The Vatican

A little over a year ago my husband and I took an anniversary trip to Italy. I've been very, very slowly scrapping the pictures. As much as I just want to have the book done, it's fun scrapping and reminiscing. Like our morning at the Vatican. It was the only day our alarm didn't go off. We woke up 15 minutes before we had to leave, but we got there!

Supply List:
Paper: The Girls’ Paperie On Holiday (Travel Ticking, Mixed Dot)
Accessories: The Girls’ Paperie Travel Paper Cuts, The Girls’ Paperie Travel Brads, The Girls’ Paperie Travel Charms, Prima Flocked Alphas (vanilla, brown)

Baptism Layout and a Card

I had a lot of fun scrapping this special day. My youngest is now 2, but in this photo he was only 2 weeks old.
My Baptism
Paper: Moxxie Faith (Baptism, Faith Confirmed, Lighted Cross)
Accessories: Karen Foster Card Stock Stickers My Baptism



I used my leftovers to create this card:

Child of God
Paper: Moxxie Faith (Baptism, Faith Confirmed)
Accessories: Karen Foster My Baptism Card Stock Stickers, Hero Arts Hero Hues Ribbon

Turtle Bags

I've posted these fun bags a few other places, but I know I haven't posted them here. I'm handing these out this year to the ladies in my family (and yes those turtles inside are homemade too!).
These were pretty simple. I cut the bags with my Silhouette. I stamped on a piece of acetate (clear plastic) with white Staz-on ink to create the window. The stamp is from My Mind's Eye's I Believe collection. The bags are secured in back with a little bit of twine wrapped around 2 brads. The paper that the bags are created from is Jillibean Soup Christmas Chestnut Soup.

Swinging Card

I just picked up Lawn Fawn's Critters in the 'Burbs stamp set. I've been eying it for a while, but since I have a ridiculous amount of stamps, I've only been eying it. Monday, I finally gave in and bought it. I justified buying it because I'm planning on using it for a Flower Soft class I'm planning for A Walk Down Memory Lane (more details on that soon). As an added bonus, Lawn Fawn's having a contest. The winning card is going to be published in their catalog and be shown off at their CHA booth. Pretty cool prize, right? Here's the card I came up with for the contest:


I thought this set would make a fun interactive card. As you can see the tire swing spins on a piece of twine. The front side is the tire, and the back side is the greeting. The tree was stamped, colored with Copics, cut out, and popped up on foam adhesive. The grass was also stamped, cut and mounted with foam adhesive. The card measures 4 1/4" x 4 1/4".

Sister Thing

It's no secret I love playing along with My Mind's Eye's Monthly Sketch Challenges. As much as I enjoy creating my own layout, it's just as much fun seeing what everyone else does as well. After the challenge closes, MME posts a photo album on their blog with everyone's entries. I'm always amazed how 1 sketch can translate to so many beautiful pages.
Okay, on to the main event. The theme for this month's challenge is "It's a ______ thing." Here's the sketch:Here's my 2 page take:

A little bit of back story on this. In September I went to visit my sister out in Phoenix (while my wonderful husband played Mr. Mom at home). It was a short trip that we packed with all sorts of fun stuff including a trip to a wildlife park. We got to meet this guy up close and personal.

With all the cute safari animals, I thought MME's Alphabet Soup papers would be a fun way to scrap the pictures from the animal park.I added some paper piecing, a lot of hand stitching, some Lush Brads, and some Jenni Bowlin Buttons to complete the layout.

I don't just scrap!

I thought I'd share this project I finished up as a gift for Christmas. Occasionally, when I get the chance I like to knit and spin. I knit this wine bottle cozy from this pattern, with a few changes. I used a larger size needle and made it much longer than the directions say. I'm kind of proud of myself, because I'm a pretty basic knitter and had to try out some new techniques with this. I'll definitely be making more of these.

1 quick update, too. Here's a picture of some of the coffee cup sleeves that I showed you how to make in this post. The proper cups arrived in the mail, and I just can't help but show what it's really supposed to look like!

To Love and Cheris

I've been playing around with Imaginisce's To Love & Cherish line. It's a beautiful, bold line for scrapping weddings and creating wedding cards, which is exactly what I did with it.

All of the paper is from To Love & Cherish, as well as the stamp and ribbon. I used my I-top to create not only the center of the flower and the I-top punches to create the flower itself. The rhinestones were added using the I-rock. The scalloped pleats were created by cutting 8 - 1 inch strips of paper, punching them out with Fiskars scalloped edge punch, and layering them from the bottom up.
Again, all of the papers except for the blue card stock are from To Love & Cherish, as are the rhinestone brads, stamps, ribbon, and flowers. The pearls and rhinestones were set using the I-rock. The frame for the photo and the bracket accents were cut using the Silhouette.

