cute Halloween project I created a few days ago. Inspired by a project I saw on Pinterest, I created a hybrid Halloween Countdown Treat-filled Calendar using a mini muffin tin tray and printed digi paper and elements from the fabulous new Autumn Fun - Ghoul's Night digi kit by Jady Day Studio (After 5 Designs). Each muffin tin hole is filled with a small Halloween candy or toy and like an Advent Calendar, we'll use it to count down the last 24 days until Halloween.


Jady Day Studio is the Guest Designer in October over at After 5 and she has some FABULOUS stuff planned for this month! (you can her regular shop filled with lots of other amazing kits HERE at Scrap Matters). But that Ghoul's Night kit is seriously so cute! I just had to share. So many fun Halloween papers and elements. I love it!

ETA: I've had a couple of questions about what I used to attach the paper to the tin. I just used regular paper adhesive. Like the tape runner variety. I typically use the red E-Z Runner from Scrapbook Adhesives and I just put 1 or 2 strips in each corner of each paper square and stuck it on. They peel off easy enough from the tin and don't seem to leave any adhesive behind. If it does, I'll just scrape it off with a fingernail. That being said, I could make this more re-usable year after year by using something like magnets, but there's not much overlap of the paper onto the tin around the hole (if that makes sense?). I suppose I could buy the adhesive magnet sheets and cut small strips to put on the sides of the paper? It's definitely worth trying I think. Each paper square measures about 2 1/8 inch square. I printed them out at 2.5 inches, but ended up needing to trim them down quite a bit to get them to fit. They're just a little over 2 inches each.

OK, that's it from me today. My Grandma is still here and it's still Fall Break. We're headed Upcountry this morning to Giggle Hill to the playground to try to let Dean burn off some energy. I think we'll drive back down the mountain on scenic Baldwin Ave and end up in Paia and have a couple of Cinnamon Crepes for lunch (nice and healthy, ya know!) at Cafe des Amis. Sounds like a perfect way to start a weekend to me. We have to get up at the crack of dawn tomorrow - my Sooners game kicks off at 6:00 a.m. here. ugh.

TE Key Ingredients Challenge - November

It's the 15th of the month and that means it's time for another Taylored Expressions Key Ingredients Challenge!! I have to tell you that I think this just might be my favorite Key Ingredients yet!! This kit, featuring October Afternoon's Modern Homemaker papers, is so much fun!! And the coordinating cardstock, ribbon and other embellishments will make it so easy to whip up fantastic cards and other projects! You can see a photo of the kit contents and read more details about the kit on the Key Ingredients Blog.

For those of you not already familiar, each month, Taylored Expressions mails out a new Key Ingredients Kit to subscribers. When you subscribe, not only do you receive your kit on your doorstep each month, you also get a 10% off coupon delivered to your inbox - good for anything in the TE store!

Now for the November Key Ingredients Challenge...There's a modern homemaker in all of us, right? For our challenge this month, you should create something to spice up your kitchen, or anything featuring kitchen icons or food (food stamp images or real food!). Should be fun and yummy too, right?

Now, I should explain to you all that I don't cook. Like, AT ALL. Seriously. Joel does ALL of our cooking (which he enjoys AND he's pretty good at it, so it's a win/win for all of us!). However, I do almost all of our shopping. But we're not always the best planners when it comes to grocery shopping and I'm pretty bad with the whole impulse buying thing. I'll admit that there are times when our cupboards are bare so I go to do the grocery shopping, spend $150 (which is very easy to do on Maui) and somehow come home with nothing but Dr. Pepper, ice cream, Oreos, a bag of mini pretzels, some beer, some wine, and some garlic powder because I remembered Joel mentioning something about needing some garlic. Then Joel's grumbling because he doesn't have anything to cook for dinner that night (and what? NO! garlic powder is NOT interchangeable with real garlic apparently) and he doesn't agree with me that mini pretzels, Oreos and beer makes for a perfectly acceptable dinner.

But I digress...my point is that we were in dire need of some help in the whole meal planning / grocery shopping / budgeting department. Enter Jen's Kitchen Planner:


Cute, yeah? There's a tabbed section for Menu, Groceries, Coupons, and Receipts. The idea is that Joel and I will sit down each week and he'll plan what he wants to cook each night (in the "Menu" section) and go over with me what I need to buy and I'll make my Grocery list (in the "Groceries" section) - hopefully eliminating a lot of wasteful purchases and multiple trips to the grocery store each week, the goal being cutting our grocery budget down some each month. Then there's the "Coupons" and "Receipts" sections, which have little envelopes to hold those self-explanatory items.


