Make a Wish - Fun Fringe Frame

When I first saw BoBunny's Surprise collection, I knew I had to have it.  It is such a fun birthday collection and was absolutely perfect for scrapbooking my youngest son turning one. 

I absolutely LOVE this paper because it is already decorated so well...I just needed a big photo and a few accents to really make this page shine.  I embellished the paper with some sequins and die cuts (BoBunny Surprise Noteworthy) which I popped up on foam squares for added dimension.

However, my favorite part of this page is the frame I made for the photo. 

I simply took three pieces of red tissue paper, folded them together multiple times, and cut a rectangle slightly larger than my photo (make sure to cut your rectangle so there are no folded sides being used as an edge).  Then cut little slits all around the edges...be careful around the corners.  Finally, separate and fluff up the layers a bit and adhere the photo into the frame.

Let me know if you give this a try...I'd love to see your project too!

Legoland Layout

Happy Saturday!  We are having some gorgeous weather here in the Northwest...can't wait to head outside!  Last summer we enjoyed a lovely vacation to San Diego, CA and had a ton of fun at Legoland.  If you have kids and haven't been...I highly recommend it.  Plus while you're down there you can enjoy Sea World, The Wild Animal Park, & San Diego Zoo too!  Here's a fairly simple layout I created to document our trip to Legoland.

I used bright Lego colors, BoBunny double dot paper, and of course LEGOS!  I also used Papertrey Ink's ticket die to create the bottom border and then separated the tickets and turned them vertically to create the title and accent the pictures a little.  I really love how this turned out...unfortunately it didn't get picked up for the magazine call I submitted it to.  :(

Such great memories!  Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!  Thanks for stopping by!

Fall Fun Layout

Hello all!  I am in my last trimester and am full of energy to get things done around the house...yeah!  I have also been making time to catch up on my scrapbooking.  I am using submission calls to really help motivate me with the hope that at least one or two might get picked up! :)  This one, however, did not so I thought I would share it with all of you.

Also, I wanted to remind you all that you still have time to play in the first Unique Crafters Challenge to win a fabulous prize!!!  Check out all the details HERE.
Thanks for stopping by...I'm off to get more done!  :)

Unique Crafters Challenge - Anything Goes!

It's March 1st and that means it is time for the first Unique Crafters Challenge!  The challenge is open to all kinds of paper crafters and this month's theme is Anything Goes, which means you can let your creativity go wild!  You have plenty of time to complete your creation because the deadline for the challenge is the last day of the month.  And you are definitely going to want to play along for your chance to win an AMAZING prize pack worth $200 from our sponsor Scrapbook Unique!!!  Now I know I have your attention!  :)

Since March is my birthday month, I was feeling celebratory and created this fun birthday card!

For all of you out there who don't have a fancy die cut machine...all the embellishments on this card were hand cut.  I designed the banners and cake myself.  For the confetti I used a small hole punch.  All of the paper is from BoBunny and the small circle letters are My Mind's Eye.  I popped the cake and purple banner up on foam squares for dimension.

Now I hope you are as excited as I am to participate in this challenge!  I can't wait to see what you all come up with!  Click the logo below to head on over to the challenge blog site to see the rest of the Design Team's creations and to link up your own for the challenge!

                                                     http://uniquecrafterschallenge.blogspot.com/

And if you happen to live near the Lenexa, Kansas area be sure to visit Scrapbook Unique!

 I know that I really miss my local scrapbook store.  I loved going in to look at all the great new products and chat with fellow paper crafters.  Buying online just isn't the same.  Support your local scrapbook store!  :)

First Christmas - Elle's Studio Layout Challenge

Happy Sunday!   Will you be enjoying the day off tomorrow?  I have to go into the doctor in the morning for my gestational diabetes test which I am hoping will come back okay.  Then I get to enjoy the day with my boys!

I found some time this weekend to create a few layouts.  This one was inspired by Elle's Studio Thursday Sketch, which you can see HERE.

Yes, I am making great progress with my son's 'first year' album!  This will actually be part of an 8x8 double page layout but the other page is simply going to be filled with pictures from Christmas (maybe I'll add a coordinating embellishment or two to tie it in a little more). 

This page uses BoBunny clover double dot paper, May Arts ribbon, a Simple Stories journal card, along with some Crate Paper, Creative Cafe, and Papertrey Ink embellishments, American Crafts Thickers, and a little Maraschino twine from The Twinery.

