Gobble Gobble

That's turkey for Happy Thanksgiving! I have so very much to be thankful for, that I won't bore you with my whole list, but I will say that I'm thankful for the chance to relax with my family, watch some Packer football, and eat a little turkey (okay, maybe more than a little). Here's another thing I'm thankful for, a chance for crafty time to make projects like this:
While this is a bit of a girlie spring version, it also translates nicely to Christmas. In fact, a friend and I have teamed up to make a dozen of these out of Christmas paper. This version takes 20 equal sized paper circles. Just score a triangle onto each circle, fold up the edges, and attach into a ball shape. Slide a wood dowel into the ball and "plant" into a painted clay pot.
Here I used:
Paper: Die Cuts With A View Sweet Stack Card Stack
Ribbon: SU! Rose Red Double Stitch Ribbon
Button: SU! Corduroy button

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Beautiful Boy

Way back at the beginning of October I won a free Scrap kit from the Fiskateers and Little Yellow Bicycle. First, a little plug. If you're not a Fiskateer, check it out over at www.fiskateers.com. Tell them Samantha T. #6363 sent you. The unique thing about the Fiskateer community is that it's all about people who 1. Love Fiskars and 2. Love to craft. This is not a paper crafts only community, it's people who love to sew, knit, do floral arrangements, and/or paper craft.
Also, if your not familiar with Little Yellow Bicycle, you can check them out here. LYB does beautiful papers, funky embellishments, and (my personal favorite) fabulous board books. They even have paper that's pre-cut to fit their mini books. I've made quite a few baby books for gifts this way!
Alright, on to the layout I promised. The hardest part about this layout was deciding what to use. The scrap kit I won was so packed full of beautiful papers and lovely embellishments from LYB's Autumn Bliss line that I couldn't decide what not to use! I know you've all been there...you just can't decide which side of a double sided piece of paper you like better.
First up is a page called Beautiful:That Beautiful Boy is my youngest. I took these pictures just at the beginning of fall when the weather was perfect and the grass was still green! The papers used here are Bronze Tonal, Autumn Argyle, Blue Linen, Multi Geometric, and Autumn Stripe. What photos can't show is the great texture these papers have. Some of the parts of the paper are shiny and raised a bit (I believe they call it Thermography over at LYB). I also used the Clear Cuts Shapes and the Epoxy Stickers (all from the Autumn Bliss Line).

Here's a close up of some of those Clear Cuts, Epoxy Stickers, and some hand stitching I did:The second page of the layout is called Bliss:
The papers used here are Bronze Tonal, Multi Geometric, and Autumn Stripe. I again used the Clear Cuts Shapes and Epoxy Stickers.
The Clear Cuts and Epoxy Stickers really add depth and dimension to the layout.
Hint: I used a fine tipped glue pen to adhere the Clear Cuts to the paper. I just traced the pattern with glue, that way the clear cuts are adhered, but you can't see my glue through them. Here's a close up of some of that detail:
One last picture of the pages side-by-side as they are meant to be a set. I hope you enjoyed this layout...oh, and if you want to see everything in this gorgeous collection click here to go directly to LYB's Autumn Bliss page on their web site. As you can tell, I really enjoyed working with this collection, it's just perfect for those great fall pictures!

Hop, Hop, Hop

Thanks for stopping by on Scraptiv!ty's blog hop. What's that picture above? It's a sneak peak of what's in store for December's monthly S! kit. Click here and here to check out what I've made with November's amazing kit.
Leave a comment below to be added to the drawing for a fabulous S! prize. Want to increase your chances to win? Click here to check out all of the Design Team members' blogs. Every time you leave a little love, you increase your chance to win, plus you'll get some amazing inspiration. Thanks for stopping by. Come back tomorrow for a fun fall layout!

2 Sales and a Canvas

I have so much fun stuff to share tonight! I have 2 absolute favorite scrapbook suppliers (okay, I do some design team work for them, so I may be a little biased, but they're still really great!), and both suppliers are having awesome sales right now. Scraptiv!ty, a kit club for scrapbookers, is having an end of the year sale on a whole bunch of their past kits. They have seriously slashed prices (do I sound like a used car salesman yet?), and you won't be disappointed with Scraptiv!ty's amazing kits. Click here and here to check out previous posts I've done with the November kit. Even better, Scraptiv!ty's having a little party on Sunday the 22nd as they try to break their record for the most people on the forum at one time! Their having a blog hop (you'll get to hop by my blog), scrap challenges, a scavenger hunt (hosted by yours truly) and some fabulous prizes! Hope to see you there. If you're not already a member of the forum and gallery you can sign up here.
The second store I love is A Walk Down Memory Lane. I love them because they have a huge selection on line, and they just happen to have a physical store just down the road from my house. Every month they have a featured manufacturer that is on sale for 15% off all month long. November's featured manufacture just happens to be the amazing, stunning, fresh Pink Paislee. I have been creating all month with their awesome stuff. I've been dying to do another canvas since my last one (also done with Pink Paislee papers) turned out so fabulously. You can check out that post here if you missed it.
I painted this canvas with Medium Brown Studio Paint first, then painted over that with Tan Studio Paint. I only painted a thin layer, so the brown color could show through. This gave the canvas a nice antiqued look. I then layered up paper from Pink Paislee's Mistletoe & Co. Collection and the Amber Road Collection. The scalloped edge was made with Fiskars' Apron Lace border punch. I stamped "...and they lived happily ever after..." (from SU!) with brown staz-on ink. I sealed the whole project with satin finish Mod Podge. When that was dry, I added a Pink Paislee Amber Road Bella Brad. I did not punch a hole for this. Instead I snipped the brad "legs" off and added the brad with a super sticky glue. I love the way the black and white mixes with the browns and reds on this layout. Thanks for sticking with me on this extra long post today!

