I'm still here! I promise!!

Hello friends! I'm sorry I've been MIA a lot lately! It seems like ever since Christmas passed us by, things have gotten a little hectic around here. (Isn't that supposed to STOP once Christmas is over??) Both of my girls were sick one right after the other and the past week or so I've been busy making some projects for Authentique to take to CHA. That, folks, is pretty exciting for this scrappy novice! =) I hope to be able to show you all some of my projects in the near future, but for now, I'll show you a Christmas project I did using Authentique's Wonder collection.

I found a naked wood block set at my local big box store and decided to give it a whirl. I'd never attempted to do anything like this before and there's a first time for everything, right?

I started by tracing the letters on to the paper I wanted to use and then cut them out. I also cut out the papers that I would be putting on the blocks. I used my Xyron X sticker maker to adhere everything to their respective wooden piece.

The papers on the blocks overlapped, so I used some sand paper to file it down on all of the edges/corners.

Then I used a Colorbox Chalk cat's eye ink pad (in Chestnut Roan) on the edges of the blocks and letters.

I glued the letters to the blocks, added some buttons and floss and VOILA! My project was complete!

For being a first timer at doing something like this, I'm pretty excited about the outcome. Not to mention, this is the first project that made some sort of ripple in the waters of the craft world...Xyron featured this on their facebook page and it can even be found on Pinterest as pinned by Scrapbook and Cards Today magazine. I have to say, I was pretty psyched about that. =)

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend! I will be back soon with some cute layouts!

A Splendid Photo Display...

Hello friends! It is January 4th...am I the only one in disbelief? It seems like just yesterday was Halloween and somehow Thanksgiving and Christmas have zoomed past us. Where does the time go? In any event, I hope you all had a safe and happy holiday season.

Moving right along, I am featured today over on Authentique's blog. I created this cute frame:

Be sure to head over to their blog to see the tutorial! Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!

The 80s are BACK!!

Hello all! Hope you are having fun hopping along on the Back to the 80s Birthday Blog Hop! If this is the first you've heard of it, go back to Emily (the birthday girl's) blog for all of the details!!

The 80s seem like such a long time ago, but also seem like just yesterday. My earliest memories are from the 80s...everything from the toys to the clothes stick out in my mind. The strange thing is, a lot of what I had, saw or experienced in the 80s are BACK! Guess I grew up in a pretty cool decade. :)

This is a picture of me from about 1985-ish.

Anyway, for my project I decided to scrap a picture that was taken of a friend and I back in 1985. I had just moved from Colorado to Arizona with my family and was going to be going to Disneyworld with my best friend from Colorado and her family. I flew - SOLO - from AZ to CO, then on to Florida with my friend and her family. The picture in my layout was taken at the airport in Denver before we left on our amazing adventure. The things that scream "HELLOOO 80s" in this picture are what my friend and I are holding: a Rainbow Brite doll complete with Sprite sidekick (me) and a Cabbage Patch Kid (my friend). Doesn't get more 80s than that, folks. :)


I used Echo Park's Little Girl line for this layout because the colors and patterns seemed very appropriate for a layout about the 80s. It was a very colorful decade, that's for sure.


I also decided to turn my picture into a polaroid-like picture as part of the throw-back theme.

I have to say, creating a layout to go with this picture was really fun. The memories of all of my 80s toys took me back to a happy place, which is something I needed after the last few days I've had.

Don't forget to post on all of the blogs along the hop because as Emily's post stated, there will be some FUN prizes given away! Have fun hopping!

The next stop on the hop is Heather!

Here's the blog line up in case you get lost along the way:

Emily
Lisa
Abby
Candace
Nicole
Julie Ranae
Stephanie
Tanya
Candace
Elizabeth
Angelica
Michelle
Erin
Sarah
Dawn
Kathy
Jeannie
Cristine <-- You are here!
Heather

Mojo Time!

Forgive me for slacking on the posting front! Seems I've been doing a lot of napping during my girls' nap time lately, which is usually when I get crafty and/or update my blog!