Thanks to Elle's Studio for the inspiration!  If you want to play along in the challenge you still have a few days and can win a $10 g.c. to use toward purchasing their great tags and crafting goodies! :)

You are so...Loved!

So, I was feeling the love yesterday and popped into my craft room for a few minutes to create this card.

The papers are My Mind's Eye (Lime Twist and Quite Contrary collections) and BoBunny (Double Dot).  I added a few rhinestones and Basic Grey letter stickers to finish off the card.  Some of the hearts, flowers, and the journal card are all popped up on foam squares for dimension.

Hope you had a lovely Valentine's Day!  And if you didn't see my exciting announcement yesterday...be sure to check out this post.

BoBunny Layout Challenge - Messy Boy

Today I made some time to create a layout using BoBunny's current sketch challenge (HERE).  I took a really clean and simple approach.

This is a smaller 8x8 layout as I am diligently working on finishing up my youngest son's 'first year' album before our new baby arrives!  :)  I absolutely adore this picture of him feeding himself and this was quite a common look for him during those early self-feeding months. 

For this layout I combined several different BoBunny collections...Sophie, Peacock Lane, Flutter Butter, and of course no BoBunny project would be complete without some Double Dot paper!

Oh and have you seen their new CHA releases?!  They have an adorable new boy collection but my favorite is Alora...I just love the fun colors and cute birdhouses!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Pumpkin Spice Design Team Call

Thanks to my sweet blogging friend Savannah, I discovered a great new online craft store today and they just happen to be having a design team call!  Pumpkin Spice carries some of my favorite brands such as My Mind's Eye, Echo Park, and Crate Paper and they have fabulous prices too!  So, for the DT call the challenge was to create a project using two of more of the paper brands that they carry. 

I am having such fun using these MME playing cards (you can check out two other cards here) and I love the challenge of mixing different papers...such a great way to use up scraps and get extra creative!

Supply List:
Paper:  Crate Paper (Snow Day); My Mind's Eye (Happy Go Lucky); BoBunny (Double Dot)
Bee Card:  My Mind's Eye (Alphabet Soup Playing Cards - Girl)
Ribbon: American Crafts
Alphabet Stickers:  American Crafts
Border Sticker:  Crate Paper
Brads:  BoBunny

Another part of the DT call for Pumpkin Spice is to list my FAVORITE paper company...ack!  I think this is a bigger challenge than actually creating a project!  How can I choose?! :)  Well, frankly, I can't!  I LOVE My Mind's Eye...their boy collections are some of my favorites for scrapbooking my boys (although I love their girl lines too), American Crafts has such fun, colorful collections and I can never have too many AC Thickers or ribbon,  BoBunny Double Dot papers are a staple in my craft room, and I love Crate Paper's eclectic collections.  Honestly there are a few others I could list but I'm sure all of you paper crafters understand!

I hope you all are headed for a lovely weekend!  We will be packing for our big move!  I will be back next week with a layout or two along with some fun birthday decor I've been working on!

Exciting News!!!

After having our house on the market for almost a year, I am excited to share the news that we sold our house!  And just this afternoon our offer on the house we were wanting was accepted!   We have lived in our current house for 9 years so there are so many things we will miss about our home and neighborhood but I know we will create new memories in our next house too.  I was inspired by all our house excitement to create this card.

I love this sweet little HOME playing card by MME.  Some of you may remember the first time I used it to create this card. 

I think I am going to leave this card with a little note for the new owners of our current house.

I just had to share my excitement with you all!  Now I better get packing! :)

You Inspire - Etsy Inspired Challenge #135

 Welcome to another Etsy Inspired Challenge!  This week's shop, Creating is Fun, is full of lovely lace, buttons, and more to inspire you to get crafting!  I created a card that I thought would be nice for a great teacher.

I was inspired by these pretty stone buttons...their sparkle and color combination are just gorgeous.  I used BoBunny's Peacock Lane collection for my card along with some sparkly American Crafts thickers.

Our sponsor this week is Robyn's Fetish Digital Stamps.  If you love digital images you are definitely going to want to check out her shop this week as everything is 30% off! 