I purchased the cute little Kraft spiral notebook for $1 at my local Ben Franklin several months ago (I stocked up on several of them). I used some of the Modern Homemaker DP, ribbon, letter stickers and chipboard pieces from the November KI kit to alter the front of the notebook. I also used my Take Note stamp set and coordinating Take Note Die 3 for the large label on the front. And those tabs on the side marking each section of the book? I used the Keeping Tabs stamp set and the coordinating Keeping Tabs Die. But my favorite part of the notebook has to be that adorable apron! For that I used the What's Cookin' stamp set and coordinating Apron & Pocket Dies. Finally, I added some straight and zig-zag stitching all around the edge of the front cover with my sewing machine to finish it up.

The rest of the Key Ingredients Design Team are sharing their November Challenge projects with you today as well, so be sure to stop by each of their blogs to see what they've done - I know I can't wait to see! Check them out:
Jessica Diedrich
Lisa Hjulberg
Lynn Put
Melody Rupple
Rosie Hughes
and of course Taylor VanBruggen

Also, don't forget to stop by the special Key Ingredients Gallery full of fun project ideas using this month's kit!

My "Green" Mini Album

I'm starting to think about those all-important Mother's Day Gifts. I normally make fun little mini albums and this year will be no exception. I've decided to go "Green" this year and I knocked one of the albums out this weekend with this fun little circle album made out of recycled old CDs. Recycled CD Albums are one of my favorite mini-albums to make - they're SUPER sturdy (translation: my 3-yr-old doesn't tear them up as easily as a chipboard or paper album), they're the perfect size for a fabulous little gift, AND there are lots of really cute circle ablum templates out there making them SUPER quick and easy!!

I'll go ahead and share all of my project photos with you, then give you all of the nitty gritty details:
For this album, I started out by gathering up a handful of old scratched up CDs and DVDs (I NEVER throw these out for this purpose) and sorting through my digi pics of Dean from the past year+. I went with all my fave photos from the past year (you've probably seen several of these photos on various projects this year). Next I needed to find the perfect digi kit to use. I went with the awesome All-Star kit by Kristin Cronin-Barrow (Sweet Shoppe). Just look at everything you get in this kit for just $6.99 (I'm betting for all those papers, ribbons, buttons, tags, chipboard pieces, alphas, and other embellishments in "real life" you would pay WELL over $40!!):


Next, I needed a template (yes, I could have designed my pages from scratch - but let's face it - I'm waaaay too lazy for that!! LOL). I decided to use the new CD Album 4: Stars by Janet Phillips (Sweet Shoppe). Take a look:


I simply "clipped" my papers, photos and embellishments onto the layered templates using my Clipping Mask Tool in Photoshop Elements, added some journaling with DJB Print font by Darcy Baldwin (Sweet Shoppe), then printed out the album pages at home onto some Matte double-sided presentation paper. I cut out the individual album pages and used Mod Podge to attach them to the front and back of my recycled CDs. I punched a hole in all of the CDs using my Crop-o-Dile and used a book binding ring to hold all of the pages together. I added some bits and scraps of leftover ribbon to the ring for added embellishment.
And there you have it! A very special "Green" keepsake photo Mother's Day Gift from start to finish in a single afternoon. How are you going "Green" this Spring?

Tags, Tins and Treats

Today it's my turn to post my Verve Project Parade Creation over on the Verve Blog. Be sure to stop by and take a look!! Here's a look at the completed hybrid project:
For more detailed photos and project information, visit THIS POST over on the Verve Blog. All papers used on this project are printed digital papers from the Kitschy Sweet digi kit by Traci Reed & Scrapkitchen Designs (Sweet Shoppe). All of that stitching is also digital, from the Border Basics: Line Stitches by Libby Weifenbach (Sweet Shoppe) - pretty cool, huh? I used a TON of Verve stamps, listed below, to create this special keepsake mini album, altered gift tin and tag as a Valentine's Day gift for my son Dean.

Head on over to the Verve Blog to play along with us in this month's Project Parade for a chance to win $25 in Verve Bucks!!

