you're just a Chip Off The Old Block!

hey chickens!  it's Monday, it's 8 am, it's time for a brand new issue at Paper Issues!  

our theme for this go-round is "A Chip off The Old Block"...  

so we're playing with chipboard, anything to do with boards (surfboards, on board a ship, skateboards, etc.), being bored (or things to keep from being bored), blocks (colour blocking, building blocks, around the block...), chips (the potato or poker kind, or maybe veggie chips or wood chips?)...  family traits, or just go ahead and use the July, August or Chip Off The Old Block free printables from the Paper Issues shop! 

i made the first in a series of paper blocks to decorate my cubicle at work, and i used papers and stickers from the October Afternoon "Summertime" collection, along with some chipboard pieces from older October Afternoon, new Dear Lizzy, Simple Stories, and much older BasicGrey and Echo Park. added some enamel bits and fussy-cut some other bits, adhered them all, and voila!  mood blocks!

i have a pretty roomy cube at work, so i can place these strategically and choose which sides show based on my mood on any given day.  or as messages to passers-by.  i just love adding my personal, crafty little twist to the otherwise-boring decor in there.  

do you decorate your workspace?  i'd love to see what you have in your work area (home office doesn't count - you're not nearly as restricted with fixtures and colours there!)...  

CLICK HERE to see what the rest of the Creative Team have done with this new theme...  there are some seriously fun packs of chipboard frames in the shop right now, so maybe those will help inspire you?   (not like the CT's projects won't wow you enough!)

you're going to want to bust out your chipboard and whatever else might work for this theme, download your free printables (CLICK HERE to see them all!), and get in on the action by linking up on the blog by August 2 and you might be the winner of a $20 gift certificate from Paper Issues!  because have you shopped lately?  er. mah. gerd.  LOADS of new stuff coming into the shop nearly every day.  and THIS will  save you 20% off all of it, ANYTIME.  use code ORANGE whenever you shop - ENJOY!

there's something charming about our latest ISSUE!

hey there, chickens!  

how was your weekend?  i got my craft on, i picked up some free swag from the casino, i drank wine and conspired with my nifty friend, Orange Gearle, about how we're going to entertain the masses during our Scrap & Chat event in the Paper Issues Friends and Fans Facebook group on the 24th.  all in all, i had a pretty good weekend! 

so let's kick off an awesome week celebrating a new season (it's really TRYING to be spring here!), new life, new perspective, and a NEW ISSUE!

the very awesome Scrapbook Circle is sponsoring the latest link party at Paper Issues and i had a LOT of fun playing with papers and elements from their March kit, as well as their printables!

our theme...  "Prints Charming" - EASY one, right?  printed papers!  charms!  Disney!  a little prince or princess who might just own your heart.  maybe even a favorite book from childhood (Le Petit Prince comes to mind).  anything to do with prints (printables - we have them free in the Paper Issues shop!).  paw prints.  art.  WHATEVER!  it doesn't even have to be a new project - just LINK HERE and remember to link back to Paper Issues in your blog post.

here's what i did with their fantastic March kit:

EVERYTHING except the Thickers and the twine are from the kit - the black flags are actually cut from the printable and the circles and dragonfly are punched from the same papers as the page.  there are goodies from Simple Stories, Pinkfresh Studio, Bella Blvd and My Mind's Eye, and there's still SO much more i barely touched!

ZOOM because dimension and critter!

isn't he cute?!  his body and legs were all stripey and i kinda wished he was on MY car so he'd come home with me.

CLICK HERE to see what's cookin' on the Scrapbook Circle blog, and join the link party at Paper Issues to be eligible to win their March kit! 

ANNNND there are LOADS of hot new items in the Paper Issues shop you're going to watch to check out.  kinda MAD crushin' on a few of them and i'm STRONGLY anticipating some of the forthcoming arrivals, so keep checking and remember that using my code ORANGE always (!!!) gets you 20% off everything in the Paper Issues store!

some odd favourite things popping the cork and hello again

okay, hello there chickens.  haven't been around in a bit as i've been extremely busy with the new job and then with losing my father on Christmas Day and scrambling around ever since.  i'm trying to settle back in but there is SO MUCH TO DO and i feel very overwhelmed. 

that's why it was important for me to decompress a bit last night and spend some time in my craft studio.  LONG overdue. 

i coloured.

i combined elements.

i combined challenges.

i played with some new goodies.

i felt a little better by the time i went to bed, so i'm glad i took some time for ME.  haven't had much of it lately.  and thank you to everyone who's been so supportive while i'm dealing with things.  i appreciate it more than i can possibly express on a computer screen.

here's one of two cards i made last night...  it features the critter from Some Odd Girl's Acorn Fairy clear stamp set, the heart and sentiment from the Nutsy Kaylee set (she's on clearance!) with Some Odd Girl's Sunshine Sorbet paper, some lovely adhesive cork, background papers from Pretty Little Studio.  and the wood sequins are from Chic Tags, coloured up with Wink of Stella from the Paper Issues shop. 

 

close up of critter love, coloured up with my Prismacolor pencils
(and maybe you can see a bit of the shimmer on the sequins):

 

annnnnnd i am throwing down for the new sketch challenge (211) at My Favorite Things - i followed it pretty closely:

and i'm also linking up at the current Linky Party at Paper Issues - the theme is "Popping the Cork" (sponsored by the awesome Elle's Studio) and it inspired me to FINALLY cut into one of my adhesive cork sheets.  i think i bought the cork pad about a year and a half ago, and that's just silly. 

and that will do it.  it felt GOOD to get my craft on.  what have you folks been up to?

What the #@!$%& - new Paper Issues link party!

hey there, chickens!  there's a new flair party in town, and Paper Issues knows where it's at!  you're invited!

our theme is "What the #@!$%&" and there is SO much you can do with it!  punctuation, typewriter keys, typed journaling, scripty writing, numbers, exclamation (WOW! SHEESH! YIKES!), money, texty abbreviations (LOL, WTF, BRB, etc...) - you catch my drift, right?  :)  or use Feed Your Craft product on your page.  link up and be sure to link back to Paper Issues and you might win!  you might also be featured on our Facebook page, or our Instagram feed, or on the Paper Issues blog as one of our Fan Featured Friday friends!

this issue is sponsored by Feed Your Craft, who are all about awesome flair, and there are 3 packs of flair from their shop up for grabs for the winner of this issue!  we also have a discount code for you - use code PAPERISSUES15 now through 12/31 to save 15% off your entire order!  they have LOADS of fun stuff, including this neutral ampersand (of which i would like 100 more!) and book text, which is perfect for anything!

i combined some of the Teresa Collins "Something Wonderful" elements (including the title from the pack!), some goodies from my December Swag Bag, Jillibean Soup enamel stars, some Fancy Pants ephemera goodness and my trusty Dymo label maker. 

those apples?  yeah, they were MAILED TO ME.  by my bestie, Kristy, who hand-picked them in Michigan when Honeycrisp season started last year.  when i opened this huge box to find apples inside, i cried like a baby.  love you, girl.  like whoa!

so, link up!  join in the fun!  your projects can be new or old, but you must link to us!  CLICK HERE to check out the Paper Issues "What the #@!$%&" linky party and see what the rest of the awesome Creative Team did with this one...  we LOVED using the Feed Your Craft flair, and we know one lucky winner's going to be loving it, too!

for your shopping needs, check out the Paper Issues shop and see what's new!  Cassie Box has new goodies arriving ALL. THE. TIME.  and you can use my code to grab 'em before they're gone! 

Still time to win an SRM Stickers prize pack at Paper Issues!

hi there, chickens!  i'm back with a new scrappy page for the current Link Party at Paper Issues!

our theme (until this Sunday!) is "Witchin' You a Happy Halloween" and it's sponsored by the awesome SRM Stickers...  i used a TON of the stuff i received on the gift packaging i made HERE, but still had loads left over, so i decided to dissect and make it go even further!

this page...  oh, this little miss.  she has this magical effect on me.  my niece...

i used the gorgeous new On My Desk line from Gossamer Blue and added in some Swag Bag details, a couple of Pinkfresh Studio Wood Drop Chevrons plus some little bits and alphas...  but that doily, the scalloped border stickers beside the photo and the "happy" stickers around the edges of my photo?  they're SRM remnants - i just ditched the "Halloween" and they worked perfectly!

zoom! 

another zoom, to show you my sweet Baby G!

there you have it.  oh, you might be wondering how it fits our theme for the Link Party?  wellllllll, there's a whole lotta HAPPY going on in this picture - that's how easy it is to make it work!  you can add new or old projects that are HAPPY in theme, Halloween-based, spooky, costumey, witchy, a page about you, etc.  the sky's the limit!  CLICK HERE to join the party, and SRM has an awesome prize pack up for grabs for one lucky winner!  remember to link back to the Paper Issues blog in your post to be eligible to win.

feel like shopping?  use code ORANGE to get 20% off everything in the Paper Issues shop - ALWAYS!

annnnd if you're itchin' to grab some of that gorgeous Gossamer Blue, there's lots left in the shop!

have a nifty day, folks.  life's good.  :)

Paper Issues has Halloween Witches with SRM Stickers!

it's time for a brand new ISSUE on the Paper Issues blog!  we are sponsored this time around by the lovely and TOTALLY versatile SRM Stickers (seriously, they have something for EVERYTHING)...  but they don't JUST do stickers!  oh no, there's more!

first, lemme tell you about the issue.  our theme - "Witchin' You a Happy Halloween!" - with a TON of things you can do with it!  share your projects featuring:  Halloween events or characters, costumes, creepy things, dark Halloweeny colours, Halloweeny embellishments, spiders, bugs, creepy or haunted buildings, ghosts, scary movies, HAPPY things (literally anything that relates to happiness, since the word "Happy" is in our title!), all about YOU pages, SRM products (stickers, borders, doilies, bags, etc.)...  

i used a slew of cute SRM Halloween Stickers and included two of their pillow boxes and a bag (the corrugated pillow box is repurposed from my stash) and i created some little borders and tags from the stickers.  here's my Halloweeny ensemble!

you might spy a little Doodlepop on there, some Limba white woodgrain vellum (on the little batty box), as well as a piece of Toni From Designs flair! 

this kind of project is a little outside of my usual comfort zone but i can't wait to give these to the next-door neighbour kids on Friday! 

CLICK HERE to see what else the Creative Team did with these awesome SRM products, and join our link party for your chance to win an awesome gift pack from SRM Stickers!   you have until November 9th to play along, and remember, even though Halloween is Friday, the theme is WIDE OPEN for you to interpret and link up new or old projects!  (just remember to link back to the Paper Issues blog to be eligible for the prize!)

and THIS, folks, is yours forever! 

grab the newest crafty goodies before they're gone (like the new stuff from Gossamer Blue, Amy Tangerine and We R Memory Keepers), and subscribe to the awesome Swag Bag and be one of the cool kids!  :D

Still time to link up at Paper Issues!

we're in the last few days for the current issue - "Tell me dies, tell me sweet little dies" - if you link up at Paper Issues, there's a sweet Jillibean Soup prize pack up for grabs!  i am LOVING their Spicy Social Soup collection - so trendy and full of fun!

i'm linking up THIS project, featuring a ton of Swag Bag goodness and some of the new Webster's Pages and Pink Paislee, for the party:

that's me and Suz Mannecke, and she is fabulous.  :)

a pic of girls taking a selfie:

 layers of journaling-sized cards from the Swag Bag:

 and i will never be without my Dymo label maker.  

do you not LOVE all these beautiful teals and corals from the summer collections this year?  SO versatile!  but now there's a ton of new Halloween and Christmas stuff out, too!  i can't keep up!

join us for the Link Party by CLICKING HERE and share your creations (new and old) for your chance to win!  you have until this Sunday, September 14th to get in on it.  and if you're up for some shopping...  here ya go!  20% off all of it, as often as you'd like! 

new Link Party at Paper Issues, sponsored by Jillibean Soup!

hey there, crafty friends!  today kicks off a branch new Link Party at Paper Issues, and we are sponsored by the ever-fab Jillibean Soup!  our theme?  those of you old enough to know it will have it stuck in your heads for days...

"Tell me dies, tell me sweet little dies!"

yep, i know!  enjoy that!  :)

i had the pleasure of working with some awesome pieces from their Spicy Social Soup and Sightseeing Stew collections, and it all came together for a fun little pairing.  here's what i made; all i added were an image, a paper clip and little enamel arrows (plus some mist on the die-cut).  otherwise it's ALL Jillibean Soup (and i'm loving these lines!)...

SO!  a pillow box with little improvised taglets using the papers with which i was working:

and my girlie, Strolling Mae, who is pretty much me:

now if YOU want to get in on this action and win an awesome prize pack from Jillibean Soup, you'll want to CLICK HERE.  then you'll want to link up old or new projects that fit the theme "Tell me dies, tell me sweet little dies" - and really, who doesn't have a die-cut shape?  use a pre-cut shape or die-cut your own...  or use a song title (like the Fleetwood Mac one that's repeating in your brain right now), or incorporate something that's dyed (hair? t-shirts?), or stretch it a little further and go for William Tell with the whole apple thing or archery - really, it goes on and on!  just be sure to link back to the Paper Issues blog in your post and you could be our lucky winner!

go like Jillibean Soup on Facebook and tell them the Paper Issues gals sent you!  

and shop in the Paper Issues store for some cute Jillibean Soup stuff HERE!

use my code ORANGE and take 20% off these and everything else in the shop, ALWAYS! 

Mix Tape issue at Paper Issues sponsored by Hazel and Ruby!

there are mere HOURS left to get in on "Mix Tape" at Paper Issues, folks, so HURRY!  there's an awesome pack of assorted washi tapes (fat rolls, scalloped and regular) up for grabs, from our awesome sponsor, Hazel and Ruby! 

i incorporated a bunch of their tapes into my project to show you how fat, scallopy and fabulous they are (and you might even WIN some of these very tapes)...  check it out!

love their tapes!  

and these...  the bits and pieces i used to back my photo?  they're pieces of the COVER PAGE from the Teresa Collins paper pads in the Paper Issues shop.  because, ya know, waste not, hoard not!

you can interpret the "Mix Tape" theme in SO many ways...  mix your product lines, baking mixes, tapes, music, mismatched things in general...  and you can link OLD projects, too, as long as they fit the theme.  just remember to link back to the party if you want to be eligible to win!  CLICK HERE - it all winds down in a few hours, so get in on the action!

this is one of the paper pads i was talking about:

but you can do this with ALL of your paper pads and kits that have cover sheets.they're perfect little mini patterns and they're totally usable on projects like this!  

use this, too, if you wanna save (a sweet deal on EVERYTHING!):

playing with TAPES from Hazel and Ruby at Paper Issues!

hey there, friends!  brand new issue up NOW at Paper Issues, and this one's sponsored by the fab Hazel and Ruby...  we got to play with a bazillion different washis in different widths, some with scalloped edges, all quite lovely.

WELL!  Hazel and Ruby are also generously giving away a fun goodie bag of some of their products, and if you haven't played with their extra wide washi yet, JUST YOU WAIT!

our theme?  "MIX TAPE", which i think is just a TON of fun...  mix up your tapes, do a music-themed project, show us a fun mix of themes, mix up some ingredients for a favourite recipe, whatever!  there are TONS of ways to interpret this!

i wanted to mix up my tapes, so i made a page with 'em...

taaaaaaapes.  wide rolls?  scalloped?  yes, please!  i used 4 different tapes on this page, added some "animal" dots (hi, Lenny!) and stars, some floss, a couple of Pinkfresh Studio shapes and some doodly little speech bubbles - that's IT!

zoom!

i'd never stitched on a page before, so i had a little fun with a stencil and glitzed it up just a smidge.  i love how the tapes replace patterned papers here and all i had to do was add my embellishments! 

wanna link up?  CLICK HERE to check out the rest of the Paper Issues Creative Team's projects using these fun Hazel and Ruby tapes, and you could win a bunch of them for yourself!

just be sure to link back to the Paper Issues blog to be eligible - you can link up new AND old projects!  annnnnd, i'm pleased to say that there are some AWESOME new Heidi Swapp Mixed Media goodies in the shop, so if you're hankerin' for some new crafties, CLICK HERE to check out all the newest arrivals, and use this for a sweet, sweet deal!

