Reindeer Vinly Decor

I'm over on the SRM blog today sharing a little Christmas project I've created with SRM's metallic vinyl.

Head on over to SRM's blog to find out the details about how I created this reindeer vinyl decor.

Chalkboard Christmas Tree

Today I have a really simple but fun piece of Christmas decor to share with you; A chalkboard Christmas tree.

I found a fun unfinished wood tree kit. I didn't know what I was going to do with it, but I knew I wanted it. After having it for a few weeks, I decided that it would be lots of fun to paint it with chalkboard paint and leave notes for each other on it during the month of December.

I got some green Martha Stewart chalkboard paint off of Amazon. I used 3 coats of the paint on each board. Truthfully, it was fully covered after 2 coats, but since it is going to be used and not just looked at I added one extra coat of paint since I had more than enough. 

We're already having lots of fun leaving each other notes about what Christmas movies are on TV tonight, or what we want to do (like look at lights or have hot chocolate). I have a feeling this is going to fast become one of our favorite pieces of holiday decor.

Masculine Birthday Card

My grandpa's birthday is coming up next week, so I needed a masculine birthday card. Here's what I came up with.

I started with a bit of an oldie but a goodie for my paper choice: Pebbles Inc Birthday Wishes. I don't make a lot of cards, so I tend to go through my 12 x 12 papers a lot faster than I do my 6 x 6 paper pads, so I still have some of this fun paper in the smaller prints hanging around my scrap room.

It's super busy around my house right now, so I decided to reach for die cuts and stickers to decorate my card. The fun "it's your Day!" sticker from SRM's Fancy Birthday Sentiments was perfect for the center of one of the balloons. When I finished layering up the card, it felt a little plain, so I added some sticker stitches as well. I used both black and white sticker stitches to pull in the black and white from the patterned paper.

This masculine birthday card is already in the mail and on its way to my grandpa. I hope it brings him an extra smile on his birthday! Do you like to use stickers to save some time when making cards?

Halloween Mini Album

I know Halloween was last month, but I just finished up documenting our Halloween fun this year and I want to share my finished Halloween Mini Album.

I have photos of just a few of the pages from my mini album this year. I make one every year, because it's just so much fun. This year I used Doodlebug's Boos & Brews Collection. It's, of course, adorable and not too spooky.

I mixed and matched my pages in this album. I have horizontal pages that are 4" x 7" and vertical pages that are 5" x 6".

I used my We R Memory Keeper's Cinch to bind the album.  The binding runs the full length of the horizontal pages. The binding is centered on the vertical pages with about an inch of unbound edge above and below the binding.

If you do a lot of book, journal, or mini album binding, the Cinch is a must have tool. It's so easy to use!

I even threw in a little 4x5 page just for fun. I kind of like the "messy" look of this album with all of it's mismatched pages. 

Now that my Halloween mini album is done, I can move on to getting my December album prepared! What are you working on this week?

Embossed Thank You Card

I am over on the SRM Blog today sharing an embossed thank you card, that you don't need an embossing folder (or machine) to create!

Head on over to the SRM Blog to find out all the details on how I created this card.

Mason Jar Decorating

I'm over on the SRM blog today sharing how I decorated some mason jars (filled with homemade jam) to hand out to teachers and neighbors this Christmas.

Check out all the details on how I created these over at SRM's blog today.

Leaf Pile Layout

We're having some really beautiful weather this fall. We're taking full advantage of the warm temps and sunny skies to play outside...and what's a a beautiful autumn weekend without playing in some leaf piles? 

After creating a layout with Doodlebug's fun camera Silhouette cutting file as a large focal point, I thought it would be fun to try using it in a different way. For this layout I used it as a repeating pattern to make my background.

I used Doodlebug's Flea Market for the layout, because it really is just the perfect fall paper collection. I love that the colors are a bit brighter than traditional fall paper collections. 

I'm really  enjoying playing around with my Cameo a bit more to create layouts, and this leaf pile layout is just another fun way to use my Cameo.

Camera Layout

Every year I do a formal style photo shoot with my kids. While I take lots of photos all year long, I like having something a little more official to document how much they change every year. Today I have a camera layout with one of the photos from my oldest's photos.

Doodlebug recently came out with cutting files for Silhouette Cameo that coordinate with their latest paper collections. Wen I saw the cute camera that goes with their Flea Market collection I go the idea to use it for a layout. I thought it would be fun to use the photo in the focal area of the camera.

I originally thought I'd cut the photo into a circle and place it directly in the center of the camera lens, but I decided that it looked just a little too matchy matchy. I decided to go with a square photo because it ended up being a bit more dynamic on the layout.

 I really love the detail of the dial. There are so many bits and pieces that give it more depth. So fun! All of the paper used to build the layout (and the camera) are from Doodlebug's Flea Market collection. It's a really bright, fun fall collection that also just happened to be perfect for this camera layout.

I can't wait to scrap more of this kid's photos from his annual shoot. He's growing up so fast! How often do you take formal photos of your kids?

Working ahead: Jornaling Cards for 2017

I never seem to have enough journaling cards, so today I'm over on the SRM Blog sharing a great stash busting project. I'm working ahead and making journaling cards for 2017 using SRM's mini calendar stickers.

Head on over to the SRM blog to check out the full project!