Products Used:
Stamps (shown): Be Mine Plain Jane, Heart's Desire, Thankful Accents (Verve) Stamps (inside mini album): Love Monkey, Celebrating You, Accent Notes, Heart's Desire, Thankful Accents (Verve)
Paper: Printed digi paper from Kitschy Sweet by Traci Reed & Scrapkitchen Designs (Sweet Shoppe)
Ink: Basic Grey, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss (SU); Raspberry Fizz (PTI)
Accessories: Buttons, ribbon (PTI & SU); Tin, chipboard album & chipboard luggage tag (Maya Road); Corner Chomper (Making Memories); Round the Corner digital masks by Janet Phillips (Sweet Shoppe); Digital Stitching by Libby Weifenbach (Sweet Shoppe); Pom Pom trim from stash.

Thankful Hearts Blog Hop

It's new release time at Verve and we're topping off our Thankful Hearts Blog Party with a blog hop featuring three new sets that just released, all focused on thankfulness. If you've been hopping and arrived from Charmaine's blog (link to the person above you on the list), then you're right where you should be. If you've just happened by, then you'll want to hop on over to Poetic Artistry to start from the beginning!

And to make this hop even sweeter, we've got a special treat hidden along the way for one lucky commenter. So if you see something that makes you smile, be sure to give a little shout-out in the comments for a chance to win our entire release!

My project today features my favorite set from this release, Thankful Accents. I altered a small clear paint pail to create a simple little hostess gift to have on hand for all those upcoming Holiday Parties we'll be attending soon!

I used the soothing color combo of Kraft (Surprise!! LOL), So Saffron, Very Vanilla and PTI's Ocean Tides.
I filled the paint pail with some See's chocolates and it's ready to be given a small token of appreciation to the hostess of the next Holiday Party we attend!
My favorite part of this project? That fantastic stamped circle thing!! I already have a long mental list of future uses for that thing!! :-)

Thanks for hopping by! Next up on the hop is AMBER!!

Take the Challenge Tuesday - Cover It

This month's Clear and Simple Stamps Take the Challenge Tuesday challenge is to "Cover It". The challenge is to cover some sort of "notebook/pad" - make a post-it holder, cover a composition book or planner, or you can make one of these SUPER easy little notepad covers (instructions at the end of this post):
I bought a bunch of these little 4x6 "Scratch Pads" at OfficeMax a few months ago and have made several cute little custom covers for them recently. I created the one above for my son Dean. He LOVES to pretend like he's making grocery lists and "write" things down on a notepad, so he was very excited to have his own personalized pad!! I used a few of the new September releases from Clear and Simple Stamps on the project - Get in Gear along with my new fave Dots and Lines (a fun background set) and the letters of Dean's name were stamped with Modern Alpha. Get in Gear is available now as the September Stamp of the Month (use discount code DTBlog909 to get $1 off through the end of the month). The other sets will be available Sept 15!

Join us over at the Clear and Simple Stamps Group on PCP to play along in this month's Cover It Challenge

Use the tag TTC09 when loading your projects.

Now head on over to the other CSS DT blogs to see what the other girls have created for the challenge:

• Beth Matson
• Kim Howard
• Lori Tecler
• Maria Levine
• Neva McMullen
• Robyn Weatherspoon
• Sue Berker
• Clear and Simple Blog
  

I'll be sharing more samples from the September Clear and Simple Stamps Release on Thursday, so be sure to stop back by (I promise you don't want to miss these new sets!!)

Instructions for 4x6 Scratch Pad Cover:
- Cut Cardstock to 8 7/8 x 6 inches
- Score at 4 1/4 and 4 5/8 along 8 7/8 inch side
- Use Scor-Tape to adhere Scratch Pad to inside and fold.

Supplies:
Stamps: Get in Gear, Dots and Lines, Modern Alpha (CSS)
Paper: Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Tempting Turquoise, Real Red, So Saffron, Whisper White CS (SU)
Ink: Real Red, So Saffron, Tempting Turquoise (SU); Fresh Snow (PTI)
Accessories: Chocolate Chip ribbon, Large silver brads, dimensionals (SU)

Happiness for Hostesses

Busy Day today on the blog!! I'll start by sharing a peek at my project for this month's Verve Project Parade. The theme for this month is "Happiness for Hostesses" and the idea is to create meaningful little gifts and cards that you can take with you to parties and get-togethers to give as hostess gifts. I created a gift for the hostess of my next book club meeting:

You can read all the details over on THIS POST on the Verve Blog. And then be sure to play along with us this month for a chance to win some fabulous Verve goodies!! Just create your own Happiness for Hostesses gift and post a link to your project on the Day 1 post for a chance to win!! Can't wait to see what you create!! And don't forget to check out each Diva's contributions this month and leave comments to let them know what you think - there's a $25 gift certificate hidden along the parade somewhere for one lucky commenter!!

