Fuse and Cinch Mini Album

Today I'm combining two of my very favorite tools in a Fuse and Cinch Mini Album. Fair warning; this post is a bit photo heavy, but I wanted to share all of the pages from the album with you.

All of the paper in this album is from We R Memory Keeper's Shine, and all of the journaling cards (3x4 and 4x6) are Indian Summer Albums Made Easy Cards.

I used my WRMK Fuse tool to create custom sized pages for my book. It came in especially handy for making shaker pages (like the Dream Big page above and Make Every Moment Count tag below).

Sealing some sequins into a few of the pages adds to the whimsy of the book, and I especially love that they can move around inside the page, making the page more interactive. 

Once I had all of my pages done, I used my WRMK Cinch to bind the whole lot together with a brown Cinch spiral binding wire. 

Every year I take annual photos of my boys. The photos in this album are all from when I took their annual photos this past fall. 

Here's another shaker page, sealed in with the fuse. 

...and that's the end! Thanks for stopping by!

Mix and Match Layout

Hello! Today I'm sharing a mix and match layout from our Ireland trip. Today's subject is the English Market in Cork. I often stick with the same paper collection when working on layouts, but sometimes that just doesn't work. This English Market layout was one of those times, so I just had to mix and match my papers for myself.

I fell in love with the feel of that blue striped paper for these photos. It's from Bo Bunny Sweet Life collection. I also thought the light blue piece of paper from Sweet Life would work (the one framing the 3 photos and journaling card in the center). The rest of the paper in the collection, while gorgeous, just wasn't right for the feel I was going for with the layout.

So...I went searching the paper racks at A Walk Down Memory Lane for some paper to use with my original picks, and I landed on Bo Bunny Modern Miss. I not only found that fun triangle paper, but also the paper I used to journal on.

I dug into my stash at home for embellishments. I used some enamel dots, Pink Paislee Solstice Ephemera, and Heidi Swapp Mink Jumbo Words (enjoy) covered in Therm O Web Rose Gold Deco Foil. I really, really love that Deco Foil from Therm O Web.

Mixing and matching my papers collections and embellishemts ended up working out pretty well for this layout!
Thanks for stopping by!

Thanks for Making Me Brighter - Teacher Thank You Cards

Thursday I shared one set of teacher thank you cards, and today I have a second set to show you. We like to give gift cards as gifts at the end of the school year, so I always try to add a personal touch by sending along a hand made card and note with the gift card. Today's cards are a Thanks for Making Me Brighter set.

Like with my "Thanks for Helping Me Shine" set, I started with We R Memory Keepers super dimensional 3D embossing folders from Gemstone and Geometric.

Then, I cut a light bulb with the dies from We R Memory Keepers Light Bulb Garland  Die set. This die set is actually meant to be used on a light bulb garland (the base to the light bulb folds over so you can run a string through it), but it works just as well on a card! The bulb was cut from silver matte card stock while the filament and base were cut from gold glitter paper.

I printed my sentiment on the computer, and attached it with some foam adhesive. I finished off the card by adding a few strips of paper as embellishments.

Thanks for stopping by!

Moxxie Giveaway Winner

Thank you to everyone who entered my Moxxie new release giveaway. The winner of all 3 new collections is:

Victoria W.

Congratulations Victoria! Please e-mail me at potaylor@hotmail.com with your address so I can mail you your prize!

Thanks for Helping Me Shine - Teacher Thank You Cards

My kids just finished out the school year. I made two different sets of thank you cards for teachers and aides using We R Memory Keeper's dies and Embossing Folders. Today I'm sharing my Thanks for Helping Me Shine teacher thank you card set.

I knew I wanted to use the We R Memory Keeper's Gems dies. I also knew I wanted to go for a clean and simple look, so I decided to pair the diamond die from the Gems die set with the WRMK Next Level Embossing Folders.

I just want to note that these embossing folders are amazing! The dimension that you get from these is excellent, and there are different levels of dimension from the same folder, so the 3-D look of them is the best. I really haven't seen anything quite like these. I used a mix of folders from Geometric, and Gemstone.

I have found that you get the best, most defined results from heavier card stock, like the Stamp School Pop Tone card stock from A Walk Down Memory Lane. I cut my diamonds from American Crafts Glitter Paper to add some sparkle to the card. I recommend using a metal die cutting plate whenever you cut glitter paper. It gives you a much cleaner cut.

I printed my "Thanks for helping me shine!" from my computer using the same card stock I used on the cards.

I love how quickly this set went together. Each card is different, but made from the same basic components, so I was able to put them together faster. These clean and simple cards were a hit with the teachers. Will you be busy making teacher thank you cards this year?

Clarion Cork

I'm continuing to work through my photos from Ireland one layout at a time. We landed in Cork, and went straight to our hotel. We picked this hotel based on online ratings, location, and price. and let me tell you we were not disappointed with the Clarion Cork hotel.

We really fell in love with Cork, and a big part of that was this lovely hotel with it's amazingly friendly staff and awesome location. Just on the edge of the downtown shopping district, we could get our fill of walking and then kick back and relax on the river front. So fun!

The mix of dark and light paper in Pebbles Home + Made fit my photos really well. It's a bit hard to tell from the photo of my photos, the vertical photo was taken during the full sun in the middle of the day, while the horizontal photo was taken when the sun was starting to set one evening. The colors in the photos are quite different, but both work really well with Home + Made.

I can't get enough of the pretty gold accents in this collection, too. I played them up a bit by using gold glitter alphas for the title. 

So, now I have one more page done, and it will definitely help us look back years from now and remember this great hotel in a lovely city!

Moxxie Giveaway and Layout

I am coming to the end of my year as a Moxxie Design Team member, so I thought it would be fun to go out with a layout and a big Moxxie giveaway. Here's the latest layout I've created with a Moxxie Collection.

 Now, for the giveaway I have the paper and collection stickers (and a few sets of coordinating alphabet stickers) from each of Moxxie's new releases to give away. One lucky winner will get All Star Baseball, Fastpitch, and Magical Moments. Just enter below, and make sure to come back on Saturday, May 23, to find out if you won.

Enter for your chance to win! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Deco Foil Foam Adhesive

Today I have another birthday card to share. For this card I thought I'd play around with Therm O Web's Deco Foil again (you can check out my last Deco Foil project here and download a free printable). This time I thought I'd check out the Deco Foil Foam Adhesive.

You can use the Therm O Web foam adhesive in conjunction with the Deco Foil to create dimensional foiled embellishments for cards and paper crafting projects. The foam can be easily cut with a punch or dies.

For my card today, I used a simple star punch combined with Silver Star Deco Foil and Pumpkin Deco Foil.

The paper I used for this card is We R Memory Keepers Cakes and Candles. The colors in this collection are just my favorite. They're bright without being overwhelming, and they work for any age group. Last week I made some cards with Cakes and Candles that were for my 10 year old nephews, while this card went to my father-in-law, who happens to be in the older than 10 category.

Have you tried Therm O Web's Deco Foil yet? I'd love to see what you've created with it!

We R Memory Keepers NSD Giveaway Winner

First of all, let me say thank you to everyone who took the time to leave me a comment. I read each and every one and appreciate the time you take to share your thoughts. Okay, now the winner of the Sew Easy Start kit is:

 Betty Burgie

who said...

Thanks for sharing another way to use embossing folders.. great project...happy crafting and good luck all 

Betty, please e-mail me at potaylor@hotmail.com with your address so we can get your prize sent out to you. Congratulations!

If you didn't win my giveaway, remember to check We R's blog and all the other Design Team members' blogs to see if you've won one of the many NSD giveaways. 

Day Camp

I'm over on the Moxxie Blog today with a day camp layout featuring Faith.

Head on over there to check it out!

