Mini Cooper layout and tutorial

 Can you believe it is almost August!?!  I have a sweet baby layout to share with you today that has a bonus to it!  I created a simple mini album to add to it so that I could get some extra pictures onto it.

 

You can see the little mini album on the bottom of the layout.  It could be used for extra photos as I did or you could use it to tell some stories that you don't want everyone to be reading.  I learned how to create this little album from Heidi Swapp at CHA this year! Here's some close ups of what the album looks like:

 

It didn't occur to me that pictures would be helpful in describing how to set this up until after I created it, so I created another one real quick using some other materials.  All you need to create this is 2 coordinating 6 X 12 cardstock papers, something to punch holes, and a  string to bind it with.

Fold one piece of the cardstock leaving one halfabout a halfinch longer.  

 

 Fold the other piece over that leaving about a half inch of extra length on that. 

Open up the pages and find the center seam.  You will punch your holes on this seam and bind it.  And that is it!  You can use this quick technique to create something to add to your layouts or even to make a quick mini album to giveaway!

I hope you've enjoyed this fun little idea as much as I enjoyed putting it together!

Supplies Used:

Cuddle & Coo Pyramid Pad PA 2385

Kaleidoscope Pyramid Pad

Baby Steps Paper Pad PK 2146

LC Fun Fonts Alphabet ST 5831

 

Quick Quotes Stowaway Card

Hi Quick Quotes fans!  Christine back today to share a card using goodies from the new Stowaway line as well as a super cool quote from the Bitty Vellum Travel Pack!

I just love the blue and brown combo in this line don't you?  I started with a cream colored cardstock for my base that is about 4 1/4" X 5 1/2".  I then added the dark turquoise layer and the striped layer.  I hand cut a banner from the brown polka dot paper and used a border punch on the light blue paper.  I attached my vellum quote to more cream cardstock and distressed the edges on that using Amaretto PowderPuff Chalking Ink.  Isn't that a fun quote?  I've never seen it before but loved it!  I embellished my vellum with some bakers twine and punched out hearts.  Lastly I drew some faux stitching for a border.  I think this will make a great card for a man or a dear friend!

Supplies Used
 Amaretto PowderPuff Chalking Ink
Stowaway Patterned Papers
Travel Itty Bitty Vellum Box Set

Quick Quotes Family Canvas

Hi Quick Quotes fans, Christine back with you today to highlight some more of the Stowaway line and some of the great canvas Quick Quotes offers.

I think for beginners canvas can be an intimidating medium.  I am a beginner so I did a lot of thinking and planning before I began this project.  I decided the first thing I would do is to create my background using some of the Powder Puff Inks.  Since Stowaway is full of blues I decided to mix and combine and layer blues until I got a match I was happy with!  I used a combination of Blue Moon, Tahiti, and Blue Hawaiian inks and had a blast experimenting.  One thing I found that made it easier was applying it with a sponge rather than the direct method...it allowed me a little more control over the blending.

I used pieces of patterned paper from the Stowaway line for my next layer, to cover my M, and mat my photo and vellum saying.  To break up all the blues I used brown patterned paper and tags.

I added a new Family Vellum Strip to describe the picture and embellished the whole thing with flourishes, flowers, and ribbon.  It was fun to play around and see where things worked and where they didn't and now I have a beautiful piece of art to add to our home!

Items Used:
Family Vellum Strip
Powder Puff Inks in Blue Hawaiian, Blue Moon, Tahiti, and Mocha
Stowaway
Beacon 3 in 1 glue
Brown Grossgrain Ribbon
Maya Road Flower
Craft Supply Chipboard, Flowers, and Flourishes

Make and Takes from CHA

I did a ton of Make and Takes....here's a start on them (:  If you are active in this industry I bet you'll be able to guess where some of these came from without even reading my write ups!  My favorite part about doing these was getting a glimpse into how the minds of the companies work...going beyond a normal simple card etc.  That plus just the brilliant inspiration provided!

This was a canvas piece from the Faber Castell booth.  I touched on this in my Day Two write up...I tried a lot on this.  If you are a regular here you are probably looking at this and thinking...whoa this is so not Christine!  I had fun playing and found some new things I would like to add to my stash playing with their products!

This was from the Scotch booth.  They had a bunch of make and takes..some with really long lines!  This is a mini gift bag, thus you see the post it notes inside of it, I will be making some of these and experimenting with ideas for other mini gift bags.  I got to try out their new .5 inch ATG with this one!

This was also from the Scotch booth.  It is a gift card holder.

I made this card at the Tombow booth

This was the first one I made and it was with Heidi Swapp walking me thru it!  It's a cute little mini album, I hope to share a tutorial on how to do something similar, it was a great quick technique!  I love the sticker that says "Choose Happy"

This is an awesome birthday card from Bella Blvd...I think it would be awesome adding pictures and making it into a sweet little card or even using it on a layout.

