Valentine's Card with Simple Stories Love and Adore

Happy Valentine's Day!  I've got a cute card up on the FotoBella blog today, which includes a tutorial using Simple Stories Love and Adore Collection.

Hope you'll pop over there and check it out!

Have a great day!  

Well Hello!  I know this may be shocking you right now, a new blog post popping up on my blog today?!? I know, I know, I've been MIA!  But trust me, with good reason!  The last half of 2016 was spent designing and making page kits for FotoBella as well as my husband and I deciding to sell our house to buy a new one that better suited our families needs and well, move in December, just before Christmas!  Now, wouldn't you know it's February already and Valentine's Day is right around the corner!?!

I'm so happy to say that I'm back at the crafting table, in my new craft studio (hooray!) and designing projects for FotoBella :)  Today it's with the fabulous Simple Stories Love & Adore collection which can be found at FotoBella.com and is just the right collection to inspire some "love"ly crafts!

I've got a confession, every year around this time, the dollar spot at Target has these cute little tin mailboxes, and every year I buy some....and this is year I finally use them in a project!  I'm sure many of you can relate :)  For this project I'm using the Simple Stories Love & Adore collection to embellish a turquoise and white mailbox.

This is really a fast and easy project and just so cute!  Perfect for the kiddos to take to school for their Valentine exchange or to tuck a few Valentine goodies of your own to give as gifts.

To start, I cut a piece of "So Happy Together" paper and "Elements" Paper that measures 12"x4" so that it would wrap around the body of the mailbox.  It really fits perfectly, but one thing worth mentioning is that you do have to cut a notch out so that the flag on the mailbox is not covered up and moves properly.

For the embellishments, I sorted through the Card Stock Die Cut Ephemera Bits and Pieces. The sizes of these pieces are just right for this project and there are lots of pieces to choose from.  I layered them up and added a few enamel dots and some twine.  It really is that simple, but that's what make working with Simple Stories products so awesome :)  Find them here at FotoBella.com

So happy to share my first design team project for the year with you!  Looking forward to many more!

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Patriotic Pinwheels with We R Memory Keepers

Happy Fourth of July!!  I've popped in to the blog today to share a quick and fun patriotic project using We R Memory Keepers Pinwheel Punch Board. It's a great way to come up with some fun decor in a snap.  The punch board is really easy to use.  Cut your paper in a square anywhere from 3" to 12", punch the corners with the punch in the top right hand corner of the board.  Then you line up your paper according to the size guides so that you can cut the slits that allow you to fold over the pinwheel pieces.  The secure the pinwheel, use a brad in the center.  

The pinwheels can be attached to a stick and spinner also made by We R Memory Keepers http://www.fotobella.com/We-R-Memory-Keepers-Pinwheel-Attachments_p_45249.html

I attached my to an adhesive foam board so that I can use it as a back drop.  

The paper I sued is from my scrap stash.  Some of the brand paper is Doodlebug, Simple Stories and My Mind's Eye Necessities paper pack.  Be sure to visit Fotobella.com for some shopping this weekend so you don't miss out on the 4th of July 20% off sale!  

Have a safe and fun holiday!  

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Seas the Day with My Mind's Eye layout

Hello there, I'm finally back!  outAnd today I've got a beautiful beach layout made with My Mind's Eye By The Sea I Want it All Bundle.  This bundle is great for vacation, beach and any summer photos you may have.  In this layout, you'll find some fun layering a great way to layer photos to create a panoramic look.  

Do you ever find that you've got duplicate photos of the same shot?  And do you ever accidentally print out more than one of those photos and then you're wondering why did I do that?!?   Well it happens to me sometimes, and here's a good way to use that duplicate photo.  

Use the duplicate photos side by side, and layer a different photo over the center of them to create what looks like a panoramic photo behind it.  The cool thing about this is your aren't actually missing any part of the picture by covering it up with the photo in the middle.  This is because you are covering up the part of the photo that was duplicated.  To add some dimension to the layout, I backed the 4"x 6" photo in the center with chipboard so that it sits up off the page.  

I really love the colors in the By The Sea Collection.  It works well with beach photos and just portrays such a calm and relaxing feeling, don't you think?  All the patterned paper you see in this layout, came from the 6"x 6" paper pad and all were cut in half to make 3"x3" strips.  

The alpha stickers in this collection are a fun silver color!  

You'll find the same silver accents in various embellishments, such as the journal cards and the anchor.  I added the dots with a Navy journaling pen around the page to give it some more details.  I think you'll really love the My Mind's Eye By The Sea Collection.  Visit FotoBella.com to check out all the fun goodies included in the I Want It All Bundle.  

Thanks for stopping by today and have a fabulous day!

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SVG Attic Birthday Bash Blog Hop

Welcome to the SVG Attic Birthday Bash blog hop! We are celebrating our second year with SnapDragon Snippets, so we decided to throw a blog hop.  We are so excited to have you join us today!

At each stop of the hop we hope you will be inspired by the creativity of SVG Attic's Inspiration Team AND their Guest Design Team. You are sure to find many wonderful projects that will be at the top of your crafting lists!

You should be arriving from Angeline's blog. If you happened across this post out of order, please head to the SVG Attic blog to start at the beginning of the hop.

Here is what I created for the hop:

My son's 7th birthday was just yesterday, the 19th.  He asked me to make goodies for him to take to school to share with his class.  So we made yummy treasure chest goodies, chocolate cake topped with a gold coin.  To make the bag toppers I used the Treasure Map, Skull from the Pirate Flag and put it on the medallion.

