Making Laundry Easier (and Prettier)

Hi everyone!  I've got a fun project to share with you today that has a purpose.  We are trying to get the kids more involved in the chores around the house.  Previously they had been just piling all the laundry on the floor in the laundry room and leaving me to deal with it.  Well I have told them now that they need to sort it out.  I made some signs using the Half Bracket Chipboard Banners from Fancy Pants Designs to hang on the baskets so the kids know what goes where.  

I used the fabulous Time For Spring collection from Fancy Pants for my laundry banners.  

Here's how I did it:

1.  First I covered my chipboard banners with some of my favorite pieces of paper, and cut them out.  

2.  I painted on some gesso in the center of my banner pieces, and added some splatters as well.  You can use white paint instead of gesso.

3.  I glued some burlap to the back of my pieces.

4.  I took the letter stickers and added the labels (colors, whites, delicates, towels) that we use to each piece.

5.  I then added a crackle texture technique from Helmar.  It is painted over the whole piece including the letters.  It helps keep everything securely on (so no missing letters later) but it's also just a cool look!  I added a bit of pink ink to the cracks.  

6.  Then I decorated each banner piece using strips of papers, flowers, stitching and ribbon.  

7.  Then I added them with ribbon to my baskets.  :)  

And here's a tip for you.  These banners came with a bit of ribbon but it didn't have enough for this particular project.  I looked for ribbon that I had that was similar in color, but I didn't have any.  But I did have some fabric (it was actually canvas fabric), so I just cut a strip and used it as ribbon.  You can do this with any fabric.  :)  

Of course, you can make this a quicker, simpler project by skipping some of my steps, but anybody can do this fun project!  I am thinking of doing more projects for my laundry now with the collection to match these.  :)

Thanks for stopping by the blog today!!  Have a wonderful day!

Texture Texture Texture

I love texture!

Today I am sharing a layout that has a whole bunch of it.

The papers are all from the wonderful My Private Happiness collection from The ScrapCake.

This layout is actually full of "mistakes".  I had cut that white background with my Cameo the other day, and it was supposed to be a full 12 x 12 background.  But then I ripped it.  So I cut it down and used it on this one.  There was some stuff on the back of it...like markings and slight tears, but it was on the back, so it didn't matter.  So I sprayed it with my Helmar v2 Adhesive spray to adhere it to my layout.  Then I discovered I sprayed the up side!  So I poured some glitter over the top.  See what I mean?  Then I messed up my journaling and had to cut that part off and add a new strip of white behind it.  I tell you....it was just one error after another.

But I am very happy with how it turned out.  Funny how that happens.  :)

Those awesome fancy white leaves are from Prima and the twine is from The Twinery.

Here are some close up's:

Funny thing is...I showed Eryn this layout and she didn't think anything of her facial expressions or anything, she just said "look, I'm a princess!"  LOL...when she gets older she may not like this layout as much.  :)

Well thanks so much for stopping by!  Don't forget about my giveaway here.  I will draw a winner for it tomorrow.  

Have a wonderful day!!!

Stickers and Glue.

Hi everyone! Thanks for stopping in!

Today I have a layout to share with you, but first I wanted to discuss something with you...stickers. I used to shy away from them, thinking they were too "old fashioned". But now I find myself using them over and over again on my layouts and projects. I like them thicker, and then they can be used instead of fussy cutting something out of paper or even instead of chipboard. What do you all think of stickers? Do you use them often?

On my layout that I am sharing today, I popped the stickers up with some Liquid Scrap Dots from Helmar. LOVE that stuff! And I really like the 3D look it gives to the stickers. It comes in a squeeze bottle and looks like this:

I know you can buy it here at Two Peas or here at Scrap-Tastic. I prefer to use this versus the foam dots many companies have because you can vary the height a lot easier (just add a little, or pop it up a lot) and it works very well. It does take longer to dry though, so I usually do this last, and allow to dry overnight. But I seriously always have to have an extra tube on hand in case I run out. I use it a lot.

Anyways....so here's my layout:

This layout uses the fantastically fun Life of the Party collection from BasicGrey! I am so lovin' this collection lately, definitely a favorite for me. :)

Here are some close up's of my layout:

I did use more adhesive from Helmar to put the rest of the layout together, I used the 450 Quick Dry Adhesive. This is what I use for most of my projects. It works like a charm and never wrinkles or warps my papers. :)

It had been a little while since I talked about adhesive, so I wanted to mention it again. :) I know there are lots of adhesives out there, but I will probably always be a Helmar girl. Which adhesive do you prefer? Seriously, shout it out!

Have a fantastic day!

Choosing Hope

So, as you may or may not know...my life has been really difficult lately. And sometimes it get's a bit tough to have hope. I believe that hope is a choice...you have to choose to have hope...to believe that things will get better, easier...to believe that there is purpose behind it all. It's a tough thing to do sometimes. Just keepin' it real. Sometimes, it's easy to get swept into depression...to get swept into the "why me?" attitude.

I made this to hang in my bedroom, as a constant reminder:

First of all, for some reason it photographed a lot SHINIER than how it looks in real life. So picture it a tad less shiny. Second, this is HUGE! It was a 24" x 24" wood piece from Say It With Letters.

I first sprayed it with brown spray paint. Then I covered it with Crackle Medium from Helmar. My Helmar stash is growing very small. :( I emptied my Crackle Medium with this huge project...don't know what I am going to do when all my Helmar stash is gone. I also used Premium Craft Glue and Liquid Scrap Dots from Helmar to adhere everything down.