I've been creating a scrapbook for my brother, which is just of pictures of his dog, Divitt. Divitt has a cancerous tumor in his back leg and probably won't be around much longer, so my mom thought that it might be special to give my brother a scrapbook for Christmas that has pictures of his beloved dog. I created the first page this past Wednesday, which also happened to be Scrapbooksteals' Midweek Mojo day. I used the sketch to make the first page.

Here is the sketch:



And here is the layout:


Now I am completely aware that this layout is very bland and embellishment-free, but the way I see it...this is a scrapbook for a boy. How elaborate do I really need to get? :) I think he'd be happy if this was just a photo album with pictures...dressing each picture up is just an added bonus. :)

I hope by the time Christmas rolls around, my brother's heart will have healed enough to enjoy this scrapbook.

That's all for now! I'll be back soon with more craftiness!

Splendid...

Today I am featured over on Authentique's blog, so I thought I would show more about my layout here on my page. Now anyone who has followed me for some time knows that I tend to scrap better when I have a sketch or another layout to work off of. Well, just because I'm a DT member doesn't change this fact. :) I searched through the past Scrapbooksteals sketches by the fantastic Kristy Lee and came across one that would work perfectly for the picture I had.

Here's the sketch (MWM #35):


And here is the layout I created:


I have used this sketch in the past, but I have to admit that I like this layout MUCH better than the original one I created with the sketch. I love how the colors of the Splendid collection go so perfectly with the colors in the picture. And I made a couple flowers to match as well.

I know I'm tooting my own horn here, but I am so happy with the way this turned out. I created this for my best friend (who is in the picture with her daughter and her newest niece) and I really hope she enjoys it.

Thanks for stopping by! Until next time...

The Pinterest Card-Lifter Strikes Again!

Last time I posted, I shared a card I made using a card I pinned on Pinterest as inspiration. Well, I'm back with TWO more! The first two weeks of August are FILLED with family birthdays and anniversaries, so to say I've been making a lot of cards lately would be an understatement. Thank goodness I have a site like Pinterest to go to for inspiration!

Here is the first card I lifted...



And here is my version:



I think this turned out pretty cute. I made this for my father-in-law's birthday and he told me it was one of the best cards he's ever received...because it was hand made. Well, folks, any doubt I had about making cards is completely gone. Validation like that is all I needed to keep pushing me to make cards. :)

Here is the second card I lifted:



And here is my version:



I made this card for my mother-in-law. I love how I just happened to have buttons and twine that matched...I guess that's button hoarding at it's finest. :) My MIL loved this card, which again, was a nice validation. :)

That's all for now! I'll be back soon with more projects! Until then...

I'm a card-lifter!

Yep, I'm just going to go ahead and put it out there so no one can accuse me otherwise. I am a card-lifter. (For those of you who don't know what a card-lifter or a scraplifter is, it's someone who takes an inspiration card or layout and creates their own card or layout based as loosely or as strictly as the card or layout they're inspired by. I confused myself writing that, so I hope you get it!)

Today's card-lift insipration card comes straight to you via Pinterest! I have to tell you (since my husband certainly doesn't get it), Pinterest is an AMAZING outlet! Whether it's for creative inspiration, style lessons or just to pass time, Pinterest offers great ideas for anyone and everyone out there. Seriously.

Alright, enough of my rambling. Here's the card:



And here is my interpretation:



I love how the interpretation card uses scraps and various punches. It's simple, yet visually interesting. I tried to do the same thing for my mom's birthday card. I used a muted color palette and I love the way it turned out. I enjoyed trying something new, as far as using different edge punches on different sized scraps. I like the look and I'm sure I'll use it again.

That's all for now! Until next time...

A past project...

I was just looking through some of my past posts and I realized I forgot to post an altered piece that I created way back in May! I turned a double frame into a cute quote piece for my daughter's teacher on the last day of school. It was the first time I'd ever altered something and I was THRILLED with the way it turned out!

Here's the finished product:



I think it turned out really cute and Ms. Joy cried when my daughter gave it to her. :) I think I'm going to stock up on frames like this to use as end-of-the-year gifts for future teachers. Or just to make something cute for myself. :)