Amsterdam Layout

I'm trying to (very slowly) scrap our photos from our trip to Ireland. Life has been busy since we've returned, so I've set myself the goal of scrapping one layout a week from our trip. I'm working in chronological order make it a bit easier, too. Our flight to Ireland took us through Amsterdam. The flight in was actually really cool, so I snapped a few pictures and used them to scrap this Amsterdam layout.

I decided to use We R Memory Keeper's Hello Darling mixed with a little bit of Denim Blues. I love that Denim Blues mixes with so many of WRMK's other collections.

I save a lot of random stuff when we travel. Of course, I always make sure to save our boarding passes. We had multiple legs to this trip, but I thought the one that shows Amsterdam to Cork was the most interesting one, so I decided to save and scrap just that one. 

It was a bonus that the blue on this boarding pass worked pretty well with Hello Darling and Denim Blues, as well. 

Another layout done and in the Ireland book.
Thanks for stopping by!

Birthday Cards

We have a few birthdays in our family in May, so I've been busy making some birthday cards. Today I thought I'd share a pair I made for my twin nephews using We R Memory Keeper's Cakes and Candles collection.

Since these are for my 10 year old nephews, I needed to keep them masculine without being too juvenile or too old looking.

For the card pictured above, I mixed WRMK's Cakes & Candles with a tag and rub-on sentiment from Pebbles Inc's Birthday Wishes. The two collections really compliment each other nicely.

My nephews also live far away, so my cards needed to me mailed. I kept the embellishments simple and flat (like using washi tape instead twine on my tag) and used some foam adhesive to give my layers dimension. For the card above, I trimmed the happy birthday, small present, and small party hat from images printed on paper in the 6 x 6 Cakes and Candles paper pad.

Two cards down, two to go.  I'll be sure to share the other birthday cards I've created later this month.
Thanks for stopping by!

Using Embossing Strips to Create a Title - We R Memory Keeper's Blog Hop

Hello We R fans, and welcome to our National Scrapbook Day blog hop! 

 If you've just arrived on my blog, you can start the blog hop HERE on the We R blog and hop through all the designers' blogs.  If you arrived here from Traci's blog, you are in the right place! Today I'll be sharing a layout I created using We R's Embossing Strips to create a title.

I'm using We R Memory Keeper's Hello Darling for my layout today. I love the bright, springy colors, and they went perfectly with my bright, springy new bike photo. I wanted to make a title that would really stand out and be a little bit different, so I decided to make a custom title from a WRMK's embossing strip.

It was so easy to do, that I'll be doing it a lot more often. I just ran a white piece of paper though my evolution with the "You Make My Heart Smile" embossing strip from the Fine & Dandy set. Next I trimmed the paper down to the right size. Finally I added ink (I used both gray and navy blue) by rubbing the ink pad directly onto the paper. The embossed area will attract more ink, so the title gets darker than the surrounding area.

For NSD I get to give away a We R Memory Keeper's Sew Easy Starter Kit. I love my Sew Easy, and this kit has everything you need to get hand sewing the easy way on your cards and layouts! All you have to do to enter is leave me a comment. If you don't want to miss any of my future posts, you can follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Be sure to visit all of the blogs listed below where you’ll find amazing project ideas, tips, and giveaways (each giveaway is different). And don’t forget to check back on Friday to see if you won. Have fun!

We R Memory Keepers blog: http://www.wermemorykeepers.wordpress.com

Jennie McGarvey: http://jenniemcgarvey.typepad.com/

Traci Penrod: http://www.artsyalbums.com/

Samantha Taylor (you are here): http://www.taylorstamped.blogspot.com/

Aimee Maddern: http://aimeesarmoire.typepad.com/aimees-armoire/

Kathy Martin: http://card-blanc.blogspot.com/

Carrie Walz: http://everydaymoments-carrie.blogspot.com/

Jen McDermott: http://wonkywares.blogspot.com/

Aly Dosdall: http://www.alydosdall.com/

The giveaways will close on 11:59 pm (mountain time), Thursday, May 7th at midnight and winners will be announced on individual blogs and the We R blog on May 8. 

Good luck, and thanks for stopping by!