And then after my Crackle had dried I sprayed Glimmer Mist over it and wiped it off...so it filled the cracks and helped them stand out a bit more...adding a bit of shimmer to my project.

Then I added my papers and elements. All the papers, die cuts, buttons and chipboard are from Crate Paper. Then I added two flowers from Prima.

Here are some close up's:

Those letters (spelling "Hope") are printed (Font is Cooper STD Black) on paper and cut out. The "Choose" is handwritten using 3D paint.

So, I hope this will serve as a reminder in my dark days that I always have a choice. I can choose to dwell in sadness, or choose to have hope. I choose hope.

Have a wonderful day!

Thinking Cold. (plus need ideas!)

Ok...I enjoy summer, I do, but I'm already ready for it to be over. I don't necessarily long for the snow...but I would be ok with some cooler days. Maybe I'm weird. And maybe that's ok. :)

So, I don't scrap in order. When I let go of that several years ago, it was such a freeing concept. I scrapped what I wanted, when I wanted. And the other day I was looking through my chipboard stash and saw the snowflakes and knew I wanted to use them and make a winter layout. When I looked through my pictures for some snow pictures I found a couple that I had completely forgot about. I do that often. And Hayden LOVES this picture, he is very proud of his snow booger. So I smiled and I scrapped, remembering that day where we played in the snow and I took this picture.

The papers, die cut frame, stickers and trims are all from My Mind's Eye. The fabulous chipboard is from Magistical Memories. I used two of the Snow Flurries pieces, and one of the Instant Frames.

That bottom snowflake is sprayed with Glimmer Mist and then covered with Helmar's Crackle technique. (The same could be said of the chipboard frame.) The top snowflake is sprayed with white Glimmer Mist. And that brad in the center is from My Mind's Eye.

Those letter stickers ("Snow") are from October Afternoon and the "Lovely" chipboard letters are from My Little Shoebox. Those awesome trims (including zipper), as already mentioned are from My Mind's Eye.

I did use adhesive from Helmar to put the whole thing together. I used their 450 Quick Dry adhesive.

So I've been canning a bunch lately. And eating a ton of food from our garden. We have an abundance of zucchinis and squash. Anybody got any good recipes for those? I've done vegetable lasagna and have been throwing them in casseroles. Also served some plain with chicken and some in a salad. Canned some zucchini relish. Oh and we have made a bunch of zucchini bread too! What else can I do? Anybody? I need some new ideas. The boys are really getting sick of them.

Wishing you a FANTASTIC Monday!!!! :)

Capture the Memories.

I will never stop capturing the memories. It's my life motto. :)

I created this to hang on the wall awhile ago...just hadn't post it yet. I'm trying to catch up on a few things this month.

I used adhesive from Helmar and cardstock, chipboard, paper and letters from American Crafts. The frame was an old frame I had lying around. I painted it white, but only a thin coat so some of the dark came through.

Here are some close up's:

Ok...well next week will be chalked FULL of new stuff I made and new product for CHA!!! Hope you stop in!

Summer in Maine and Autumn on Paper

Hi everyone! I just got back from my vacation to Maine! It's was such a nice and relaxing vacation. But I am happy to be back. Here are a few photos to share with you. I actually haven't edited anything or even loaded the pics on my computer yet. These are some I posted on facebook.

First up, the lobster...

There's a Lobster Pound pretty much on every corner! We also passed a ton of Antique stores, Art Gallery's and Craft stops. People would open up one of these in the house...using the garages or front rooms. SUCH a different lifestyle then here in Colorado.

We spent a full day visiting lighthouses. I really loved that. Here's one picture:

And then we also spent a day whale watching. There was a ton of whales!

Unfortunately the first whale we came across was not alive. I won't share pictures of that one, but it was really sad. They said that hardly ever happens and had to call it in to the Coast Guard to come check it out to find out why it died.

Sadly, I did get very sea sick. :(

And the food in Bar Harbor was all fabulous! There was a ton of blueberries, which I guess Maine is famous for. I don't usually love blueberries but I did these! Here's my favorite thing we ate. It should be no surprise that it is a desert. :)

This is literally a chocolate bag full of mooses, cookies, strawberries and blueberries. It was amazing! I would go back just for this.

If I can find time to sit down and go through my 600 photos and edit some then I will share some more. :)

I now have to go into pre-CHA mode and whip out a bunch of layouts and projects using the awesome new lines for CHA. I know, I'm lucky!

Here's a couple things I already did with the new Autumn Splendor collection from We R Memory Keepers. First up, a layout...

I LOVE this line! It's just gorgeous! Of course, it helps that Fall is my favorite season. :) I used adhesive from Helmar to put my projects together...mostly the 450 Quick Dry adhesive, but also some of the Liquid Scrap Dots. Here are some close up's:

*tip: Ever make a mistake in your journaling? I do...a lot. Here I was writing on my journaling spot and accidently wrote the wrong name! I was thinking of something else entirely. So instead of scrapping the awesome journaling spot, I painted over it and then tried again. :) And you probably wouldn't have known had I not told you. :)

I created the up's and down's in my banner by using the Liquid Scrap Dots from Helmar...they work perfectly for this!

I so love that airplane. :)

And now we move on to a very simply, easy card...

I simply used scraps and cut them all the same size for my background and then that "Simply Thankful" is layered chipboard. Added twill and I was done! :)

So I guess we had some storms while we were gone.

This is what we came home to:

The car was parked at my in-laws, and they actually took this picture. Thankfully the car was NOT hit. It was crazy close.

Ok...have a wonderful day everyone!!!!