An American Crafts and SRM stickers card

This is one of the projects I was working on this past weekend for a design team application. However, this one didn't quite make the cut even though I do sort of adore it! I just love the bright colors from the American Crafts Margarita line, paired with some clean white, and a simple SRM sticker for the sentiment. I fussy cut the butterflies from one of the Margarita papers and then popped the smaller ones up on foam tape atop the larger ones of the same color.

Words on Wednesday

Is it really only Wednesday? This week has been CRAZY! I came back from CHA and threw myself into working on a DT application. I felt a little guilty because after being gone for almost a week, I neglected my family even more by spending so much time scrapping. I think it was worth it though. I love what I created and will be sharing it in a little while. This week, I have been trying to catch up from being gone for a week AND finish my projects and the associated photography in the evenings. As if that wasnt enough, I had to drive up to the (not so) local Scrapbook Store that I used to do DT work for, and pick up all my projects because they are going out of business. :(

The good news about that is that the whole store was 80% off. I didn't think they would have anything that I wanted, because it had been on clearance for a week at 60%, and because I tend to be a little bit of a product snob - wanting the newest stuff, especially after just returning from CHA. But they had a ton of cool stuff left! I got a bunch of stamps and punches and some altered item type stuff. I even got one of those acrylic stamp roller things - that you stick your acrylic stamps to instead of a block. I haven't tried it yet and don't know if I will like it, but I figured at 80% off, I couldn't go wrong.

THEN on Friday I am going to dinner with some other A Cherry On Top Cherries because the CKC convention is in town. (They are going to be there all weekend. Im just stopping by for dinner on Friday.) On Saturday, I am going to the CKC convention to do make and takes for SRM stickers in the Red Bee booth! It is going to be so much fun!

ACOT Happy Camper Reveal

This month I stepped out of my box and worked with Imaginisce's Happy Camper line. I thought this line would be perfect for our camping photos from Assateague Island.

The colors in this line are just gorgeous! I also love how the papers have enamel on some parts of them to add a little bit of a textural punch.

This is my favorite page from the reveal. I used a Pagemaps sketch here. Don't you love the adorable little birds!

I also really enjoy this card, which I created using some B sides and some WRMK stamps. I love how the colors are not just for camping, they work perfectly for a homey warm card! (or page)

To see the rest of my pages, check out my reveal over at A Cherry On Top.

Scrapdango July Reveal

Today is the Scrapdango kit reveal day! This month's sugar kit features Simple Stories Summertime line and Little Yellow Bicycle's Sweet Summertime line.

Can I just say, "oh my, did I love this kit?!" Here are just two of the pages that I created with it. You can see the rest in my reveal thread. This first one was inspired by the sketch that was posted on the Simple Stories blog last week. I used an action on the photo to make the colors really pop, then added a little vignette around the edges. I took advantage of the cool Simple Stories journaling blocks, and used it as my title, just cutting it down a little to the black border so that it fit better with my large photo. The My Little Shoebox alphas that came in the kit, provide just the right touch of blue to accent the blue in the photo and on the title block. This one I created from a sketch that I drew for myself. I was inspired by the paper with all of the circles, and a couple of pages that I have recently seen in scrapbook magazines that used borders of circles. I added some yellow paint splatter to brighten the page up and echo the splashes in the photos. Some buttons and chipboard complete the page.

Out for Publication

Belated Words on Wednesday

Wednesday was busy, and kinda crappy. Well actually, that kinda describes my whole week so far until today. Today is the turning point. I crossed several things off of my to-do list yesterday - chose a new company for our car and home insurance, bought a couple new shirts for my trip next week, finished catching up on my hours at work. So, those things were good, but the thing that really made it a turn around is that I got an email last night requesting one of my layouts for publication in an Australian magazine. I have been working very hard to get published and was starting to get pretty frustrated. Like my friend Chrissy said though - when you least expect it!

So, today the traffic still stunk, but I am in a better mood so I didnt let it bother me. I still have lots of things to do before I leave for Chicago next week and the CHA convention, but it doesn't seem so daunting. I also took some time last night to create a lanyard for myself. I had been meaning to do it for a while, since I wear one at work every day, but I just never got around to it. Last night I decided that it would help me relax and, well, it's just what I FELT like doing, so I did it! And now I can wear it to CHA too. Yeah, I admit it, that's what pushed me over the edge from thinking about it, to actually doing it.

I used a bunch of Making Memories Vintage Groove jewelry that I won a while ago. For the chain, I just combined two necklace chains. Then I added a little bit of bling for fun. It's simple, but that's how I like my jewelry. And I love it that it is more like jewelry than the boring fabric one with my company logo that I wore before.

Here is a really crappy cell phone picture of it. I am going to have to tweak it a little bit when I get home, shorten it a little and do something to make the bling ring face forward most of the time.