Ready to play along?!
- Visit  Creating is Fun and find an item that inspires you.
- Create a project of your own and post it to an online gallery or blog.
- Link your project up to the Etsy Inspired Blog by Friday at noon for your chance to win a fun prize from our sponsor or featured Etsy shop!

 For extra inspiration be sure to visit these talented ladies!

• Angi
• Ashley
• Carole
• De
• Emily B
• Jackie
• Joy
• Kimme (April Guest DT)
• Ruby
• Savannah
• Sherry
• Virginia

Have a wonderful weekend!

i am... (BoBunny Layout Challenge)

If you are anything like me, most of your scrapbooking is of your kids and family...which may include some pictures of yourself, but rarely do you actually dedicate a page to just you. Well, BoBunny's current layout challenge is to do exactly that so I took my recent self-portrait photo and created this layout.

The patterned paper and brad are from BoBunny's Peacock Lane. I just love the rich teal and purple combination in this collection. I also used some coordinating BoBunny double dot cardstock. The glitter letters are American Crafts and the pretty lilac baker's twine is from The Twinery.

The journaling reads:

i am...creative, loving, intelligent, hard working, determined, confident, beautiful, loyal, a budding photographer, quiet, an avid reader, unique, a counselor, a teacher, strong willed, generous, most importantly...i am a sister, daughter, friend, wife, and mother. blessed

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you're inspired to take some time to create a layout all about you!

You Light Up My Life - Etsy Inspired Challenge #124

CA-UTE is the word for the challenge this week! From darling items to be inspired by as well as a sponsor whose designs are just the cutest...I am expecting some fun and adorable cards from you all this week! :) Our featured Etsy shop is Too Cute Kawaii which is filled with sweet polymer clay accessories...I think the little rainbow is my personal favorite! I was inspired by the overall feel of the shop: colorful, playful, & cute!

Did you ever think you would say...'What an adorable light bulb?'! Well, when I visited our sponsor's blog, Meljen's Designs, and saw this cute little image I knew I had to use it for my card this week. And if you love this light bulb as much as I do, it is actually one of Meljen's Monday Freebies and you can get it HERE!

For my card, I also used some BoBunny double dot papers, My Mind's Eye trim, My Little Shoebox mini alpha stickers, and a little bit of We R Memory Keepers Be My Valentine Collection.

So, would you like to win 4 digi's from Meljen's Designs or some cute cupcake earrings from Too Cute Kawaii?!

All you have to do is:

- Visit Too Cute Kawaii and find an item that inspires you

- Create a project of your own and post it on your blog or other online gallery

- Link your project up to the Etsy Inspired Blog by noon on Friday for your chance to win!

And for extra inspiration be sure to visit the rest of the ever so talented DT!

• Angi
• Ashley
• Carole
• De
• Emily B
• Jackie
• Joy
• Rachel (January Guest DT)
• Ruby
• Savannah
• Sherry
• Virginia

So, I just have to say that this school year has been the worst virus year ever for us. My son got the flu bug again on Thursday...fortunately he was already beginning to feel better Friday...now I'm just hoping that no one else in the family gets sick. Yuck! I don't know if it is because I have two kiddos in school now or if it is just a horrible virus year but we seem to have been hit with more stuff that ever before. I practically am at the point where I don't want to even send my youngest to preschool because he just seems to catch a bug every other week! Anyone else feel that way this year?

On a more positive note...we may have found 'the house'! And it is actually brand new and on a decent size lot. I'm super excited but we still have to sell our house and need to do so for the right amount so that we can have enough to put down on the new house, which may be challenging in this market. I'm optimistic but am trying not to get my hopes up too much. I'll keep you all posted!

Hope you have a happy and healthy weekend! :)

Etsy Inspired Challenge #118

Woohoo...the weekend is here! Not that my weekend will be any less crazy than this week has been but that's okay...'tis the season for lots of fun activities, get togethers with friends and family, and shopping/decorating for Christmas!

Fortunately I found some time to do a little crafting this week after being inspired by our featured Etsy shop, the Tzaddi Shop. The Tzaddi Shop has gorgeous jewelry...I especially love her circle glass pendants which have such beautiful designs. As soon as I saw all the lovely peacock necklaces, I immediately dug into my BoBunny Peacock Lane stash and created this card using BoBunny's current card sketch challenge.


I just love the teal and purple combination...so rich and pretty! I think I might use this for a non-traditional Christmas card for my Aunt.