Paper Issues is getting their NAVY on!

new issue, chickens!  Paper Issues has a brand new link party and you're invited!  this one's sponsored by the super fantabulous Echo Park Paper and they are offering up TWO collection packs to one lucky winner!

i created a card for a friend who just had a baby boy, and i was SO excited that the theme of the baby's room is all nautical cuteness.  here's my card:

i threw down some paper from Bella Blvd, added in some alphas from Doodlebug (and the tiny ones from my stash), and wood and cork bits from Studio Calico, then some burlap trim from Maya Road and twine from The Twinery. 

you wanna play along?  link up your projects that follow the theme (they can be NEW or OLD, as long as you link back to the Paper Issues blog!)...  go for some blues in your project, an aquatic or nautical theme (sea creatures, boats, beaches, marinas, the beach, cruises, water, etc.), military subjects, bath time or showers, use water on your project (i.e. WATERCOLORING!), something 4th of July related or anything using Echo Park products!  seriously, we don't mind how loosely related it is, we just want you to share!  CLICK HERE to see what the Creative Team did for this issue, and have FUN!

oh, and if you haven't already grabbed it, the July Swag Bag is available HERE.  AND a bazillion awesome new products (some are even nautical-themed!) like these:

and my code, as always, will save you some big bucks (that can be spent on more crafties!):

linked up for the May 11th issue, too!  because STARS and what better way to get one's party started than with a brand new baby boy?  :)

New at Paper Issues - Food For Thought! Sponsored by Some Odd Girl

it's a new issue at Paper Issues, and this one's rather near and dear to me!

we're sponsored by Some Odd Girl, and, well, it's kinda perfect, dontcha think?  :D

well we're inviting you to link up, and our theme for this go-round is "Food For Thought"...  share your projects (new or old, just be sure to link back to us!) related to food, ponderings/musings, recipes, restaurants, fave dishes, stresses and worries, dreams and things you think about, puzzles (they make you think!), cooking, dieting, etc...  OR anything you've made using Some Odd Girl stamps!  (easy peasy!)

we happen to have a brand new Some Odd Girl stamp release (which you may have seen if you follow us on Facebook or subscribe to our newsletter), but if not, well you're STILL in for a treat!  the prize for this issue?  two AWESOME sets of clear stamps!  i used the Fruit Salad set for my cards for the issue...

EEEEP!  love these little guys!  (there's a nanner in the set, too)  coloured them up with my Spectrum Noir markers, the main panels are from Polka Dot Party from Dear Lizzy, and everything else (EVERYTHING!) is from the May and June Swag Bags! 

so you wanna play along?  join the link party by CLICKING HERE, and see what the rest of the Paper Issues Creative Team did with these awesome stamps...  might give you some ideas how to incorporate the theme into your projects!  ANNNNND you could win these!

join us.  you know you wanna.  how cute would these stamps be for your kids' lunchbags?  or thank you gifts for teachers?  come onnnnnn, play along!  :)  and if you feel up to it, check out the Paper Issues Instagram feed - there's a contest and all you have to do is share photos of your crafty space and use the hashtag #icrafthere and you could win MORE fabulous stuff from Paper Issues! 

Paper Issues - new issue sponsored by Ruby Rock-it!

there's a new issue at Paper Issues and you are invited to join us!  our fab sponsor for this go-round is the radical Ruby Rock-it!  (i'm showing Ruby Rock-it lotsa lurve this week!)  our theme?  "The World is a Circle", which seriously can go just about anywhere!  places, circle elements (die-cuts, buttons, brads, gems, etc.), travel, your circle of friends, your family circle, any Ruby Rock-it products, etc...

i played with some of the soft and subtle East Coast line from their Essentials collection, and i added my bold pops of colour because that's what i do!  who says soft and pastelly has to stay that way?!

with the exception of the die-cuts and mist from Heidi Swapp, the grey and black alphas and the black pearl bling, everything you see is from Ruby Rock-it (i did add in some paper from their Color Fusion line from my stash), even those little teensy-weensy white alphas (which i LOVE!)...

zoom of me and mah bestie:

(the "ess" word started out as "blessed" but, well, this totally fit so i couldn't resist!)  get a little closer!

that journaling card - the most fav ever?  yeah, i love that (but i'd totally add an E to make it FAVE)

so that's us, CHA Vegas 2013. 

got some ideas to play along with this issue?  join the Link Party by CLICKING HERE!  you can share old or new projects, as long as they fit the theme.  and if you remember to link back to Paper Issues in your post, you're eligible to win this:

this whole fab collection (excluding the album) could be yours!  it's the lovely Essentials East Coast collection, which was the basis for my whole page, and it's so versatile!  i love the season cards!  

click here to see what the rest of the Paper Issues Creative Team did to show off this line, and be sure to link up to win!  you've got two full weeks to join us!