Gift Guide - Creative DIY Edition

If you are anything like me, you love to give others the gift of creativity.  There are so many unique, creative gifts for adults and children out there to choose from but here are a few of my personal favorites.

Bear Creek Design on Etsy has some adorable needle felting kits that would make for a wonderful introduction into this craft. 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/87501408/diy-craft-kit-needle-felted-snowman?ref=shop_home_feat


There are lots of jewelry making kits out there but I thought that these two below were very unique (which I love) and I think they would make a great gift for a teen or adult.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/130090283/diy-kit-knit-bangle-personalize-and?ref=favs_view_3

https://www.etsy.com/listing/156670016/diy-kit-miniature-embroidery-hoop-with?ref=favs_view_5


Sewing is a useful skill and these craft kits make learning to sew fun!  I mean, really, who wouldn't want to make this adorable pig?!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/125043489/make-your-own-piglet-craft-kit-sewing?ref=listing-shop-header-1

And with the woodland animal trend and that oh so popular fox song (yes, you know the one), I think this adorable DIY pillow kit would be a huge hit this year.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/125043489/make-your-own-piglet-craft-kit-sewing?ref=listing-shop-header-1


Goose Grease offers these great paint-your-own peg doll kits.  This one below is a family set which would be fun to do as a family but they also have couple and ornament kits too.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/114415098/diy-wooden-peg-doll-craft-kit-make-it?ref=shop_home_active

For the urban farmer, I think this DIY cheese kit would be a fabulous gift!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/117406903/mini-diy-farmers-cheese-kit-3-batches?ref=favs_view_1

How about a unique guy gift...a beer making kit!
http://gifts.redenvelope.com/gifts/brooklyn-beer-making-kit-30118910?ref=HomeNoRef&q=kit&viewpos=5&trackingpgroup=productsearch

And for the tree lover or gardener...a bonsai kit.
http://gifts.redenvelope.com/gifts/bonsai-growing-kit-30111209?ref=HomeNoRef&q=bonsai&viewpos=2&trackingpgroup=productsearch

Now, how about a little gift for all you scrapbookers out there like me!  :)  Amazon has some great deals on one of my favorite albums, We R Memory Keepers.
http://www.amazon.com/We-Memory-Keepers-11-Inch-Leather/dp/B003W0TJDY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386649057&sr=8-1&keywords=we+r+memory+keepers+8+1+2+x+11

And you can score some amazing deals on scrapbooking goodies over at All Scrapbook Steals.com
Right now they have Crate Paper's Bundled Up and American Craft's Peppermint Express on sale for 40% off!  Plus you can get an extra 10% off your order by using the code TRYUS

If you (or someone you know) is interested in photography, I highly recommend the courses over at Creative Live which are currently all on sale.  They also have some business, music, and even Project Life courses too.  A few of my favorites that I have seen bits of when they were live are with photographers Ana Brandt, Sandy Puc, Kelly Brown, Lori Nordstrom, Jasmine Star, and Tamara Lackey. 

If you are looking for more unique gift ideas, you can check out my Etsy Gift Guide HERE.

Scrapbooking Your Christmas Card

Hello friends!
  I just got our Christmas cards in the mail and thought I would share a layout I created using our card from last year.  I decided to glam it up with a whole lot of sequins but keep it simple with just a few words about what Christmas means to me.

 

I get my cards from Tiny Prints and have been super happy with their quality. 

 

Do you scrapbook your Christmas cards?  I was watching a bit of Creative Live today and Becky Higgins was demonstrating Project Life and specifically talking about how to use the divided pocket pages to showcase all the holiday cards you receive.  Even if you have to cut up the cards at least you are not just throwing them away after Christmas and I think it is a nice reminder of the people in your life that year as well as a good way to document the changes in their lives (if you keep their cards each year).

On another note...

 Who is gearing up for black Friday deals?  I am big on saving money but not big on the craziness that has become Black Friday, especially now that stores are opening on Thanksgiving...that is just plain wrong!   However, did you hear that Walmart will be offering some pre-black Friday deals starting tomorrow?  They are matching some of the best deals from their competitors a week early.  I am hoping that Amazon will match their deals so I can just grab a few things I want online for the same great price! :)

 And if you are looking to save a little extra money this holiday season and you do some online shopping, I highly recommend Ebates.  You can check out my post here for more details or head on over to Ebates to see how you can earn an extra 2-20% cash back on your online purchases at over 1000 stores.  Plus, if you sign up now you will also get a $10 gift card!

Summer Bucket List

So, this weekend Big Picture Classes had a great Creative Crop for National Scrapbook Day.  There were 10 challenges and I found time to play along with a few.  Challenge #3 by Tami Morrison was to create a Summer Bucket List layout.  I LOVE this idea and was so inspired that (instead of just making up my own list) I decided to have conversations with everyone in my family to see what was on their 'wish list' for this summer.   Then I used journal cards to document everyone's Top 5 and created this page...

This was so much fun!  And I am really glad to have this documented as I think it captures a lot about us as a family, my kids' personalities/ages, and what our summer 2013 will likely look like.  I put each person's  first initial on the journal cards to remember which list is whose in the future and  I put boxes by each item so we can check them off when we do those activities.  Hopefully we will check them all off by the end of summer!  :)  Then I plan to create another 12x12 layout with some photos that highlight items from our lists.  I am soooooo going to use this idea again!  Thanks Tami!

I hope you will consider giving this a try too!  It would also be a fun idea to do on New Year's Day...hmmm...I might just have to see what my family's bucket list will be for 2014!  :)  I'd love to see your bucket list if you give this a try so link it up in the comments below and I'll come take a peek!

At the Beach - an American Crafts Challenge

Happy Wednesday! We have been having a nice week so far...swimming lessons, playing outside, and a successful trip to the outlet mall. I also have been squeezing in lots of crafting time...4 layouts and a few cards so far...hoping to finish up a few more before the end of the week!

So, have you seen some of the new CHA releases?! I am loving the new American Crafts City Park...great colors, fun embellishments and some new products too like decorative tags and tape...can't wait to get my hands on some of these goodies! :) Did you know that Amercian Crafts also has a challenge every week on their blog? I made the time to play along this week and finally scrapbook a few pictures from our summer vacation last year to Cannon Beach, OR.


I love that middle picture of the boys so into building their sandcastles and roads...a trip to the beach is always a fun filled day. In fact my oldest was asking just yesterday when we can head to the beach again!

Except for the sandpaper, everything on this layout is American Crafts...from their Everyday, Backyard, and Blue Skies collections, plus pretty much no layout is complete without some thickers and ribbon! :)

Just a few tips from this layout:
- for pictures that may have something you don't care for, skip the photo editing and simply cover it up with an embellishment or some patterned paper like my middle picture above (in fact, that picture is actually of the beach and sky but I think by covering up the people/building in the background with the wave-like paper it actually now looks like a photo of the sand and ocean)

- To create waves use a circle punch along the edge of the paper varying how far in you punch to give each strip a more realistic feel. Then ink the edges to help the waves stand out (here I used SU's not quite navy). Finally adhere the waves to your paper, just along the bottom, so that you can gently fold/roll each wave up to give the page dimension.

- For the sand, I highly recommend a gritty sandpaper...it gives your page great texture and a real sand feel. You can also cut little sandcastles out of it for an extra fun embellishment!


I hope you have a wonderful day! It is looking like another beautiful day here...maybe we'll head to the beach! :)

We love soccer!!!

Did anyone watch the FIFA world cup today? We caught the last half...go Spain! Growing up I had a lot of good friends that played soccer but I myself never did. I was more into dance, the arts, and basketball. However, I married a soccer loving man and my boys have a passion for soccer as well. So while my guys were all watching the game I decided to join in the soccer fun by scrapbooking one of my favorite photos from the spring soccer season this year.

I used Bo Bunny's current Layout Challenge. I always love having a great sketch to work with!


Aren't my little soccer players adorable?! :) I'm really happy with how this layout came together. After picking out the photo I wanted to use, I dug around in my BoBunny stash and found this great striped paper left over from the Christmas collection 'Tis the Season. It had all the right colors and the coordinating sticker sheet even had the right letters left for me to spell love. Then I just grabbed some coordinating Bo Bunny double dot papers, buttons, and more letters (from the Sophie collection) to create my layout.

The white cardstock is Bazzill Basics and the soccer ball sticker is from EK Success.

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend! I'll be back in a few days with another layout!

Happy Friday!

My oldest son's last day of school was Monday and we have been enjoying time together this week. We have friends coming over to play today which should be a lot of fun! I thought I would share how I finished off my shine layout from last week. I realized that I didn't really need to add much because I already liked the basic feel of the layout and didn't want to take away from it. So I just added a few circles which I thought added a nice little rainbow accent between the sun and rain sections and then finished it off with some journaling.


I just love my boys so much and am glad I found scrapbooking...it's such a wonderful way to document extra special photos and memories!

And being a proud mom, I just had to share the card that my son made for his teacher. I gave him lots of paper, ribbon, and buttons to work with, left him on his own for a few minutes, he grabbed his pens and came up with this.

Do you think I'm rubbing off on him? I thought this was so creative! I just might have to create a button scene of my own! :)

I hope you all have a wonderful day! I will be back tomorrow with my Etsy Inspired project!

Shine - Etsy Inspired Challenge #93

School is almost out, the sun is shining...summer must finally be here! And in honor of summer's arrival, I have a nice sunshiny layout to share with you all today!

Saturday = Etsy Inspired Challenge day here on my blog. This week's featured Etsy shop is White Birch Designs, which is filled with beautiful wire and beaded jewelry. Here is what I was inspired to create.

I was inspired by the beautiful turquoise color on this necklace with the bits of bright yellow/orange...such a stunning combination. Yesterday as I began working on my project, I first thought that I would create a card but then I got this sunshine/rays idea and knew I had to get to work on a layout. However, I am a bit of a slow scrapbooker...usually I take a few days to figure out my design, picture placement, and journaling so this layout isn't quite complete. But I do love the colors and feel of the layout so far and I absolutely adore that picture of my little guy. I took that photo in our backyard on Mother's Day. Can you tell that my photography skills are improving? :)

Okay, now for the details of the challenge! Simply visit White Birch Designs to find a piece that inspires you, create your own project, and link it up to the Etsy Inspired Blog by Friday at noon. You could win a wonderful prize from White Birch Designs or a gift voucher plus free shipping from our sponsor this week, One Stop Card Crafts. One Stop Card Crafts is also offering 10% off for everyone this week...so be sure to pop on by to see what goodies they have in store and mention EIC when you place your order. (Discount does not apply to shipping)

Be sure to visit the rest of the team too! And if you would like to be a part of our team, we are currently having a Design Team call...check out the deets HERE.

• Alex (June Guest Designer)
• Ashley
• De
• Emily
• Joy
• Kerry
• Shannon

Enjoy your weekend!

Happiness Together - Etsy Inspired Challenge #90

What a week it has been! My little one has definitely hit his 'trying twos' and our computer/internet have been experiencing some technical difficulties... so I am thankful that I am able to post my project today!

Our featured Etsy shop this week is Sunshyne Silverwear, which specializes in recycled spoon pendants. I was inspired by all the beautiful colors in the shop, especially the combination on this pendant.

It reminded me of the colors in the BoBunny Persuasion collection.

Yep, that's me and my hubby...although shhhh...don't let him know I posted this because he really doesn't like this picture of himself...he was a little heavier in this photo than normal. But I really love this layout and the picture captures how happy we are together. :)

There are 3 prizes to be won this week so be sure to check out the Etsy Inspired Blog for all the details and play along with us! We have a great new sponsor this week too, Claudine Hellmuth, who creates fabulous collage art.

Be sure to visit the rest of the Design Team and leave Miss Tiffany and our guest designer Kelley some extra kudos for making Paper Crafts Gallery Idol Top 20!!! Did you know that several of our previous guest designers made the cut too?! I can't wait to see what new, fabulous cards they create this week!

• Ashley
• Clare (May Guest Designer)
• De
• Emily
• Heather
• Jackie
• Joy
• Kelley (May Guest Designer)
• Shannon
• Tiffany

I hope you have lots of fun things planned for this holiday weekend! We are celebrating a few birthdays and trying to get our house ready to be put on the market.

