Kiwi Lane Design January Blog Hop

When Kristy over at Kiwi Lane Designs (KLD) asked me to be in the January blog hop at the end of the summer, I never thought I would go MONTHS without scrapbooking.  I haven't done a real layout since August.  I have made a handful of cards and now two banners, but that is about it for being crafty.  Life just got in the way - work, kids, homeschooling, etc.  Hopefully the next few months won't be as bad!  But, when the end of November rolled around and Kristy started getting the blog hop information out, I knew I had to do SOMETHING.  And then I found out we all were getting a designer template set I wanted -  the chevron set!  But, I still had no scrapbooking mojo, so I had to think of something else.  I was working on a banner for my kids' birthday party, and I decided a winter banner would be a fun idea.  The chevrons would allow me to use a variety of papers, and the shape looks enough like mountains to give it a fun look.

 

I started out with picking out the patterned papers.  I decided on Sweater Weather by MME six-by-six pad.  I love the dark colors with the bits of white and light blue for snow.  Using the two smaller chevron pattern sizes (you get three sizes, two of each with the set), I cut out a bunch of "strips" for the cards.  I then glues them onto solid navy blue cardstock.  I love how easy it was to create the background for the banner pieces with just the templates, scissors, paper, and my ATG gun.  Then it came time for the letters and matting.  I pulled out my Silhouette for this, cutting letters out of some CP Peppermint and snowflakes out of kraft cardstock.  I also cut two snowflakes out of the CP Peppermint paper for the first and last card. Then I just glued those on, and I was almost done.  The last step was to string them together and hang it up.  Total it took me probably 2 hours to complete this banner from start to finish- which isn't bad at all!

Here are some close ups of a few individual cards:

 

(Sorry for the not great photos - it is hard to get a good picture in winter with poor sunlight.)

Now for the fun part!  A random winner from ONE of the participating blogs (including the Kiwi Lane blog), will be given a $25 gift certificate to the Kiwi Lane Shop, for leaving a comment and will be announced on the Kiwi Lane blog on Thursday, January 9th.  So make sure you stop by and comment on each of the blogs.  Here is the list:

1. Kiwi Lane http://kiwilane.com/here/blog/
2. Jill  http://brought-to-you-by-the-letter-j.blogspot.com/
3. Julie Ann  www.ourlifeinscraps.blogspot.com
4. Melissa  http://abitofscrappygoodness.blogspot.com/
5. Stephanie  http://sucw.blogspot.com  <--- You Are Here!
6. Leslie .http://scrapsofmine.blogspot.com
7. Jennifer  http://craftingmoments.wordpress.com/
8. Jennifer  http://www.thingsthaticreate.wordpress.com/
9. Staci  http://scrapbookingischeaperthantherapy.blogspot.com/

Practical Scrappers Blog Hop

 Welcome to the Practical Scrappers/Paper Secrets Blog Hop!  We are so excited to have you here today!  For this blog hop we are featuring the Ten Things Team from Practical Scrappers and members from the Design Team at Paper Secrets. Our topic for this hop is a fun, trendy one that will definitely catch your attention: wood! We have a collection of wood goodies from Paper Secrets to give away and you can get all the details on that below, but first here's the list for the hop!

Blog Hop List

Practical Scrappers

Charity Hotrum

Lisa Moen

Jessica Arrant

Kristi Biesel 

Stephanie U

Patty Selah 

Karen Sessions

Kelly Holfield

Wendy Coffman

Deborah Johnson

Krissy Clark

Rochelle Spears

Kerri Yarus  

Lee-Anne Thornton

Leslii Wagner

Kelli Fortier

Kim Ryden 

Lucy Kelleher

Sue Kithcart 

Brenda Ragsdale

Charissa Miller

Christine Meyer

Sarah Clark

Kelly Jean Guzlas

Paper Secrets

I decided to make a plaque for our house.  We have a lot of weathered red wood from a deck that we had to tear down.  So, I thought this beautiful wood would be the perfect back for the plaque.  I then cut out the letters in "Family" using my Silhouette.  I decided to use three different papers just to make it more interesting.  I finished it off by making an offset mat for the word.  To go with the rustic feel, I just stapled the word onto the board.  Now I have a very simple plaque for our house!

Three More Layouts in the 50th Anniversary Album

This first layout is based off of SWAT Drill #14. 

The second one is based off of KiwiLaneDesign DT Doodle #32

And the last one is based off of Paper Bakery sketch #10.

Using one paper pack is definitely making these go fast!  Now to get the others done ASAP so it can be ready for their party!

Paper Secrets Sketch (Anniversary Album)

Yesterday I got another page done in my parent's anniversary album.  This time I used the Paper Secrets AUgust 1 sketch.  Again I used the Simple Stories Documented papers with MME for a little punch of color.

Here is the sketch it is based off of:

I don't have a true word embellishment yet since I don't know what pictures are going to be on the page, but I do have the ampersand brad :)

Ink It Up for Use It Tuesday!