Last one for today, a sweet little card from Jillibean Soup

CHA Day 2

Day two was all about hitting the things I missed or didn't have time to hit the first day.  I realized after leaving on Tuesday that I had obviously missed a couple of aisles...including some of my favortites SRM stickers and Beacon Adhesives.  We llive a couple hours from the convention center so my hubby and I planned to stay the night up there and have a break from the kiddos...probably our last break for over a year with a new baby coming.  Here I am ready to take on Day Two!

The line was shorter today, but I think the crowds were heavier inside.  I decided to do that I wanted to do the Mod Podge make and take, simply because I am far from experienced with Mod Podge.  I have used it a little...but not much and I felt like this was a good chance to do so!

After that I headed for another booth that was major unfamiliar territory: Faber Castell.  I don't do a lot of mixed media...I think it looks amazing but I have never jumped into it.  At their booth I got to try out gelatos, stampers big brush pens, and water color pencils.  I created a really interesting banner...which I will share with you tomorrow.    Next up I made my way over to the Beacon Adhesives booth.  If you follow me, you know I am a HUGE fan of their 3 in 1 glue...so I was excited to chat with them!  They had a a fun make and take where you created a headband.  I made one for Lucy (: as I am not much of a headband girl.  

Right across the aisle was another favorite of mine SRM stickers.  If you aren't familiar with them, they make clear stickers.  Lots of sentiments but also lots of icons.  One of my favorite designers, Jamie Cripps, designs for them and I have loved following her journey.  I discovered them initially because they had a faith related line of stickers that weren't to gawdy, just simple sentiments like "God Bless You" and "Faith, Hope, and Love."  I got to do their make and take and chat with both the gal that designs the stickers and the owner Susan McShirley.  Spending time chatting with these wonderful ladies was another highlight for me, such kind and gracious women!  Again, this is another booth and company I have nothing but praise for!  Here's a shot of me and the lovely Susan!

My last bit of time was spent making sure I had done everything I wanted to.  My body was getting really tired...it was definitely time to get off my feet.  But I did have to swing by Bella Blvd, Jillibean Soup, and Heidi Swapp/Pink Paislee to check out their day two make and takes (:

It was an amazing and inspiring couple of days.  As I said earlier, I tend to be fairly reserved in situations like this so I was proud of myself for stepping out a bit and doing some chatting.  I even shared my business card with lots of people (:  I have tons of fresh ideas for products I want to try out more of and projects I want to make.  Did I miss anything?  What else would you like to know...leave me a comment letting me know if there is more you want me to share.  Tomorrow I will share some of the make and takes I did!

Momenta Candy Bar Cover Tutorial

Just realized I had never shared this here!  I created this last week for Momenta! Today I am here to share with you a cute and quick way to jazz up mini candy bars and turn them into a sweet and thoughtful gift.  I've created several of these with different sentiments to have on hand to give away to friends who need a pick me up or to be celebrated!  First off here's the finished project:

I decided to use Hershey's Nuggets for my candy bars.  Anything that is minituarized would work, but I like the thickness of the Nuggets and they come with silver or gold wrappers which are easy to match.

I cut one inch strips from my patterned paper.  I then put a piece of double sided tape on the bottom of the candy bar and attached the strip.  I wrapped it all the way around and added more double sided to tape to connect it at the bottom.  They look fabulous already and you could use a bolder pattern paper and stop at this point, but I took it a step further and added some Clear Layered Stickers.

I went with some small flowers, but you could do words or gems...the possibilities are endless.  Consider also that you could do something very simple and make it shine with embellishing...Clear Layered Stickers are already beautifully embellished so that made things quick and easy.

Once you've gone to the effort to make these candy bars so cute, why not add some cute packaging

I originally thought I would use a ziploc bag, but it was wider than I needed it to be.  I actually ended up using the cellophane wrapping from a package of Momenta stickers...perfect size and recycling!

I created my top using pieces from a Boxed Card Kit.  I went for the marquee shape that I topped off with some coordinating cardstock.  I used the plain cardstock on there so there is room to personalize it.  The card kits all contain sentiments, borders, and icon die cuts and that is where the rest of my card came from.  I added a scallop circle matting to the sentiment and popped up the butterflies with dimensional foam tape.  All in all a simple little project that will make anyone smile!  

Supplies Used:

Mini Clear Layered Stickers ST485O

Boxed Card Kit NC1358€

Textured Cardstock Pad PAO657

5 X 7 Cardstock Pad Family Affair PA1O66

CHA Day 1

For this post I am going to focus on Day 1 of the show itself and then the next couple days I will share the "make and takes" and Day 2!  This was my first ever trip to a CHA!

I only went for the floor show part of the convention, no workshops etc.  The workshops that I would have liked to attend we're sold out pretty early on.  That is okay though, for my first time at a show like this I was happy to just take in the actual floor show.  I am going to just talk about highlights...otherwise I could write a book :).

I started the morning in line waiting for the doors to open and excitedly recognizing people all around me.  Once the doors opened I went in and just started wandering.  I met Amy Tan right off the bat, I have had really good luck getting cards published using pieces from her lines, so I was thrilled to have the chance to meet and chat with her!  Her new line looks awesome!