Everybody Loves Christmas

I know I've made these notebooks before and shown them on the blog. However, I wanted to show how easily they can be adapted for seasonal gifts. I handed a dozen of these out as party favors at a Christmas party I had at my house this past weekend. I've posted step-by-step instructions on the AWDML blog before. You can access them by clicking here. I also made one for myself that I'm using to keep my Christmas to do list in. These were simple to make Christmas-y using papers and stickers from Echo Park's Everybody Love's Christmas. They're kept shut using super thin magnets from Basic Grey. I embellished using my I-rock.

Birthday Bow Napkin Rings with Glue Dots®

I love entertaining. Truth be told, I do it less and less now that I have little kids, but I still love it. I love using my fancy plates, pretty serving dishes, and cloth napkins. When Glue Dots® challenged their Dottesses to create something with birthdays in mind, I decided to honor the dinner party with a Birthday Bow napkin ring. Try it for your next Birthday Party to add a fun, whimsical touch. To make the bow and ring, you'll need:

Craft Glue Dots®
Pop Glue Dots®
1 large brad
Double-sided patterned paper (I used Fancy Pants' It's Your Day) cut to the following measurements:
1 - 1 1/2" x 6" strip
8 - 3/4" x 4" strips
4 - 3/4" x 3 3/4" strips
1 - 3/4" x 3" strip


1. Take the 4 - 3/4" x 3 3/4" strips and fold them over on themselves to form a cone shape. Use a Craft Glue Dot® to hold the ends together.


2. Use Craft Glue Dots® to attach the 4 cones together into a bow shape.


3. Take the 3/4" x 3" strip of paper and use a Craft Glue Dot® to form a ring. Use another Craft Glue Dot® to attach the ring to the center of the bow.


4. Repeat steps 1 and 2 with 4 - 3/4" x 4" strips of paper. Put a Pop Glue Dot® in the center.


5. Use the Pop dot to attach this bow underneath the first, smaller assembled bow.


6. Repeat steps 1 and 2 with your last 4 strips of 3/4" x 4" paper. Add a Pop Glue Dot® to the center and attach to the bottom of the assembled bow. You will now have a fully assembled bow.


7. Create the napkin ring by making a loop with a 1 1/2" x 6" piece of paper. Use a large brad to secure the loop in place. Put a Craft Glue Dot® on the top of the brad.


8. Firmly press the bow onto the the top of the brad (the Craft Glue Dot® will hold it in place). You now have a completed Birthday Bow Napkin Ring.

I wrote this blog post while participating on the Glue Dots® design team.

Don't miss it

Most of you know that I'm on the in store design team, do the social media for, and teach classes at A Walk Down Memory Lane. I wanted to let you know that right now AWDML is having a great 12 Days of Christmas Sale. You can find all of the info for it here on the blog. Each day a new item is added to the sale, so by December 12, you'll have 12 great sales. Additionally, the paper I used to create the fun layout above is from The Girls' Paperie. They just happen to be one of this month's featured manufacturers (the other one is Just Rite Stamps). You can get them at 25% off all month long. Just thought I'd pass it along, since I LOVE a good deal.

Merry Layout Supply List
Paper: The Girls’ Paperie Tinsel & Twig (Christmas Carol Stripe, Deck the Halls, Festive Brocade, Snowfall)
Accessories: The Girls’ Paperie Tinsel & Twig Sticker Market, The Girls’ Paperie Tinsel & Twig Flower Market, Imaginisce I-rock crystals
Tools: Imaginisce I-rock, Fiskars Upper Crest Punch, EK Success Edger Punch Bracket

Let it Snow!

Well, there's snow on the ground now, and instead of grumbling about the cold, I'm going to remember that snow means I get the chance to take and scrap photos like these:
Keep warm, and keep your camera handy!

Snow Fun Supply List
Paper: Pebbles New Arrival (Peek-a-boo, Brand New)
Accessories: American Crafts Thickers (Giggles)
Tools: Silhouette SD, We Are R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Bazzill In Stitch’z template, EK Success Edger Punch Bracket

Coffee Cup Sleeves

I thought I'd share a quick, fun Christmas gift idea. I'm making a number of these coffee sleeves. I have some plastic, reusable cups that look exactly like the paper ones that you get at coffee places ordered (they haven't shown up yet), but this cup gives you the general idea.