I also made a birthday party invitation using the Treasure Map cut file.  The treasure chest, skull & crossbones, & pirate ship are all from SVG Attic and made such cute embellishments for the invitation.  I hand cut the Islands, added a couple of gold sequins to look like gold coins and a few sea waves with blue stickles for the final touch.    

Supplies:  Fancy Pants Down By the Shore, American Craft Card stock: white, black, light & dark brown, gold sequins, blue stickles, palm tree confetti, Xyron Mega Runner & Xyron 900, glue dots, brown ink.

              Great news!  We are having a sale over at SVG Attic.  Most files are 50% off.

Now how about some blog hop prizes??

2- $15 Gift Certificates to SVG Attic

What do you need to do to be eligible for these amazing prizes?
1. Become a follower and/or email subscriber of each blog in the hop.
2. Leave some comment love at each stop. You can do so until midnight on Sunday, February 21st to be eligible for the prizes.
3. If you do both of the above, check back at the SVG Attic blog for the winners on Tuesday, February 23rd.

We would also love it if you would stop by the SVG Attic Facebook page and give us a "Like"!

Here is the complete blog hop lineup:

SVG Attic blog

Cyndy
Sonja 

Christi

Angeline
Apryl (You are here!)

Jodi  (Go here NEXT!)
Migdalia

Tanya

Lisa

Tracy
Beth 

I hope you have enjoyed this stop on our hop! Be sure to head on over to the other stops for more birthday inspiration. Comment and become a follower to be eligible for the prizes!

Paper Weave card tutorial with Basic Grey Sun Kissed

Ok, so when's the last time you may have done paper weaving?  I'm up on the FotoBella blog with my latest design team project and tutorial on how to make a card, weaving paper.  The collection featured is Basic Grey Sun Kissed from Fotobella.com.  

You can make this too!  Visit FotoBella.com for your Basic Grey Sun Kissed supplies and follow this tutorial.

Supplies:  Basic Grey Sun Kissed Collection

Paper:  Cadence, Wildflower, Droplet, Wingspan; Title Sticker Sheet, Die Cuts, Black & White Card Stock

Tools: 

·       Dark Brown Ink

·       Scissors

·       Ruler

·       Stickles

·       Adhesive

·       Scallop Circle Punch 2 ½”

·       Circle punch 2 ¼” 

1.  Cut strips of paper approx. ¼” wide by 12” long.

2.  Cut the 12” strips in half so that they measure 6”.   

3.  For the base of the card, cut a piece of white cardstock so it measures 8” wide and 12” long. 

4.  Fold the card stock in half so that the face of the card measures 4” wide and 6” long. 

5.  Line up the strips of paper vertically along the face of the card in the pattern that you like.

6.  Holding the bottom of the strips with one hand begin weaving the first strip along the top, horizontally.  The weaving is done by going under one strip and then over the next, repeating the pattern across the strips of paper, until the end.

7.  The second strip should be woven in the opposite pattern than the first strip (ie:  over, under, over under..)  Once the first couple horizontal strips are woven in, place a ruler to hold the top while weaving in the rest of the paper strips.       

8.  Continue weaving the paper all the way to the bottom of the card, adjusting the spacing and alternating paper patterns along the way. 

9.  Based on the spacing I had 8 vertical strips of paper and 13 horizontal strips.  This will vary based on how tight you space and weave the paper.  The goal is to cover the whole face of the card. 

10.  Flip over the weaved paper and apply glue back and forth across the rows of paper.       

11.  Adhere the weaved paper to the front of the card. Line it up so all the edges line up with the base of the card, The horizontal strips will hang over on both sides and need to be trimmed down.    

12.  Flip the card over and cleanly trim off the excess paper strips, using scissors and following the edge of the white cardstock.   

13.  Once the edges are trimmed this is what the front of the card should look like.    

14.  Go around the edges and glue down any strips that are loose.  You want everything completely glued down to the card base.   

15.  Punch a 2 1/2” scallop circle out of black card  stock and a 2 ¼” circle out of white card stock.                                     

16.  Layer the white circle on top of the black scallop.  Place the pink vellum die cut on top of the white card stock. 

17.  What it should look like with all the shapes layered.

18.  Select the Triangle Sticker from the Title StickerSheet with the sentiment “U Are Simply Wonderful” and layer on to the white cardstock. 

19.  Using Black Diamond and Silver stickles, embellish the die cut and the scallop circle.

And drumroll please....

Have a fabulous day!  

It's a Vacation Countdown Calendar

Hello I've got another fun project for the SVG Attic Guest Design Team!  I call it the Vacation Countdown Calendar.  It's the Christmas Advent Calendar made over!  This is a fun way for the family to do a vacation destination reveal by hiding hints in the calendar each day, or a way for each family member to share what they want to do and see while on the trip.  

The advent calendar design is from the Christmas Advent Calendar kit and instead of using the Christmas tree and packages in the center shadow box portion, I used the SDS Paris Voyage kit.  The suitcase, Effiel Tower, and cruise ship are in this kit along with "journey", "dream" and "bon voyage". 

This was really fun to put together.  The paper is a combination of Basic Grey's Wander collection and Little Yellow Bicycle's The Escape Collection.  There were some great embellishments from these collections that I incorporated into the calendar:  clouds, airplane, camera, advent drawer numbers.  

Most kids LOVE advents and mine are dying to use this one!  They can't wait for us to plan our next vacation just so they can use this countdown calendar.

If you are looking for something different and fun to do, this is a project for you!  

Bon Voyage!