Supplies:
Stamps: Bountiful Backgrounds, Enjoy (Verve)
Paper: Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Baja Breeze (SU)
Ink: Fresh Snow (PTI); Baja Breeze, Riding Hood Red, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip (SU)
Accessories: Favor Box die (Sizzix); ribbon, jumbo eyelet (SU); Circle & Oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders)

-Jen

Little Boy projects with the Slice

Hi there! Happy Wednesday!! Today I'm going to share with you a couple of SUPER easy projects for little boys I created using my Making Memories Slice digital cutter from ABC Toys and Crafts.

Just like with children's clothing, there's just not as much cute stuff out there in the papercrafting world for boys as there is for girls and I know many of us struggle sometimes with creating special gifts and cards for those special little men in our lives. Hopefully this will get the wheels of creativity spinning...

Here's a little piece of train-themed wall art using a train image from the Big Kids Design Card:

Isn't that cute? I have to admit I got the idea for this from my friend Sarah who recently made an adorable (girly) baby gift for a friend using these same frames from our local Ben Franklin store and some Slice images. These little white square frames are 2 for $8 I think and I'm actually planning to make a few more to go with this train using the Big Kids design card and coordinating papers - maybe one with a boat and one with a helicopter (to stick with the whole "transportation" theme, ya know?). Anyway, to create this little project I used printed digi paper from the Hey Guys paper pack by Sarah Jones (Funky Playground). I cut strips and used Mod Podge to adhere them to the front of the frame and then just layered some pieces to make the base for the train die-cut. I cut the train and glued him on and it was done. This adorable little gift literally took about 20 minutes start to finish!! And I think it would be just precious in a set of 3 (sorry I didn't have time to finish that up, but use your imagination - maybe next week I'll have it done).

And now on to a simple little boy card using the same Big Kids Design Card:

Once again, I used some printed digi papers by Sarah Jones, this time from her new Boys Rule & Girls Drool paper pack (Funky Playground). I threw in some Kraft of course (you know me - I can't stay away from the stuff!!) and cut out the little monster image using my Slice and layered everything together. I mini library clip and some screw brads tied it all together!

So what do you think?

Don't forget, there's still a Storewide sale going on through the end of August at ABC Toys and Crafts where you can save 10% off of almost everything in the store (including the Slice and all design cards and accessories!!).

Battle of the Creative Teams - Please Vote for Us!

So Round 1 of Battle of the Creative Teams over at Digi Scrap Addicts is finished and the voting has started. Please go HERE and vote for "Libby Lou Crew"!!! :-)

I am participating in this Super Cool 4-week digi contest with 4 other girls from Libby Weifenbach's Creative Team. AND - I'm one of only a few (2 I think) Hybrid Artists in the contest. The first round was really tough as a hybrid artist. The challenge this first week was to make a white space (or negative space) layout. The team layouts must have a common color scheme and as a bonus, the team was to try to come up with a common overall theme. Our team's overall theme was "family" and here's the color scheme we decided to work with (plus a Kraft / corkboard color):
So, white space on a hybrid project?? crap. Here's what I ended up creating (and I have to say I'm SO STOKED with how this turned out):

It's a Family Message Center - a place for the Tapler Family to stick all those important message and reminders about upcoming events and other family "stuff" - making it easier for us to squeeze it that all-important "together" quality time!!

I started with a white 12x12 Scrapbook page shadow box frame, removing the glass. I added a piece of 12x12 corkboard, which is what I used as my "white space". I altered both the outside of the frame and the inside with printed digi papers. I printed out several digi embellishments from 2 of my fave Libby kits - Top of the World and Porkchops & Applesauce, cut them out and attached them in layered clusters around a recent family photo in the bottom right corner. In the top left corner, I used one of the alphas from Top of the World, overlapping the letters slightly, to form "family", then typed out "time" using the font DJB Brittany by Darcy Baldwin. I added some more of the cool swirly things and it was pretty much done!! It was a lot of work, but I do think it fit the challenge requirements quite nicely and I'm so happy with how it turned out!!