 I wanted to survey the whole place before doing anything else.  At the back of the room I found the Heidi Swapp/Pink Paislee booth.  My friend Kimberly aka Scrap it Girl was working there and encouraged me not to be reserved and just to jump in and chat and create.  I needed that encouragement!  Heidi was doing a make and take and the line was short, so I jumped in to try it.  She was amazing and friendly, definitely makes a consumer want to buy more of her stuff.  And she is a mom to five, which was very encouraging to me heading into baby #4!  I got to play with her new "Color Shine" mist...it is very user friendly and has gorgeous shimmer to it.  I also love the color choices she had...will be adding some of this to my collection!

I headed over to the Bella Blvd booth next.  I love their stuff, aside from my loyalties to Momenta and Quick Quotes, no company is higher on my list.  I have followed stephanienon Facebook and her blog for a long while so I was thrilled to see her there.  It is not my norm to walk up to a person I don't know and introduce myself...but I did and we chatted a bit.  I even got a pic with her too! Last winter they came out with a baby boy line and a baby girl line, my friend Kerri joked that I only got pregnant so I could use those...I shared that funny with Stephanie!  She is as nice of a person as could be and the booth itself was amazing, I could copy everything I saw there!  

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I was so excited to connect with some of the owners from Quick Quotes and my design team leader and a fellow designer!

Jillibean Soup is another favorite of mine and I have to say that after meeting several members from their team, I like them even more.  I met Kimber, Jill, and Patty and they were so friendly and chatty.  It made me feel like I already knew these gals!  They really know how to put their best foot forward with a tremendous front line in that booth!  I can't wait to get their new releases and start creating!  Just like Bella Blvd, their booth was full of awesome projects!

I spent most of the rest of the first day just  angering and soaking it all up.  I did lots of make and takes, trying out a wide variety of products.  Not every company offers a make and take but I tried to take advantage of any I was interested in.  By the end of the day my body was exhausted, note to self...bags get way heavy, roller bags are definitely a must next time!  My hubby and I stayed the night in Chicago so I could head back the next morning.  I definitely needed that extra time!  You could get thru it all in a day but knowing I would have more time allowed me to soak things up and not rush.  Day two post will come soon, for now It is time to rest :)

Little Darling

I have been busy crafter, just not blogger the last week.  I made my first canvas ever that will premiere at Quick Quotes on Sunday!  I also had the fun of attending CHA and have enjoyed my time there for the last couple days ( stay tuned for that post....). Today I have a card to share with you featuring some goodies from Momenta, Crat Paper, and American Crafts.

I have been on a bit of a kick using banners, I just love them!

Help me out on something here, how does this picture look to you?  I am trying out a blogging ap and I feel like my pictures are not coming thru as clear as I would like...what do you think?  The picture looks fine until I add it, hmmmmm!

  

Love Card

I'm really digging combining turquoise with different colors lately.  Today I'm sharing a card I made with the yellow and turquoise combination.

 The whole basis for this card was to use the Martha Stewart punch around the page hearts punch.  I bought it and haven't used it a lot and it was time to do it some justice!  I used some turquoise foil that I got in a goodie box from CARDS magazine to back the hearts...it's hard to see in the big photo so here's a little closeup.

And it includes another favorite combo of mine Amy Tan brilliance and Momenta (:

Stowaway Collection Layout

Hi Quick Quotes Fans!  Christine here today to share a layout made with the new Stowaway line.   Marcia shared a gorgeous beach layout with you the other day and today I am going to show you how I used it for an everyday topic..it works so great for both!

I just adore this line and the way the colors work so beautifully for a variety of topics!  Check out the rich browns and turquoise combined with a softer blue.

I used the Travel Itty Bitty Box Set of Velum for part of my title.  I attached it to some of the softer blue and then used my Amaretto Powder Puff Chalking Ink to distress the edges.  My favorite thing about this little box of vellum is that although it is geared at travel you can also use a lot of it to play up adventure. I think it works fabulous for those of us living with toddlers (:

I hope you are enjoying this preview into our new paper lines!

Supplies Used:

Stowaway Paper Collection

Amaretto Powder Puff Chalking Ink

Travel Itty Bitty Box Set of Velum

Momenta letter stickers

Tags

June CARDS Magazine Publications

It's the first of the month and that means I can share my cards from last month's issue with you!  I was blessed to have two picked up and here they are!

This first one was a "monogram" card.  You never know what they will pick up and like...and this was one I was sure they wouldn't pick up.  I even said that to several people, alas and thankfully I was wrong!  It uses my favorite line from Momenta so I was super pumped that they liked it too!

The second card was a "fathers day" card.  This one is way funkier!  I'm entertained by the stark difference between the two cards (:  This one features goodies from Momenta, Authentique, American Crafts, and Cosmo Cricket!

What do you think...can you even tell the same person made these? (: