Scrapbook Steals Feature!

**Please click HERE if you are looking for my Paper Girls Challenge Post!**

Good morning!  Today I have the pleasure of being featured over at the ScrapbookSteals blog!  I got to play with today's steal, which are super fun Kaisercraft Beyond the Page signs.  I got to play with the #relax and #me signs.

For the first one, I wanted to make a decor piece for my craft room.  I tend to take life a little too seriously at times, so this would be the perfect reminder to just take a step back and breathe.  I decided to paint it with a teal color, then go over it with white, then distress it.

Instead of just painting over the teal with the white, I decided to try a crackle finish using plain 'ol Elmers glue.  I didn't put a thick enough coat on, though, so the crackle wasn't as obvious as I would have liked.  Once the whole thing was dry, I took a fine sand paper and hand distressed some of the front and edges.  When I was finished, I tied a bit of burlap string to the pound sign.  You know how if you want to remember something, you tie a string around your finger?  That was the effect I was going for with the burlap string.  So in essence, this sign says "Remember to Relax."  :)

For the second sign, I thought it would be fun to show all of the things that make me, me.  My family, friends and hobby all add happiness to my life, so I wanted to make them the stars of this project.

To get the tiny pictures, I created three different collages in Picasa, then sized them to 4x6.  Once I had those printed, I cut the pictures out of the printed 4x6 photos.  It took about 50 pictures to cover the front of this sign.

I used Mod Podge to adhere the pictures to the sign.  Once they were dry, I used an exacto knife to cut around the edges of the sign.  That way, nothing had to be too perfect when I put it on, because the edges were going to get cut off anyway.  I also used a little sander to sand some of the corners where the knife wouldn't reach.  Then I covered the entire front with more Mod Podge to seal everything and prevent the pictures from falling off.

I love how this turned out.  I can see my girls, my family, my friends and even some of my favorite crafty projects when I look at this.  My heart is full.  <3 p="">   
Thanks for stopping by today!

Until next time...

Scrapbook Steals Blog Hop Time!

Happy Friday!  Hope you're having fun while hopping along on the Scrapbooksteals.com blog hop!  You should have come to me via Abbey Colbert's blog, but if you didn't, head over to ScrapbookSteals' blog to get started!  Here's the blog roll if you get lost along the way:

Venetia Holbrook
Lisa Kitzke
Michelle Cunningham
Abbey Colbert
Cristine Redmond < - You are here!
Staci Jones

Today everyone on the hop is featuring 7 Gypsies Vintage ATCs.  These things are so versatile, as I am sure you are finding out from all of the talented ladies on the hop!  For my first project, I decided to use mine as a journaling section for a layout.  Here's the layout:

 

When I found this picture in my stash, I knew I wanted to tell the back story of it.  This picture was taken by my best friend, who had moved in with me while my husband was away on his first deployment to Iraq.  On the journaling card, I decided to write what I would have told the girl in the picture.  We were newly married with no kids, so it was hard to think past the deployment and imagine what our future together might look like.  Here's my journaling:

 

 

I also wanted to accent the page with some clouds because even though it was a very heavy time in our lives, it was filled with so much love.  Distance really did make the heart grow fonder in our case. 

For my second project, I decided to make a card, using one of the ATCs as part of the background.  This black ATC was perfect to do some chalkboard doodle art on and to make the washi pennants stand out a bit more.  

That is all for now!  Thank you for taking the time to stop by and check out my work!!  I would love to give away a sampling of the ATCs I used!  To enter, become a follower of my blog and leave me a comment telling me you did so.  This giveaway ends Sunday, August 4th at midnight CST.  I will draw a winner on Monday, August 5th! 

Now hop along over to the amazingly talented Staci Jones' blog! 

Until next time...


 

Happy Birthday, Scrapbook Steals!

I have made no secret of the fact that I have been gladly donating grocery funds to a loyal customer of Scrapbook Steals for a very long time.  I first came across their site in December of 2009 and never looked back.  I have made some great friends and met wonderful people who continue to inspire me in my craft through Scrapbook Steals and I will be forever grateful for that.

This is why I am excited to be a part of Scrapbook Steals' 4th birthday celebration by participating in this blog hop.  The ladies and I who are participating are showing you all our interpretations of the online crop challenges.  You should have come here from Cathy Caines' blog, but if not, follow the link below to go back to the beginning.

Cathy Caines

>>> Cristine Redmond <<<

Venetia Holbrook

Cyndee Kawa

Heather Conklin

Van Nguyen

Staci Jones

Charissa Miller

Brenda Smith

Erin Colby

Erica Bass

Kristy Lee

There will be prizes associated with each challenge on the blog and you have until Wednesday, July 17th at midnight (MT) to link up!

Now on to the fun stuff!  Here are the projects I created for the crop challenges...

Challenge 1 - Happy 4th Birthday (use 4 items):

 

This challenge was a lot harder than I thought it would be!  I never stop to count how many scrappy items I use when I create, so when it came time to pick letters for titles or basic embellishments, those numbers really started to add up fast!  I decided to use my Silhouette to cut the title, therefore eliminating the need for alpha stickers.  Here are the four things I used:  patterned paper, kraft paper, wood veneer and glitter glue.  I love how this turned out because even though I only used four things, it doesn't look like it needs anything else.

Challenge 2 - 2009:

My favorite part of 2009 was when we welcomed our daughter into our family, therefore completing our family.  I used Echo Park's Sunny Day collection as well as washi from My Mind's Eye and We R Memory keepers...all stolen from SS.  Of course.  :)

Challenge 3 - Favorite Vendor:

Scrapbook Steals always has amazing steals and the vendors used in this layout have all been offered on SS at one time or another.  Echo Park (this layout uses their Now and Then collection - LOVE!!), American Crafts (used Thickers and Amy Tangerine background paper here, varieties of both have been on SS), The Twinery (yep, been on SS before), My Mind's Eye (used enamel dots and washi on the layout... my love for MME started with SS) and Studio Calico (wood veneer).  The only other things I used on this layout that haven't been on SS are the button (Stampin' Up) and staples (Tim Holtz).  All I can say to that is WOW!

Challenge 4 - Washi Fever:

I have way too much washi to count.  Well, I lied.  I have counted them a time or two and let's just say I have a lot.  :)  So to narrow it down to only use four on this card was a challenge in and of itself, but I like what I chose to create this card.  It's for my younger brother who will be turning 30 next month.  He's a boy and boys don't always appreciate the time or effort put into crafty things, so I decided to go simple and just cut the sentiment into the card with my Silhouette, then back it with another layer of washi-covered cardstock.  Turned out kind of trippy with all of the patterns, but I like the effect.

I hope you had fun looking at all of my projects!  It's been a great three years and seven months as a Scrapbook Steals customer and I look forward to many, many more!  Enjoy the rest of the hop as you venture on to the seriously talented Venetia's blog!

I Love A Tool...

As my title states, I love a tool.  And no, I am not referring to my husband...although some days I might beg to differ.  :)  I did a tutorial over on Scrapbooksteals.com (my go-to place for scrapbooking supplies, as you all already know) using this tool of my heart...the We R Memory Keepers Brad Setter.

Here is a little teaser picture of the project I created with my biggie:

 
Interested to see the rest?  Good!  Now go over to Scrapbooksteals.com's blog to see the rest...and go steal today's awesome steal while it's fresh in your brain.  :)

Until next time...

Hopping Along With Scrapbook Steals!

Hello, hello! Welcome to my blog! You should have gotten here from Amber's page. If this is the first you're hearing of the hop, be sure to go back to ScrapbookSteals' blog and start from the beginning! Make sure you comment at each blog to help your chances of winning a spectacular prize...a $20 gift certificate which will be rewarded to a person randomly picked from one of the blogs!! You have until Monday, March 12th at 11:59 pm, MST to enter your comments.

Here is the line up just in case you get lost (click on the person's name to go to the blog):

Scrapbook Steals
Kristy MacKeen
Staci Jones
Amber Sheaves
Cristine Redmond <-- You are here!
Venetia Holbrook
Charity Becker
Van Nguyen

Now, on to the important stuff. :) Name one thing - okay, maybe two things - that are in your scrappy stash that you can never have too many of. Buttons and brads, right? No matter how big our stashes get, we always have room for more. That is why I was excited that today's blog hop was going to be featuring Basic Grey's buttons and brads. About 95 % of my button and brad collection is from Basic Grey. Their collections are just the best!

The first project I completed just SCREAMS Scrapbook Steals. Alright, not literally, but I got about 98% of the things on the page from them, so it screams SS to me. :) Here is a layout I created with Echo Park's new This and That Charming collection:

One of my favorite things to do with buttons is decorate them with twine. It dresses them up a bit.

I used a couple of brads to "hold up" the banner by my title and I am so happy with the way that turned out. I never know what to do at the ends of my banners, but now I have a new trick! Just stick a brad on each end and that's it! So cute!

I decided to create another project to show you a different way to use buttons. (I can not take credit for this idea...I got it off Pinterest. LOVE that site for inspiration.)

I made a simple card by adhering the buttons in a rainbow formation. I just added some cute clouds (I distressed the edges to make them look more fluffy), a stamped sentiment and some doodles around the edge and that's it! SUPER simple!

I'm so glad you stopped by my blog today! I love to get new followers, so be sure to follow me to see what other created projects I have up my sleeves!

Next stop on the hop is Venetia Holbrook!

Scrapbooksteals and Authentique...together again.

Hello friends! I know I have mentioned this MANY times before, but for my new readers who might be in the dark...I. Love. Scrapbooksteals.com. I stumbled upon their site just over two years ago and I've been a loyal stealer ever since (much to my husband's dismay). :) They are my go-to place for scrapbooking supplies and even more so for inspiration.

Today Scrapbooksteals.com is featuring Authentique's Journey collection as their steal! AND not only that, today the Authentique Design Team is taking part in the MCM (Monday Card Madness)!

Here is today's sketch:

And here is my interpretation:

This collection is completely versatile. It can be used on anything from baby boy pages/cards to snow pages/cards...and everything in between!

I hope you'll all go over to Scrapbooksteals.com's blog today and check out all of the other Design Team members' interpretations of the sketch!

Until next time...

My two favorite things!

Happy Friday, everyone! If you've been following me since the beginning (whenever that was!), you know that I am a HUGE fan of scrapbooksteals.com. I've been avidly stealing their amazing products since December 2009 and have made many life-long friends through their facebook page.

Well, as an Authentique design team member, it makes my heart happy to know that you will be able to steal some Uncommon goodies on their website today! Hooray! If you've been having a hard time finding Authentique or are a thrifty buyer and won't spend full price on anything, then you HAVE to check them out today! Also, check out their blog today to see some examples of projects the design team has made with this collection!

Happy Stealing!