So anyway, here's where I really beg for your votes!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE go vote for us!! The winners will all receive a $10 gift certificate to EACH of the participating designers' digi stores!! (and you'll see when you click on the link that there are A LOT of really fab designers with teams participating!!). I'm no big thing AT ALL in the digi world, so I'm really relying on all my "paper friends" to come out and vote for me!! So head on over to THIS PAGE and remember to select "Libby Lou Crew" and submit your vote!! (hurry! Polls close Tuesday night).

THANK YOU so much!!! You guys rock!!

Surprise!! It's a Verve Baby Shower Hop...

There’s a new little baby Diva almost here and today we’re celebrating with a suprise shower hop! So come along with us and do the hop, hop, hop to help celebrate the arrival of Charmaine’s new little oodabug! This shindig started at the Verve Stamps blog, so if you’ve just happened along, be sure to hop on over there to start from the beginning!

One of the things I remember from when Dean was a fresh newborn was the constant need to jot down little notes - feeding times and which boob was last, diaper counts, things I wanted to remember for his baby book, who had stopped by for a visit, etc etc etc. And all us Mom's know that the brain isn't exactly working all that well after giving birth (I actually read somewhere that a woman loses like a million brain cells during pregnancy and birth...I'm pretty sure I still haven't regenerated those).

So anyway, I decided to use Verve's Practically Perfect stamp set and make Charmaine a little notepad she can keep handy by her bed or in the baby's room or next to the rocking chair or wherever it's convenient to help her keep track of all those little things. Of course, I needed to make a card and pen to match!!

To create the notepad cover (I used a 6x4 inch "scratch pad" from Office Max) I cut a 6x8 7/8 inch piece of cardstock and scored along the long side at 4 1/4 and 4 5/8. I decorated the front, then used scor-tape to adhere the notepad to the inside. SOOOO simple!! Here's a different view so you can actually see that it is a notepad cover thingie:

Stamps: Practically Perfect (Verve)
Paper: Going Grey, Basic Grey CS (SU); Lemon Tart (PTI); Baby Hickory Dickory DP (American Crafts)
Ink: Versamark
Accessories: Ribbon (PTI); Button (Basic Grey); Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder; hemp twine; RSVP pen; 6x4 Scratch Pad; Corner Rounder

Thanks for stopping by! Now hop on over to Susan's blog for some more cuddly goodness.

Verve Project Parade

I've been having trouble with Blogger all day Friday - unable to log in to my blog - so frustrating!! Anyway, I've posted a super cute Father's Day Mini Album over on THIS POST on the Verve Blog for this month's Project Parade. I created the album for Joel for Dad's Day and am pretty pleased with how it turned out. Here's a peek at the cover:
For a look at the rest of the pages and all the product details, head on over to my Project Parade post and check it out!!

And don't forget to read all the way to the end of the post for details about how you can win some fabulous Verve Goodies (but hurry!! Not much time is left this month to play along)!!

Tonight's the Night - Verve Release Party!!!

Hi there! Sorry I've been MIA so much this week and haven't had a chance to share any of my projects using the FABULOUS new Verve stamps until now!!! I've been SWAMPED preparing for the Stampin' Out Alzheimer's event, which kicks off on Monday!!! Believe me, you do NOT want to miss this event!! We now have over $1000 worth of goodies donated from our generous sponsors that we'll be giving away throughout the week. You can read more about the event HERE and more about the story behind why I created this event HERE.

Ok, on to the Verve Goodness....I hope you'll all have a chance to join me in the Verve Forum in just a few hours for the Verve Release Party!!! The fun begins at 9:00 pm EDT!!! And if you haven't stopped by the Verve Blog to check out the sneak peeks, hurry up and head on over there - you have about an hour left until 8:00 pm EDT to comment on the posts for a chance to win new Verve stamps!!!