Another Scrapbook Layout to Share! - Etsy Inspired Challenge #88

This year I have completed so many more scrapbooking projects since I have been on the Design Team for my local scrapbook store, Lasting Memories. But now with them getting ready to close I am going to have to motivate myself a bit more to get my scrapbooking done. Maybe you will start seeing more layouts from me for the Etsy Inspired Challenges! :)

This week's featured Etsy shop is Creation Designs, which is filled with some great vintage finds and unique handmade items like silverware windchimes.



These colorful vintage mugs reminded me of a rainbow and this great Cosmo Cricket paper from the Boyfriend collection.

Our sponsor this week is Limelight Papercrafts!!! They carry lots of great products like Cosmo Cricket, Basic Grey, Unity, and new Lawn Fawn stamps too!

Please visit the Etsy Inspired Blog for all the details on how to play along in the challenge for your chance to win a great prize from Limelight Papercrafts!

And these girls have some inspiring projects to share too!

• Clare (May Guest Designer)
• De
• Emily
• Heather
• Jackie
• Joy
• Kelley (May Guest Designer)
• Kerry
• Shannon
• Tiffany

1,2,3 Jump - Etsy Inspired Challenge #87

Hello! Sorry I have been a little quiet this week...just working on finishing up a few projects and cleaning up my craft space. It looks so nice I almost don't feel like crafting now. But I do have a project to share with you all today for the Etsy Inspired Challenge! I absolutely adore this week's featured shop, Lindsay Brackeen. You can see a few of my favorites from her shop over on the Etsy Inspired Blog. My project was inspired by this print.




We have a great new sponsor this week too...Practicing Creativity. Practicing Creativity will be giving one lucky winner the Key to My Heart stamp set.

And our Etsy shop this week, Lindsay Brackeen, will also be giving away a prize...an 8x10 print of the winner's choice! How awesome is that?!

Ready to play?
- Visit Lindsay Brackeen's shop and find an item that inspires you
- Create a project of your own based off that inspiration
- Link your project up to the Etsy Inspired Blog (challenge post #87) by Friday, May 14 at noon PST

Visit these lovely ladies for extra inspiration!

• Ashley
• Clare (May Guest Designer)
• De
• Emily
• Heather
• Jackie
• Joy
• Kelley (May Guest Designer)
• Kerry
• Shannon
• Tiffany

And for all you moms out there...Happy Mother's Day! I hope you have a wonderful and relaxing weekend! I get to go to a baby shower today and who knows what my boys have up their sleeve for tomorrow! :)

Cake Time! - Etsy Inspired Challenge #86

Hello! Today I am heading to a friend's house for an all day crafting event and I am sooooo excited! I don't think I have had a girls' day out for at least a year now (I know I really should be better about taking time for myself...I'm working on it. :) I love being a mom but I do really need a day off and today is the day! I am planning on getting some scrapbooking done, enjoying some good food, and fun time with friends!

Since it's Saturday I have an Etsy Inspired project to share with you all. And in honor of National Scrapbook day, I actually have a layout to share! :) Our featured Etsy shop this week, Isabell's Umbrella, is such a cute paper goods shop. I was inspired by all the fun, adorable images and this birthday card.

I scrapbooked my oldest son's first birthday party using My Mind's Eye Quite Contrary line.

I absolutely love MME's Quite Contrary collection...all the papers are so fun! The little pooh cut out is actually from one of the party decorations that I kept (for 6 years!)...glad I did! :) Here's a close up of my little guy eating his first cake!

This week both Isabell's Umbrella and our sponsor, Lawn Fawn, are offering up some fabulous prizes for the winners!

To play along all you have to do is visit Isabell's Umbrella and find an item that inspires you. Create a project of your own...remember that you can make just about anything crafty (a card, scrapbook layout, altered item, jewelry, a painting). Link your project up to the Etsy Inspired blog by Friday at noon PST for your chance to win one of this week's prizes!

Visit the rest of the Design Team to see what inspiring projects they have come up with this week!