I know you have them - uninked stamps in your stash WAITING to be used.  Well, the new Use It Tuesday challenge is just for you!  Pull out those un-inked stamps, and put the to use on any kind of project.  Mention the hoarded supplies and UIT, and then link up!  We can't wait to see what you create.

My parents' 50th anniversary is coming up, and my siblings asked me to make them an album.  I don't have all of the pictures yet, so I am just making pages without any of those details.  Then, I will add the photos, titles, and journalling later.  I bought a Simple Stories Documented paper pad at Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago just for this project.  I thought the simple monochromatic papers would make a good base.  Then I can add pops of color using items from my stash.  This layout is based off of KLD's DT Doodles #31 (I used scallops and tiny bracket templates for this one).  Other than the SS paper pad, I used a boarder strip from MME Oh La La that I have been hoarding for over a year.  The other pop of color is MME as well (I think it is Lime Twist) - cut using one of my 8in scallop templates.  As for the stamp - that square embellishment is made from clay I bought almost 2 years ago!  I bought it with the idea of making these embellishments, and I just never did!  So, I pulled out another MME product - a Stella and Rose stamp I hadn't used - and stamped it onto the clay.  Then I inked it before baking it.  This made the ink permanent (if you try inking after, it tends to rub off).  And guess what - the stamp is still technically uninked :)

I will be back soon!

I can't believe it has been almost 2 weeks since I Have blogged!  And honestly, it has been that long since I have crafted.  The end of July/beginning of August is also a BUSY time for me with VBS, work, and my youngest's birthday (which this year will only be a family party thankfully).  But, I have projects on the brain, and they will be coming!  Expect lots of posts for the rest of August!  I have a mini album I need to create for my parents by the end of the month plus some design team work that may or may not be included in those pages.  Hopefully my first crafty post will be up on Monday.  If not, it iwll be up on Tuesday with some DT work!

Cute Card Thursday - By the Seaside

Well, today is the last Thursday in July, so it is my last guest design post for Cute Card Thursday.  This week's theme is "By the Seaside."  I bought a Fiskars wave border punch a few years ago for our Pacific Coast trip layouts.  I thought it would be good to pull it out again for this card.  I used some papers I got from Hobby Lobby years ago (seem to be a version of MME with a Hobby Lobby exclusive color palette) to make this ocean themed layout.  After following the OWH Sketch #181, I realized the card was just too plain.  So I remembered how to origami fold a fish to add to the card.  And I think it adds the perfect touch.  Now jump on over to Cute Card Thursday to see the other great projects from the design team!

Cute Card Thursday - Oranges and Lemons

Time for another Cute Card Thursday challenge!  This time it is "Oranges and Lemons."  I decided to go with the colors orange and yellow for this one.  I found another fun OWH sketch to use, and then I went digging through my orange and yellow papers.  I found a nice variety that I thought would be perfect for a sunburst look.  And then there was the yellow and orange grid that was perfect for the background.  Next was to find what to put in the middle of the burst.  And this Hello Sunshine sticker from Echo Park fit perfectly.  The pop of blue makes it stand out a little with all of the yellows and oranges elsewhere.

You Are A Cute Above the Rest Card

Scrapbook Steals celebrated their fourth birthday last week.  So on Thursday, they issued four challenges to help celebrate the occasion!  I have not had a ton of layout mojo lately, but I have been doing well with card making.  Most of the cards I have been making will go to Operation Write Home, which is giving me even more inspiration I think.  So, I thought I would share the card I made yesterday for the SS Birthday Challenge #4 - Washi Fever.  Our challenge was to use four different washis on a project.  When I saw that this week's Kiwi Lane DT Doodles was card sketches, I knew I was going to use one for this challenge.  I decided on the first sketch and picked out my ledger paper washi for the wave spot (using a Spooky Lane template).  Once I had decided on the "school" paper look, I went with my WRMK kit I won over at SS.  Since I don't have many shape templates, I went with the triangles to make sort of a star shape.  I used two different washis - one on each triangle - to add some color and interest.  The tag is also washi covered cardstock - this time with a blue stripe and then more of the ledger paper on top.  I finished it off with a sticker from WRMK.  I love how simple this card was to make!

Use It Tuesday - Birthdays!

Well, I am now starting my third term over at Use It Tuesday - one week late!  Due to travels and activities, I didn't get my project done on time for last week's reveal.  But, that is okay, since my projects won't be a part of the blog reveal anyways!  And why is that - well, because they will be on Facebook instead.  I am now the Social Media Coordinator for UIT.  That means I manage our Facebook Page as well as expand our social media presence (plans are in the works for Pinterest and Twitter!  

The change this time was birthdays.  I decided to go with the birth part and made this cute care for a baby boy.  I have a few friends at MOPS that are expecting baby boys in the fall, so I thought I would get started on cards for them.  I used the Paper Secrets sketch and some Creative Memories papers.  I was given these when my son was born - over 3 years ago - and I haven't touched them!  They just aren't my style, but I think they are great for cards.

Now it is your turn to create something related to birthdays.  Make sure you mention UIT in your post as well as your hoarded items!