Here's a look at the project I shared yesterday on the Verve Blog:
I created a Keepsake box, using the new Protector stamp set, to hold little momentos and handwritten notes of memories of my Dad. The paper I used is printed digi paper from the Family Ties kit by Kristin Cronin-Barrow (Sweet Shoppe). My Dad has Alzheimer's Disease and sometimes when I'm feeling overwhelmed by the sadness of watching the man who raised me slip away from me, I will take a minute and journal about some little special memory of my father before the illness struck. My biggest fear with this illness is that after he's gone I will not be able to remember him as the amazing man he once was, but instead I will only remember this shell of a man I see now. Caring for someone with Alzheimer's Disease is a heartbreaking, frustrating, maddening experience - My hope is that this little keepsake box will help me hold on to those precious memories of happier times and that it will be a comfort to me when I need to feel a connection to my Dad as the wonderful man he once was.

I'll be sharing more projects with the new sets tonight at the PARTY, along with the other Divas!!! I hope you'll join us!

How Convenient...

....that Dawn McVey's latest Raspberry Suite Color Challenge just happened to be these colors!
I had already started on a baby card and had plans to finish up the gift this weekend when I saw her post and the colors matched pretty well with what I was creating!! One of my coworkers had a baby girl April 30 and I was in need of a small gift. I decided to use Scattered Showers to create a card, onesie and matching gift box and think it turned out sooo cute!
I used Lauren's Perfect Matchbox Timeless Template for the packaging. The onesie was created with Avery dark t-shirt iron-on transfer sheets, by stamping directly on the transfer sheets and then ironing on according to instructions. It all came together relatively quickly and I think Mom and Baby will be pleased.

Stamps: Scattered Showers, Polka Dot Basics (PTI)
Paper: Smokey Shadow, Sweet Blush, Berry Sorbet, White CS; Text-style Pink Patterns (PTI)
Ink: Berry Sorbet, Smokey Shadow, Fresh Snow (PTI)
Accessories: Sweet Blush double stitched ribbon, Sweet Blush buttons, Black buttons (all PTI); Oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders); Jumbo Eyelet, Slit punch (SU); Hemp Twine; Gerber Onesie; Dark T-shirt Iron-On Transfers (Avery);
My Timeless Template - Perfect Matchbox

And finally, I thought I'd share this cute pic of Dawn and I a few weeks ago in Kaanapali. Dawn and her hubby were on Maui for a few days while on a Hawaiian Cruise. Joel and I met them at Hula Grill in Kaanapali for a yummy dinner and then we all shared a Hula Pie from Leilani's on the Beach (and we literally sat on the ground on the beach, breaking our plastic utensils fighting over the oreo crust!!). It was so fun to spend a few hours with Dawn and her husband! She's such a cutie and so sweet (one of those stunningly perfect girls that you'd love to hate, but you just can't because she's too darn sweet!!). ha! Anyway, the beautiful sunset was a great end to a fun evening with new friends.

PTI Blog Hop

This is my first time participating in a Papertrey Ink Blog Hop, but when I saw that the challenge was to create a project with one of Lauren Meader's My Timeless Templates, I knew I had to participate!! If you're a regular blog reader you know I'm a sucker for all things gift-y!


Remember the card I made for Aunty Joyce earlier this week using Lauren's Saturday Sketch #30? Well, I also created this adorable gift set to go with it using Lauren's From the Desk Of template. I once again used PTI's Teacher's Apple stamp set along with Kraft & Chocolate Chip CS and A Walk in the Park DP (SU) paired with Pure Poppy Bitty Dot Basics. I love this color combo together with this stamp set!!

Inside Aunty's Joyce's Desktop Organizer is a little bunch of pencils wrapped with ribbon and embellished with a red button, an altered post-it note pad, a 4x6 covered notepad and matching pen, an altered jumbo binder clip, and a little mint tin filled with stickers she can use on student's artwork and projects. I made the stickers by stamping various apples onto Avery label paper and punching out with a circle punch. I also made several "A+" stickers by stamping the "A" from PTI's Fresh Alphabet along with the "I" stamped both vertically and horizontally to create the "+"....yeah, I'm pretty clever like that!! ha!

Here's a closer look at some of the individual items inside the desktop organizer:
So what do you think? Be sure to head on over to the Papertrey Forum and check out the links to all the other Blog Hop participants!!!

ETA: HERE is a link to an old tutorial I wrote for the Post-It note cover. I know there are lots like it out there, but thought I would share.

Today's the Day!! - Verve Release Party

Party will be HERE in the Verve forum at SCS....hope you can make it!!!

