Similar and Different - My Mind's Eye February Sketch Challenge

Hello friends!  Are any of you waiting for new CHA crafting goodies?!  I just got a box of some new MME Collectable today...love it! :)  Knowing that my box was on it's way I thought I better start using up some of my MME stash.  So, I created this layout based on this month's sketch challenge over on the MME blog.

When each of my boys were 6 months old I had this same picture taken of each of them.  I think they totally look like brothers and have a lot of similar features but these pictures very clearly show their differences too.  And since each child has traits that are unique to them, I also documented how they are similar and different in other ways too.  While I am not totally in love with the final look of this layout, I absolutely love the story it tells...and isn't that the whole reason for scrapbooking?! :) 

This layout uses products from Follow Your Heart, Alphabet Soup, Lush, Stella & Rose, Quite Contrary, Lime Twist, Miss Caroline, Boy Crazy, and I just had to add some brads and those fun tiny word stickers from the Collectable Remarkable collection that I opened up today! :)

Do you find yourself not adding journaling on your layouts because it might not look 'pretty' or may overwhelm the layout?  Any favorite tricks you use to combat this?  Once I took a class that recommended at least writing the story on the back of the layout in order to preserve the details of the story.  I thought that was a great idea and try to do that when I don't have much journaling on the front.

Enjoy your evening!

All Aboard...The Love Train! American Crafts XOXO

Today I am super excited to share my project with you all!  I know Valentine's Day has come and gone but I was lucky enough to win the American Crafts XOXO collection this past week over at the Moxie Fab World and I just had to play with it!  Plus, it was the perfect collection to use for Paper Crafts February Gallery Challenge!  I was so inspired that I came up with this...

 Cute, right?!  And just so you know, it does actually fold up (although it is pretty thick).  I think the idea first came to me because of this sweet, Valentine card my son got from my parents.

But actually creating this train card from design to execution was a bit of trial and error. 

For the final design, I started with a 4 1/2 x 12" piece of cardstock which I scored at 4 and 8" and then folded.  For the engine I actually created the template myself but you could probably make it easier on yourself and find some clip art online to print and trace.  My adorable train engineer is from My Mind's Eye's Alphabet Soup Boy Playing Cards.

For the wheels I punched circles out of patterned paper (love those little arrows!) and adhered them to cardstock circles (a must if you want the train to be able to stand up on it's own).  I used 3D foam squares to adhere them to the train cars and then used a border sticker to create coupling rods.

For the two train cars, I cut the cardstock to just 2 1/2 " high.  Then for the middle car I adhered a piece of white cardstock and attached several sticker, die cut, and layered heart embellishments.

For this last train car, I attached a piece of black cardstock which I trimmed with decorative scalloped scissors...I was thinking coal.  Then I just adhered the xo Thickers.  Obviously I covered all the main bodies of the train cars with patterned paper and various stickers/diecuts.

I love how this came together.  Wouldn't it be fun to add 2 more cars and a caboose?!   I might give it a try and use this as Valentine decor...I'm thinking it will look great on my mantle next Valentine's Day!  And I just got some of the BoBunny Surprise collection so maybe I'll make a birthday train next!

I hope I've inspired a few of you to create a train card...I'd love to see yours if you give it a try!  So, feel free to link it up in the comments section below.

Have a wonderful weekend! 

I'm Back! (and published!)

  With 6 posts already this month, I think I can officially say I'm back!  I am really enjoying taking time to create again on a regular basis.  My little guy is finally taking more regular naps and I am getting a little more rest at night too (which helps).  I have been having fun participating in challenges and have even gotten a few projects picked up for publication! :) 

  This weekend I just received my copy of Creating Keepsakes March/April edition...it is the first time I have been published in their magazine.  I got one of my photographs picked up for the Photo Tricks column and I couldn't be more thrilled!  Over the last two years, I have developed a love for photography and have been taking classes, reading photography books, and working on my photo-taking skills as much as possible.  So, I am super proud to have my photo and tips published.  Hopefully I can get one of my layouts in the CK magazine soon too! :)  If you are looking for some great photography tips or layout inspiration (especially if you are pregnant, have a new baby, or are a sport playing family...there are some AMAZING layouts and fun ideas for documenting) be sure to check out the March/April 2013 edition of Creating Keepsakes!

  And this morning, the lovely Eryn over at Unity Stamp Co. featured my card on the Unity blog along with her beautiful home decor project...check it out HERE!

Have a great day!  Thanks for stopping by!

Reclaiming My Inner Stamper! - Unity {be inspired} Challenge

Yes...I did it...I took my poor, neglected stamps out of their boxes and used them...thanks to Unity's new challenge!  Now, don't get me wrong...I do LOVE my Unity stamps but with 3 kiddos and little time to craft I think I have felt that it just takes too much time to get out the stamps/ink and clean it all up afterward.  However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that my layout actually came together faster than when I just use my papers/embellishments.  I think my stamps and the great sketch provided by Joslyn Nielson allowed me to think a little more clean and simple.  

I love how the red and turquoise pop off the white cardstock.  And I felt I didn't really need a title since I already have one in the picture.  :)

All of the stamps I used are from Unity (although I'm not sure which sets a few came from or if they are even still available...like the Did You Know and the journal line stamps).  But the worn grid is definitely a timeless classic and the little heart is actually from the Eco Chic set.

Here is the sketch from Joslyn and the color inspiration too.  You can use both or one for your project.

  

I was so inspired, I decided to make a card too!  I'm not sure if you can enter more than one project in the challenge but if so, here it is...

 

 I really liked that heart picture in the color inspiration so I decided to play around with negative space and a newsprint feel (like the fab stamped love paper in the MME Love Me collection). First I cut out a heart shape from a piece of paper...no die cut...just drew a heart and cut it out. (Since you are stamping it, it doesn't have to be perfect so no worries if you don't have a die cutting machine!) Then I taped the paper with the open heart over my card base and started stamping the word love (from Mix of Cuteness set) across it in rows.  After I finished and lifted up the paper, I had this nice heart shape filled with love!  :)  Then I glammed it up with some AC turquoise glitter paper and some red rhinestones.

Thanks again to Unity and Joslyn for this awesome challenge that got my stamping mojo working again!  You still have plenty of time to play along...go HERE for the details and to see all the other great entries.

Maybe I need to reconsider how I store my stamps...maybe they should be in easily accessible, open containers on my desk so I can play with them more. What do you think?

LOVE - MME & GB Guest Designer Contest

Happy Valentine's Day!  I was up early this morning...crafting before the boys woke up and I needed to make them heart pancakes with strawberries (and give them lots of Valentine's hugs!)

Many of you know my love for My Mind's Eye's products.  So, when I saw that they were having a Guest Designer contest along with a fabulous Kit Club Gossamer Blue, I just had to give it a shot.  Last week I took a Valentine photo of my boys to send to family.  I loved the photo so much that I decided to scrap it but instead of focusing on Valentine's Day I focused on my love for them.

Two trends that I love right now are chalk/chalkboard and typography (I just bought these for our playroom).  So as I was looking at this gorgeous Miss Caroline Dilly Dally paper (knowing it was perfect for this photo with the little red and denim colored accents) and trying to figure out what to do with the white space and how to incorporate journaling, I decided to take a big leap of faith and write all over it!  :)

It reads:  my boys...dream big
follow your heart
 live. laugh. love.
you are special
you are loved
hugs and kisses
smile.  you are my sunshine
gifts from God
you hold my heart
forever and always
to the moon and back
you are my  miracles
P.S. I love you!  XOXO

This layout uses products from My Mind's Eye's Miss Caroline, Stella & Rose, and even a little Alphabet Soup (can anybody spot it?) collections.

I also used some old MM letters, chipboard, and October Afternoon sticker from my stash.

And here is what my boys had for breakfast this morning.

 

Hope your day is filled with lots of love!

Hello Spring...Hello Winter - My Mind's Eye February Challenge

The theme for My Mind's Eye's February Challenge is Groundhog Day.  Now...maybe like me you are saying, "What?!  How am I supposed to create something for that?!"  :)  But maybe if you think about it long enough, you too will be inspired by Groundhog Day in some way.

The MME Design Team created some great layouts based on concepts from the movie Groundhog Day but I just couldn't seem to come up with something like that.  As I thought about Groundhog Day, I kept going back to how it is about finding out if we will have an early spring or more winter.  So, that leads me to my projects...

This year Punxsutawney Phil  did not see his shadow which means we should have an early spring.  So I decided to create a 'spring-y' Hello card to welcome spring!

I used products from My Mind's Eye's Lime Twist, Miss Caroline, and Lush collections. 



The little rhinestones (tiny twinkles) on the butterflies are from Taylored Expressions.

For my butterflies, I cut out six from the MME Miss Caroline patterned paper and layered two together, flipping up the wings of the top butterfly to create dimension.  The Hello banner is popped up on foam squares to also add dimension.

 

 

Then, I looked back at Groundhog Day 2012 and found that Phil did see his shadow, indicating 6 more weeks of winter.  So, I got out some great winter pictures from 2012 just waiting to be scrapbooked and created this...
 

For this layout, I used My Mind's Eye's Boy Crazy, Lime Twist, and Lost & Found 2 collections.
Here is a close up so you can see the layers a bit better.

 

 

Thanks to the MME team for coming up with this challenge...I was truly surprised by how it inspired me!  :)

 

 

Wish - BoBunny Card Challenge

BoBunny's current card challenge is to create a card with 70% white space.  I have been in birthday mode the past two months so when I pulled out my BoBunny double dot paper (a staple in my craft room) I immediately came up with this fun and easy idea for a birthday card.

For this card I simply used a mini hole punch to create my 'confetti' and hand cut a candle for my i.  'Wish' is popped up on foam squares to add dimension.  The purple letters are from BoBunny's Peacock Lane collection and the rest is all BoBunny Double Dot.  This was so quick to put together, I just might make a few more in different colors!

Have you seen BoBunny's new birthday collection...Surprise!?!   LOVE it!  I just ordered most of it so I'm sure you will be seeing more birthday layouts/cards from me soon!

My Baby Giraffe - My Mind's Eye Challenge

Well, after having my 3rd little guy almost a year ago, I am finally starting to find more time to scrapbook and of course I had to play along with the challenge this month over at MME (since I have so many of their collections! :)  Here is the wonderful sketch by Ronda:

 And here is my interpretation:

I have been wanting to scrapbook this photo since I took it back in October...I mean, really, isn't he adorable?!  :)  I used multiple collections to create this page:  Follow Your Heart (background paper), Alphabet Soup (playing cards), Quite Contrary (photo frame), Miss Caroline (sunshine), Lime Twist (letter stickers) and even a little 12 days of Christmas and Stella & Rose in the confetti.  I love how easy it is to combine collections from My Mind's Eye!

The journaling reads:  "Your first Halloween and you were so adorable in this giraffe costume.  And that smile...so sweet!"

The ribbon and buttons are American Crafts and 'the story' journal tag is from Elle's Studio.

 

To see all the other great entries or to enter your own project you can check out the challenge on the MME blog HERE.

 

 

Have a great day!

Unique Crafters Challenge #12 - Lace and Fabric

Hello all!  This month over at the Unique Crafters Challenge blog the theme is Lace and Fabric.  For my card I used some pretty crocheted lace along with some My Mind's Eye papers...I'm thinking I might give this to my hubby for Valentine's Day.

This will be my last challenge with the Unique Crafters team but I am finding more time to craft these days so you'll be seeing more projects from me in the upcoming months.  If you have some lace or fabric in your stash, take this opportunity to get it out and use it!  Then link your project up over on the Unique Crafters blog for your chance to win!