The Tzaddi Shop also has a home store HERE if you are looking for some extra inspiration or lovely home decor! Tzaddi Shop has offered up to all our players, followers, and friends a 15% discount to both Etsy Stores [Tzaddi Shop and Tzaddi Home Shop]. Just enter code TZContest15--they will send a revised invoice or a rebate after purchase. How awesome is that?!

Our sponsor this week is Clare Dempsey who has two great shops which offer die cutter dust covers, scrap bags, and more...check them out HERE and HERE!

This week there are 3 fab prizes to be won so check out the Etsy Inspired Blog for all the details on how to play along for your chance to win!

Be sure to pay a visit to see the rest of the Design Team's Etsy Inspired creations too!

Ashley
De
Emily B.
Emily N.
Joy
Kerry
Laurel Beard {December Guest DT}
Savannah
Stephanie
Virginia

I hope you have a wonderful weekend! Remember, I am offering 10% off your purchase in my Etsy shop until Friday when I will be taking a break for the holidays. Simply enter HolidayGift10 in the coupon code box at checkout and it will automatically take 10% off your order (not including shipping charges).

Remember the Little Things - Etsy Inspired Challenge #106

Hello all! This week I have been realizing how fast time goes by, especially when you are raising children who seem to grow in new ways every day. So, I was inspired by my feelings and our featured Etsy shop this week, Pegasus Maiden, to create a little journal (perfect for tucking in my purse) to help me remember the little things that my children are doing at this age. Although I feel now that I will probably never forget these cute and special memories, I think that sometimes the little details get forgotten and sometimes those are the most important.



I was inspired by all the pretty peacock hair accessories in Pegasus Maiden's shop to dig into my BoBunny Peacock Lane stash and create this journal. This journal was super easy to create because I simply embellished the Noteworthy Journaling Cards. It is already filled with a variety of coordinating patterns/journal cards for writing on, so all I did was add an extra piece under the peacock transparency, the word remember, and 'the little things' sticker to make this journal the perfect fit for me. I know I will be buying more of these Journaling Cards to create other journals and they would also make for a great mini album if you have some small wallet size pictures to use up.

One of the first 'little things' I wrote about was my youngest son's adorable mispronunciations like 'smarshmallows' and 'aminals'.

Okay, now for the details of the Etsy Inspired Challenge! You can play along for your chance to win some great prizes! Simply...
- Visit Pegasus Maiden's shop and find an item that inspires you
- Create a project of your own and link it up to the Etsy Inspired Blog by Friday at noon

Our Sponsor this week is Schlosser Designs, who will be giving one lucky winner two stamp sets of their choosing!

Thanks for visiting me today! I know I haven't been around a lot lately but I so love hearing from you all! And I'm sure these ladies do too!

Ashley

De

Emily B.

Emily N.

Joy

Kim Wilson {September Guest DT}

Savannah

Stephanie

Virginia

Have a wonderful weekend!

Lucky Me - Etsy Inspired Challenge #104

Hello blogging friends! I hope you've been enjoying the last little bit of summer. I am sooooo not ready for my oldest son to start back to school. I miss him so much when he's at school all day! And his little brother is going to miss having his favorite playmate around too.

I really am so lucky to have been blessed with these two wonderful boys, which brings me to my Etsy Inspired project this week.

These pictures are from Mother's Day. All of the products used are BoBunny.

Our featured Etsy shop this week, Glamasaurus, is filled with tons of fun and sweet jewelry and accessories! I love her Floral Cameo Rings, especially this pretty purple one. Don't you just love the scalloped edge and vintage/feminine feel to this piece?! If you win the challenge this week you might get a chance to purchase one of these with the $20 gift certificate Glamasaurus is generously giving away!

We also have a great sponsor this week, Tiffany Doodles! With lots of fun images to choose from, 3 lucky winners will have their chance to pick a few of their favorites!

Check out the Etsy Inspired Blog for all the details on how to play along in the challenge.

And these lovely ladies have some fabulous Etsy Inspired projects to share too!

• Ashley
• De
• Emily B
• Emily N
• Joy
• Kim (September Guest Designer)
• Savannah
• Stephanie
• Virginia

Enjoy the holiday weekend! I'll be working on a custom order for my Etsy shop and enjoying every last minute I can with my son before school starts! :)

Friends - Etsy Inspired Challenge #101 Plus a Winner!