And in case you missed it on the Verve Blog, here's a little Mother's Day project I created with the new Because of You set....Head on over to this post on the Verve Blog for details.

I'll be sharing this and about 10 other projects using the new stamps sets at the party tonight!! I've seen the creations the other divas have made too and believe me, there will be TONS of inspiration floating around the party!!! You don't want to miss it!!

Here's a close-up of my card so you can get a closer look at that beautiful flower cluster stamp!!

Special Delivery

Just a super quick post tonight to share this cute little baby project using Verve's new Practically Perfect stamp set. Have you had a chance to check out the Super Novas' Inspiration Gallery this month over at Papercraft Planet? Each month, the PCP Super Novas create a gallery with a different theme and this month it's all about Mothers and Babies!! Stop by and give the girls some lovin'!!

Special Delivery Hanging Keepsake:

Stamps: Practically Perfect (Verve)
Paper: Kraft, Very Vanilla, Night of Navy CS (SU); DP from Scenic Route
Ink: Vintage Cream (PTI); Night of Navy (SU)
Accessories: Album Page from Bracket Chipboard Album, buttons (Basic Grey); Circle & Rectangle nestabilities; sewing machine; hemp twine; Jumbo eyelets, ribbon (SU); Adorable Baby Photo.

Verve Project Parade

Sorry for the multiple posts today, but I had several things that needed to be posted...I promise not to make a habit out of it!! :-)

Have you had a chance to stop by the Verve Blog lately? The Divas have been sharing some FABULOUS Spring projects in the "Eggstra Special Project Parade" and you don't want to miss it!! There's also a chance to win some Verve goodies, so head on over and check it out!!!

Today is my day and I am sharing this cute little Easter keepsake mini coaster album. You can see a photo of the inside and read all the details HERE on the Verve Blog!!!

Reminder: Don't forget to enter my Blogoversary Challenge benefiting the Alzheimer's Association for a chance to win over $250 in Blog Candy!!! More details HERE. Deadline to enter is Wednesday, April 1 at 11:59 pm central time.

Verve Sneak Peek

It's the 5th and final day of the Verve Sneak Peeks before the big Release Party on Sunday night!! I hope you've had a chance to stop by the Verve Blog this week and check out all the fabulous projects the Divas have been sharing. Today is my Sneak Peek day and I created this Spring Planting gift set.I used 2 of the new sets, Miracles Blossom and Floral Symphony. I used a brown cardboard box from my stash that some Origins skincare products came in. Using Mod Podge, I adhered some American Crafts DP to the outside of the box, sanded all of the edges, and wrapped it with Chocolate Chip ribbon. Using some Baja Breeze ribbon, hemp twine and a button, I decorated a brown flower pot. The little bag, cut from So Saffron textured DP using the Scalloped Bag Bigz XL die, holds a cutting from a Hawaiian Ti plant (more on the cultural significance of the Ti later in the post).

Stamps: Miracles Blossom, Floral Symphony (Verve)
Paper: American Crafts DP; So Saffron textured CS, Chocolate Chip CS (SU!); Pure Luxury white CS (GinaK)
Ink: Momento Rich Cocoa (Tsukineko); Palette hybrid New Leaf (PTI); Copic markers for coloring flowers
Accessories: box from stash, ribbon (SU), nestabilities, page from Maja Road chipboard Tag Album, half pearls (Island Paperie), fower pot (home depot), Ti cutting from our yard.

You can check out what fellow Verve Divas Jen del Muro and Bethany Paull created with these sets (and enter for a chance to win some Verve goodies) HERE on the Verve Blog. And don't forget about our big Release Party Sunday Night at 8 PM Eastern Time in the Verve Forum at SCS.

And here's your cultural lesson for the day.... Even though Joel and I are both mainland-born haoles (or white), we have great respect for Hawaiian culture and tradition. We strive to raise our haole son to love and respect this beautiful culture as well. We feel very strongly that if you are going to make a place your home and raise your children in that place, you should embrace that culture and heritage. We are so fortunate that Dean is growing up in Hawaii where he can experience so many different cultures and learn to love and respect and be open and tolerant of everyone, regardless of background or lifestyle or spiritual beliefs. The Hawaiian Ti is a good luck plant, rich in Hawaiian lore. The early Hawaiians used Ti to make hula skirts, to wrap and store food, and also as roofing for their homes. It is thought to ward off evil spirits and is a symbol of divine power. Before we moved into our new home here on Maui, we had a traditional house blessing by a local Kupuna, or spiritual leader (this is extremely common in Hawaii). Just before the blessing began, we kept with Hawaiian tradition and planted Ti at all 4 corners of our new home to protect us from evil spirits. A few of our friends and family gathered with us as the Kupuna called upon Ke Akua (the Supreme Creator), the various spiritual entities associated with the land our home was built on, his own ancestors as well as my and Joel's ancestors. He also called upon our friends and family who were present to add their mana to the blessing, and then those who are to come after us. This is to remind us that the land was here before us, and will be here after us. We are merely current in a long succession of stewards. In some ways, in Hawaiian culture a land or house blessing is similar to a marriage ceremony. The responsibilities of the various parties are spelled out, and the new owners promise to cherish and protect this kuleana, or responsibility. Hawaiians believe that land ownership goes far beyond paper documents. Acquiring land puts one in a spiritual relationship with that land which can never be broken. It is up to us to work toward making that relationship a healthy one. And there you have it folks....consider yourselves culturally enriched!!!

I hope you all liked my Spring Gift box and maybe learned something new about a different culture today! Thanks for humoring me in this long-winded post!!!

Just Because

I'm so excited for this Friday! My good friend Sarah is coming over to spend the day stamping and she's bringing her Mom, Leslie, with her! This will be my first time hanging out with Leslie, but we chat online often and I can't wait for "Maui Craft Day '09"!!! Leslie lives on Oahu, which is the only reason "Maui Craft Day" doesn't happen more often! (and don't ask me why Sarah and I don't get together more often to stamp....we'll have to figure that out). Anyway, several months ago when Sarah was home on Oahu for the weekend, Leslie sent her back to Maui with the most adorable altered composition book for me. (Sorry I don't have a photo to share with you - but I use it daily at work!!!). Soooo, I wanted to create a little gift for Leslie. (Sorry Sarah....you'll have to settle with my company as a consolation prize! ha!). Anyway, I think Leslie's flying in to Maui Thursday and I hope that means she won't see this post before Friday. Leslie, if you see it....you can just pretend to be surprised on Friday!!!

So here's what I made for Leslie....I printed digi papers from Our Story by Scrapkitchen Designs (Sweet Shoppe) and combined with some Mod Podge, covered a little Paper Mache box. I wrapped some Hershey's Nuggets to fill the box, added some ribbon and a little gift tag. The gift tag is stamped with the "Just Because" stamp from Verve's Fluttering By set.For the matching card, I used the same papers and Julee's MoJo Monday sketch #74. The "smile" sentiment is from Verve's All About You set and the flower is from Abundant Blessings.

AND...if you haven't stopped by Verve to stock up during the big sale, there's only a few days left!! Julee's making room for the GINORMOUS release coming up on March 8 and has some AMAZING deals that you don't want to miss out on!!! All of the regularly priced $24 sets are on sale for $18; All regularly priced $18 sets are on sale for $15; and all regularly priced $15 sets on on sale for $12!!!!

Slacker

Yep. I've been a MAJOR blog slacker this month! My goal for March is to get into some kind of blogging schedule so it's more of a routine for me. I find that there are days when I am really motivated to blog and will sit down and do too many posts for one day and then before I know it, a week's gone by and I haven't posted anything!! I think I need to learn how to use that "schedule" button down there!!!

Anyway, here's a long overdue project I've been meaning to share with you all for several weeks now. I was very excited to be the featured Hybrid Artist for the DST Insider (the digital magazine for DigiShopTalk) this month and this is the project I created for my tutorial. If you're a member of DST, you can download your copy of the Insider and read the tutorial on how to create this fun home decor project!! It was super easy and I just LOVE how it tured out!!
My amazing MIL hand-cut & sanded the letters out of scrap pine and I gave them a quick once-over with white acrylic paint. I printed some digi papers from Love Shack by Libby Weifenbach (Sweet Shoppe Designs), cut them out and glued to the front of each letter with Mod Podge. I added some digital and physical embellishments and sponged some paint around the edges of the letters for a shabby look. Isn't it cute!?!?
I had intended for this project to be Valentine's decor, but the colors in this kit are so great and it turned out so rad that I think I'll keep it out awhile longer...what do you think?