These are really simple. I found funky socks at Target, cut them to the right size w/ my Fiskars scissors, added a little fabric glue to the top and bottom to keep them from fraying, and then sewed on buttons (I love these buttons from Doodlebug!). I'm playing around with the buttons; Some go all the way around the sleeve, I've stacked them vertically in a column of 3, you get the idea. These cups and sock warmers are going to people like the lady who cleans my husband's office, the teacher's aid who holds the doors open and greets all the kids coming into school every morning, etc. Combined with a gift card to a local coffee shop, this would even make a great teacher gift. My kids are a little too young to help out with these yet, but if you have older kids, they're easy enough for kids to make for grandparents, aunts, uncles, and others too.

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope you are all having a blessed and safe Thanksgiving. I wanted to share a layout before I headed out the door for some family, food, and fun. This layout may be birthday themed, but it illustrates many of the things I'm thankful for on a daily basis. This layout is based on a card sketch by Allison Davis, and uses Fancy Pants It's Your Day paper.


I'm thankful for my paper crafting hobby. It relaxes me, and reminds me to stretch myself.


I'm thankful that every day I'm greeted by these sweet, goofy, mischievous faces.


I'm thankful God often reminds me to put down the mop, and enjoy my children's creativity.


I'm thankful for my husband who comes home from work and wants to hear all about Teddy's birthday celebration from overly excited children.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Glue Dots® + Weddings = Happily Ever After

I have to admit I was pretty excited when Glue Dots® challenged us to make something wedding themed for one of our projects this month. I love paper crafts, I love weddings, I love making gifts...does it get any better that that!?! What I came up with could really have 3 different uses. It can be part of a gift for the bride and groom, it can be a gift from the bride and groom to guests, or (with a little extra work) it can be a table decoration. Here's the wedding gift version:This is the front and back view of a personalized and decorated wine bottle. Added to a wine themed gift basket, it makes a beautiful gift. Set at the tables, it makes a lovely, personalized party favor. Making the labels is simple.
~First pick out a bottle of wine. Remove any price tags, stickers, etc. from it. Also remove the foil from around the neck and cork area of the bottle. Leave the labels on the wine bottle. It's much easier to cover them up than to remove them!
~ Next measure both the front and back labels, often they are different sizes. Add about 1/4" to the measurements to give yourself enough overlap. For example, if your label is 3" x 3 1/2", your new personalized label should measure about 3 1/4" x 3 3/4".
~Now you get to choose your paper. I chose paper from Imaginisce's To Love & Cherish line.
~Now design a front and back label. The front of my bottle has the couple's monogram on it, and the back has a wedding Bible verse. I designed both labels in my Silhouette software, and printed it out on my printer at home, but any word or print shop type software will do. Just use what you are most comfortable with. Print out your labels on patterned paper. *Just a note, the proper way to do wedding monograms is the bride's first initial on the left (when looking at the monogram), the groom's first initial on the right, and the last initial in the center.
~ Once printed, cut your labels to the proper size. Add Glue Dots® Glue Lines or Glue Dots® Memory Book Dots to the back of the printed label and layer over the label on the wine bottle.
~ Next use a punch or die cut machine (I used my Silhouette again) to cut about 8-10 flowers out of paper that matches the paper you used for your label. Add embellishments to the center of your flowers (I used I-rock Gems and Pearls). Curl the petals of your flowers forwards a bit to give the flowers more dimension. Attach a Glue Dots® Memory Book Dot to the back of the flower and attach to bottle.

If you're using this idea for a gift, you can stop here. If you're using this as a table decoration, you will want to continue with the additional steps to create this:
~ At this point, you'll want a cork-less, empty wine bottle instead of a full one. I've added 6 paper flowers to the wine bottle. There are lots of ways out there to make paper flowers, and you can choose your favorite, and the flower that best suits the theme of your wedding, but here are a few tips to make life easier.
~Make the paper part of your flower using a origami, die, or punch of your choosing (I again used my Silhouette).
~Grab some floral wire and some pliers to make a stem. Twist the wire around the pliers to make a flat spiral on one end.
~Thread the straight end down through the top of the flower.
~ You will now have a nice flat surface to work with in the center of your flower. Put a Glue Dot® Mini Dot on the underside of your wire spiral to keep the flower from moving around on the wire. You can add an embellishment (like a pretty rhinestone) to the top side of the wire to glam it up a bit.
~Finally, to keep your flower from moving around in the bottle, create a second wire spiral on the bottom of the wire. Add a large Glue Dot® (like a Craft Dot, Memory Dot, or Pop Dot) and place into the bottle. The Glue Dot® will stick to the bottom of the bottle keeping your flower in place.

I wrote this blog post while participating on the Glue Dots® design team.