• Ashley
• Clare (May Guest Designer)
• De
• Emily
• Heather
• Jackie
• Joy
• Kelley (May Guest Designer)
• Shannon
• Tiffany

So, what are your plans today? Doing anything fun for National Scrapbook Day? There is a lot going on in blog land and probably at your local scrapbook store too! Have fun! Hopefully I will have lots of scrapbook pages to show for all my kid-free crafting time today! :)

Celebrate Beginnings (Etsy Inspired Challenge #78)

Hello (and welcome if you're new to my blog)! :) This week's Etsy Inspired Challenge had me so filled with ideas that I didn't know where to start! I was really inspired by all the beautiful colors in our featured shop this week, Fantasy Art of Maigan Lynn. Maigan is so talented and there is so much detail to her paintings. I was also inspired by the great products our sponsor, Glue Arts, gave me to try...I wanted to create a bunch of different projects just so I could try all the different adhesives out! :)

But, for today I am just going to share one of my projects...a layout using the Making Memories Flutter collection. Having two boys, my layouts rarely have a feminine feel/colors but Maigan's shop inspired me! :)

I still have a few details to add to this layout like some journaling and maybe an extra embellishment or two but I thought it was still completed enough to share. Plus I was really proud of the folded fan flower I created so I just couldn't wait! :)



Our wedding was beautiful and I have always wanted to document some of the little details that made it extra special. We were lucky enough to celebrate the beginning of our marriage on a gorgeous summer day, at a beautiful venue, surrounded by family and friends...it was a wonderful way to start our married life together.

Consider documenting an important beginning in your life...it will be a wonderful thing to look back on later to see where that moment has taken you and how it has changed your life.


For this layout I used Glue Arts Glue Glider Pro and let me tell you it is fabulous! (Please note that I did receive this product for free...however the opinions I am expressing would be the same if I had bought this product.) I have NEVER been a tape runner kind of gal. I love my glue and always had problems whenever I would try an adhesive runner. Until now. The Glue Glider Pro is easy to hold, easy to roll, and easy to replace the cartridges. When I first saw it in my scrapbook store I was interested in purchasing it but decided not to because I thought it would be like all the adhesive runners I had problems with in the past but I was so wrong. So if you are a glue gal like me but want to give an adhesive runner a try, I would highly recommend the Glue Glider Pro from Glue Arts. It is way faster and less sticky than using glue too! :)

Okay now you know with the Etsy Inspired Challenges we always have some great prizes you could win if you play along. This week you could win 3 beautiful 4x6 prints from Maigan Lynn's shop or a great prize pack from Glue Arts (which does include the Glue Glider Pro!)

All you have to do is find your own inspiration from Maigan Lynn's shop, create a project based off that inspiration and link it up to the Etsy Inspired Blog (challenge#78) by Friday at noon! I can't wait to see what you come up with!

I'm sure these lovely ladies have some great inspiration for you today too!

• Ashley
• De
• Emily
• Heather
• Jackie
• Joy
• Laurel (March Guest Designer)
• Lisa (March Guest Designer)
• Shannon
• Tiffany

Have a wonderful weekend!

Up for the Challenge

On Monday, Wendy Anderson issued a challenge over on the Making Memories blog. She challenged people to create a Spring layout and an extra challenge of using the Flutter collection on a boy page. Wendy created a beautiful example of her own and since I have 2 boys and I was lucky enough to win the Flutter collection from Making Memories during CHA week, I knew I had to give this challenge a try!

I rarely (if ever) use any pinks or flowers/butterflies on my son's layouts but the Flutter collection does have a lot of nice green, orange and blue colors too so it is really great for girl or boy Spring layouts. Here is what I came up with last night:

I really love how this turned out. Thanks for the challenge Wendy...I'll have to incorporate these colors into my son's layouts more often! :)

All the products are from the Making Memories Flutter collection except for the cardstock (Bazzill Basics) and the two flower buttons (Creative Cafe). The ladybug and butterfly are popped up on foam squares for dimension.

Hope the sun is shining where you are today! :)

Love is all you need

I'm so thankful for all the loving people in my life. When I got to design with the BoBunny Persuasion collection for my scrapbook store I knew it was perfect for documenting one of my greatest loves in life, my husband. Here is one of the layouts I created:


I thought this patterned paper was so pretty that I didn't really want to do a lot to take away from the beauty of it. So, I just added one of my favorite photos from our wedding and a few extra touches to create this layout.

This week I am busily working on some more projects for my scrapbook store, some magazine submissions (hoping to get at least a few more projects picked up this year), and several things for my Etsy shop.

I will be back Saturday to share my Etsy Inspired Challenge project and you are not going to want to miss our sponsor this week! :)