Scrapdango LOAD inspiration

Scrapdango's Layout a Day (LOAD) contest is in full swing, but you still have plenty of time to enter if you like. You don't have to create the layout on the same day as the inspiration, you have until the end of the week, and you get one draw per layout completed. See the full rules HERE

It's my turn to offer inspiration this week and here is the first one.

Today's LOAD inspiration is about journaling - write your journaling directly on your page, by drawing lines with a pen and a ruler. (I dont measure the distance between my lines, just make sure they are straight)

a page and a plea

I don't usually enter these kinds of contests, but I couldn't resist this one - with such a great prize, and I was working with the Margarita collection anyway. So I entered the American Crafts facebook challenge to create a summer themed layout and now the layout with the most 'likes' by the end of the week is the winner. If you are on Facebook, here is where you can go to like my page (I think you have to 'like' American Crafts too, but who wouldn't want to do that?! they are amazing and have a new contest every week, so maybe you can enter next time and I will be voting for you!) https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150252535044630&set=a.10150252534689630.343145.44105314629&type=1&theater

Here is the page that I entered,

Supplies: Cardstock, Patterned Papers, Stickers and alphas: American Crafts; Rub-ons: Cosmo Cricket; Chipboard:Maya Road; 'you' sticker: SRM stickers; ink:Clearsnap; stamp: Technique Tuesday; Also: Gesso, Ranger Glossy Accents, Ranger Crackle Accents, Copic Pen

In other news, I got a really cool email today asking me to be a guest designer for a manufacturer! Then I ran into health insurance crappiness and my day went downhill from there. However, I had a great time creating with my Scrapdango July kit this past weekend and can't wait to share that all with you on Friday, so stay tuned!

sympathy card

This card was so simple and fun. I used the June kit from the Scrapbook Nook, featuring Lily Bee picket fence, with these gorgeous purple and reds. I added a touch of pink from Crate paper's Emma's Shoppe line. The twine is divine twine, the stickers are SRM. I used some clearsnap dye ink on the chipboard, which I can't remember the brand of (and it's driving me crazy!) - if you recognize it can you let me know? Im pretty sure it came from JoAnn, and I kinda think it was a special 'just for JoAnn' kind of discount line, but it could be something like DCWV or K and Co, or colorbok, there were other coordinating stuff that I didnt buy. What I did buy was a pack of chipboard circles and circle frames in red, green, pink and blue, with saying like 'sweet' and pictures of cheeries on them. They also all had this foil as accents, which you can see in the circles that are on the top of the one shown here. How can I remember so much about it and not what brand it is?! I even sorta remember the packaging - it was black I think, and like two hanging overlapping clear pouches.

Anyway, This is for the papertake weekly anything goes challenge, the spoonful of sugar sewing challenge, the simon says stitching challenge and the cute card thursday lace challenge.

Ellie's Moxie Fab Tues Trigger

I don't normally do things like this, but I just had to share because I thought this was so cute. Every week I make a challenge spreadsheet (yeah Im a nerd, I admit it). Today my 5 yr old daughter and I were 'doing art' together, and she asked for one of my photos to use. So I thought maybe she would like to see a sketch to use for her own scrapbook page. She passed on all the sketches and settled on the Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger. I explained to her that it was supposed to be inspiration for a card and she jumped right in. When she put the flower in the lower left, I said, "in the inspiration it's in the upper right, don't you want to move it?" and she said, "nope I like it here" so I said, "well that's what we call artistic license!" LOL! I explained that Merci means Thank you in French so she insisted on having her card be a thank you card. And she used her favorite rainbow stamp pad for it.

So here is her Tuesday Trigger card

And her is the tuesday trigger that she drew inspiration from.

Card for cards, moxie fab and clearsnap

Here is a card that I created for the Create, cards blog challenge to use accordion flowers, and for the clearsnap color challenge, and I was also inspired by the moxie fab tues trigger. I just love this card! I used a Design Adhesive from Clearsnap, which is basically a glue rub-on that you can use to adhere glitter or embossing powder or whatever. I put clear embossing powder on it. Then I used the embossed design for a resist technique with the chalk ink.

my card:

Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill, Patterned Paper: October Afternoon, and Crate Paper, Ink: Clearsnap dye ink in Fireberry, Clearsnap Chalk Ink in Bisque, Other: Clearsnap Design Adhesives in Leaf Nouveau, machine stitching, EK success clear embossing powder

The moxie fab Tues Trigger, I was inspired by the colors, and the starburst flower and the horizontal strips, with the sentiment on the bottom.

The clearsnap color challenge:

This card is for the Embellish Magazine rainbow challenge.

ACOT Challenges!

The A Cherry On Top July challenges are up today! For my trends and techniques challenge this month I partnered with Chrissy - who is doing a distressing reveal. The challenge this month is to use one or more mediums on your page - ie. ink, paint, mist, etc. Chrissy will have a reveal later in the month showing how to use mediums for distressing, so if you have questions or are hesitant to try them you can put this challenge off until later and learn from Chrissy!

On this page I used paint mixed with a little water and splattered it.