Hello friends! Thanks to all who joined us last week for the 100th challenge...glad you're back to play along this week too! :) Our featured Etsy shop this week, Lover Dovers, is filled with fun aprons and cute clothes for little girls. I was inspired by all the polka dots and THIS apron to create this card.

All of the products on my card are from BoBunny's Sophie collection as well as some of their coordinating Double Dot cardstock.

I can't wait to see how you're inspired by Lover Dovers' shop...maybe you'll be digging into your polka dot stash too! :)

To play along::
*Go to the Lover Dovers shop and find an item that inspires you.
*Make any creation that you would like and post a link on the EtsyInspired #101 post on the EtsyInspired blog by Friday, August 20 noon Pacific time.
*Please give credit to the shop/item you found your inspiration from and link back to the Etsy Inspired blog.
*If you upload to an online gallery, please use keyword EIC101.

By playing along this week, you could win 4 digital images of your choice from our sponsor, Sassy Studio Designs. Their fun and sassy designs fit our featured Etsy shop perfectly. And Lover Dovers will be giving another lucky winner the I Love Lucy apron.

Be sure to check out the rest of the Design Team for extra inspiration!

• Ashley
• De
• Emily B
• Emily N
• Joy
• Julie (August Guest Designer)
• Savannah
• Stephanie
• Virginia

Now for the winner of the Unity Donna Downey Inspired stamp....
Congratulations Crystal!

Please email De at stampindeva{at}bellsouth{dot}net with your mailing address and she'll get your prize out to you!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Birthday Box - Etsy Inspired Challenge #99

Wow...where did the week go?! We have been busy getting the last details and extra cleaning/purging done in preparation for putting our house on the market. We are going to go look at a possible new house tomorrow. It's such a big decision...we want everything to be so perfect but at the same time we realize that we probably can't have it all for the price we want.

I did make time to work on my Etsy Inspired project this week though! I just had to play with the adorable image I received from our sponsor this week, Bugaboo Stamps. And our featured Etsy shop, Becky Kazana, is filled with lots of fun wedding and party decor that is sure to inspire you! I loved her birthday banner and came up with this cute, eco-friendly gift box...perfect for filling with some birthday treats or small gift.



Start saving your berry and tomato containers! They can be reused in so many different ways...use them to store your own crafting goodies or decorate them as I've done here to use for gift giving.

Isn't that turtle image adorable?! And I am loving the blue, green, and purple combination in BoBunny's Peacock Lane collection.

For your chance to win some fabulous digital stamps or beautiful cards be sure to find your own inspiration from Becky Kazana's shop and then link your newly inspired creation up to the Etsy Inspired blog by Friday at noon.

And take some time to visit these lovely ladies too!

• Ashley
• De
• Emily B
• Emily N
• Heather (July Guest Designer)
• Joy
• Savannah
• Stephanie
• Virginia

Be sure to join us next week for our 100th challenge celebration!!! There will be tons of prizes to be won and of course, lots of great inspiration too! :)

2 Sketches 4 You Challenge

Well, I have been crafting my little heart out this week and I absolutely had to make sure to create a few cards for the 2 Sketches 4 You challenge because the winner will be getting a spot on their Design Team! What a fabulous prize!

So I came up with two different cards based on Laura's Sketch #56.

First up is a fun little Valentine/Love themed card.

This pretty in pink card uses Papertrey Ink cardstock, Bo Bunny double dot paper, Doodlebug Designs chunky glitter (love this stuff!), a ticket from Teresa Collins (Crush die-cut charms), and some seam binding. I love how perfectly seam binding threads through my sewing machine so I can easily create this ruffled look. I actually did two layers to give this card extra frills. :) I also popped one of the hearts up on some foam squares for added dimension.

For my second card I went with a fresh color combination and simple sentiment.

Can you tell I'm on a bit of a glitter kick this week?! :) For this card I used some of Echo Park's Sweet Summertime collection and American Crafts Thickers. Do you ever use up all your semi-colons, periods or dots for the i's and j's? I don't...so I've been working on some creative ideas for using them up. For this card I used them to create the circle. I like how it adds focus to the sentiment.

Okay, that's it for me today but I will be back tomorrow! Have a great afternoon!