********UPDATE******Michael's is having a "Handmade Holidays" contest. I submitted this project. You can vote for me if you'd like here. Click here to enter it for yourself. If you enter the contest, leave a comment with the link to your project, so we can all vote for you too!

Quick Post

I've been a bad blogger, and for that I apologize. We got hit with the winter sick bug at our house, and I've been getting by on the minimum lately. Tonight's just one last quick post of an Imaginisce card. I'll be back tomorrow with a great Pink Paislee project, I promise. Until then, enjoy this fun teacher card.

Almost everything you see is Imaginisce's Teacher's Pet Line. The book worm (I just love that little guy!) was colored in with Copic Markers. The frame that he's stamped on was cut with my Spellbinder's Nestabilities die. The notebook edge was done with a Stampin' Up! spiral edge punch.

It's a Zoo

Seriously, lately my house has felt more like a zoo than a home. Maybe it's the little monkeys that occupy my house (aka my 2 boys), or maybe it's that fact that as the weather turns colder, and the days turn shorter we're "caged" in our home more. But, I have to admit I love the zoo, the animals that live here, and this crazy, crazy life, so in honor of all of you who often feel like you're living in a zoo, here's a fun Zoo Layout.All of the paper, brads, and chipboard stickers are from Imaginisce's Wild Things Line. The stitching was done by hand using one of Bazzill's stitch templates.

Take Time to PLAY

I created a fun wall hanging for the play room in our house from some great Imaginisce paper. Creating really served as a great reminder to take time to PLAY and have some fun with my boys. Sometimes I get so busy doing the things that, "just have to be done," that I forget to enjoy it all. So, remember to take time to PLAY today.


Supplies:
Paper - Imaginisce Let's Roll
Tools - Silhouette SD (used to cut PLAY)
Adhesives - Foam Dimensionals
Ribbon - Pumpkin Pie Striped Grosgrain from Stampin' Up!
Button - Imaginisce

More Scraptiv!ty

As promised, here are the rest of the projects I made for this months Scraptiv!ty kit release. Now, that doesn't mean you won't be seeing more from this kit from me, this is just what I could whip up in 1 week. Today I've got 2 layouts and a tea bag holder (it's a bit of a hybrid between a card and a box). Everything used is from Scraptiv!ty's November kit except for the thread and the brads. So without further ado....
A layout

Another layout (I scanned the newspaper articles into my computer, and then printed the articles out as 4 x 6 pictures...much easier to scrap that way)And, last but not least, my favorite project, Tea for Two

I hope you enjoyed my projects from this month's release. If you'd like to see more from the other amazingly talented Scraptiv!ty designers, you can check out Scraptiv!ty's November Kit gallery here or check out the kit itself here.

Scraptiv!ty

I'm so excited to introduce to you my favorite kit company, Scraptiv!ty! Today is the release of their November kit. For the past week and a half I have been creating like crazy with this kit. It is packed full of all sorts of amazing goodies. I've created 5 projects already, and still have over 1/2 my kit left. What's in this monthly kit? Amazing paper, fabulous stamps, and my favorite - a 7 Gypsies Artist Printing tray. To see all of what's in this month's kit, you just have to do is click here.
Later today myself and all of the ladies on the Scraptiv!ty design team will upload our creations to the gallery here. I have a peak at two of my creations below, and a little info on them. Check back later in the week to see what else I've created.
First up is the Artist Printing Tray from 7 Gypsies. The possibilities are truly endless. I decided to turn it into a photo collage that says "Escape Explore Discover"
Everything from the tray to the paper, to the photo turns (in the bottom left and top right hand corners) are from my kit. The only thing that came from my personal stash was the red thread under "Discover". The sections of the tray measure about 3 3/4" x 2 3/4", so it's perfect for displaying wallet sized photos.
The photo tray may have been my favorite kit item, but an extremely close second were the Prima stamps. How gorgeous are these stamps? Again, everything here is from the kit, except for the brown ink and a brown marker. The background is stamped with the Prima Damask stamp in brown ink on Core'dinations Whitewash paper. I hadn't used Core'dinations paper until this kit. It's so cool! Sanding it reveals a core color (here red), and when you stamp on it, the ink absorbs into it, giving it a more muted look. I used the Prima Chandelier stamp to stamp brown ink on white Bazzill paper. I then cut the chandelier and decorative corner out and attached them to the paper. The chandelier is attached with foam adhesives to give it more dimension. The bottom, red strip, is Bazzill pre-embossed paper, and the brown card stock base is more Core'dinations.
I hope you enjoyed your first peak at this month's kit. Check back later this week for more Scraptiv!ty November kit goodies, including a couple of fun layouts!