It's my life

Lori Whitlock Summer Blog Hop

 

 

Welcome to Lori Whitlock's Summer Blog Hop!  The design team members will be featuring projects with a summer theme.  I chose to create a layout using Echo Park's A Perfect Summer collection created by Lori Whitlock.  I just love it's fun colors and cute graphics.

Every summer we go to Florida to visit our family, and last year was Garrett's first time to get into the water.  He loved it!  Not afraid and just as happy as he could be.  I can't wait to see how he likes it this year now that he will be turning two when we are there.

I love the technique of cutting the title out two times in different colored paper.  It's a great way to get a title to stand out.  When you are adhering the shape down, just be sure to offset the top layer a bit to create the shadow effect.

Here is a little closeup of the border that I cut out.  It wasn't quite long enough to stretch across my 12x12 paper, so I copied and pasted a second one right next to the first so that their lines touched and then welded them together.  It worked great!

This cute beach umbrella was the perfect shape for my beach layout!  The diecut actually comes in pieces though and since I had it on a busy background, I decided to create a mat for it.  I think that I might just have to create a tutorial on how I did that.  It's so easy.

Lori Whitlock supplies used:

• Summer Titles
• Umbrella
• Simple Borders
• Summer Icons

Other supplies used:

• A Perfect Summer collection by Lori Whitlock for Echo Park  (chipboard stickers, cardstock stickers, paper, letter stickers)

Well, thanks for stopping by my blog for the hop.  The list of all of the designers that are participating in the hop is below.  Be sure to stop by each one!!  I know you are going to see some amazing things as you hop along!

Lori Whitlock
Brigit Mann 
Christine Ousley  - You are here!
Corri Garza 
Mendi Yoshikawa 
Traci Penrod 
Chrissy Guido
Haley Ney
Kim Lund 
Lisa Bell 

Lori Whitlock Spotlight- Penny Sliding Card

One of the things that Lori does best is create fun interactive cards and I have found that I love making them!  So today I am going to show you a brand new interactive card in the store called the Penny Slider Card Circle.  I also needed to have a special envelope to put it in because of the weight and height so I also cut out the Sliding Box for it.  The box that I selected was actually not large enough, but I was able to enlarge it and you can see the tutorial on how I did that here, on Lori Whitlock's blog.

The card was a lot of fun to make and I can see all kinds of potential for this one.  The directions and tips that Lori gives on her YouTube video are definitely worth watching.  You can see it here.  I used some fun paper, chipboard and sticker gears and brads from Lori’s All About A Boy paper collection for Echo Park.

When you swing the card around the penny makes the little gear more in a circle and around the card at the same time.  Pretty cool, huh?  Here’s a closeup.  I used a Papertrey Ink stamp for the center image.  I loved how the little 3D star embellishment fit right inside the middle.

The slider box is going to see a lot of use in the future.  This box can be used with or without the inside box.  It’s fun to decorate and I love the bracket shape on the front flap.  I created a mat for the flap by using the Internal Offset feature and also enlarged the file to fit my card.  The chipboard gear and sticker ribbon on the front is acting as my closure.  I  attached it to the box with some foam adhesive and then attached the smaller circle and brad on the bottom part of the box, then wrapped a cotton string, up and around both pieces to hold it closed.

Here is a closeup of the card in the sliding part of the box.  You can see how the foam adhesive under the blue circle helps to lift it up so that the pennies can slide underneath it.

I hope you have enjoyed my project today.  Be sure to check out the other slider card,  Penny Slider Card Straight, as well as the some of the other interactive cards in Lori’s shop!

Lori Whitlock Supplies Used:

• Penny Slider Card Circle
• Sliding Box

Other Supplies Used:

• All About a Boy Paper Collection and Embellishments by Lori Whitlock for Echo Park
• Papertrey Ink 2012 Birthday Tags stamp set
• Stampin Up! Ink in Pumpkin Pie
• Foam Adhesive from Imaginisce
• Cotton string, Joann’s

Tutorial on resizing envelope box

 

Sew A Long with Ruby Jean's Closet, Day 1-4

In my travels through the word of sewing on the internet, I have met some really wonderful people and Linda from Ruby Jean's Closet PDF Patterns company is one of them.  I mentioned on Facebook last week that she was going to have a Sew A Long this week and what fun it has been.

She has given us all such great tips.  One of things that she talks about is recycling old shirts, men's and women's, to create brand new things.  I would never have thought to do this and even know where to begin. She gives some really great information on this technique.

The yellow shirt that I am using as the main fabric is a medium ladies shirt from Old Navy that I picked up at the Salavation Army for 3.99.  It's got a pretty light blue pin stripe on it.  I've already cut the bottom off and one of the arms. The bottom of the shirt will be the "skirt" part of my dress and the arms will turn into straps.

In the Sew A Long you will also get great information on how to "deconstruct" a shirt.

So I did a litte catch up yesterday. Here is my project.  I've laid all of my materials on my cutting board.  I also picked some light blue polka fabric from my stash to use as the contrasting fabric.  Using the back of the shirt at the top and one of the sleeves, I was able to cut out two pieces for the front and back bodice.  Then I did the same for the contrasting fabric.

Here is what was left after the two bodice pieces were cut and the skirt part was put aside.  

The remaining arm will be the straps of the dress.  (I flipped my mat to the green side so maybe you coud see the yellow fabric better) :)

Just open it up at the seam in the under part of the arm.  Try to save as much of the fabric as possibe.   Since I only had a medium shirt, I really needed to be careful and get as much fabric from the shirt as I could.  Here is what it looks like "opened up".  Then I cut off the cuff and ironed well, before I cut my straps.

Well, here we are at Day 4 of the Sew A Long.  The front bodice is competed plus the straps.  

Linda at Ruby Jean's Closet gives you step by step instructions on how to get this far.  You will need to buy the Adele pattern first to cut out the pieces, but with all of the variations that she is sharing in this sew a long, this will be a pattern that you can reach for again and again.  She is also giving prizes to those who follow along and post a picture of their completed pieces each day.

Here are some links to each days blog posts that will help you get started.  I'll be back with the next day's part soon.

• Sew A Long Day 1
• Sew A Long Day 2
• Sew A Long Day 3
• Sew A Long Day 4

The Miss Matilda Dress and Top Pattern by The Cottage Mama

I have another outfit to show you today.  I was so excited to be part of the pattern testing group on this fantastic new pattern by The Cottage Mama.  Here is my post on the other pattern that I tested, The Georgia Vintage Dress, and soon I will have the last one availabe for viewing.  As you can see, I sewed the top version of this pattern which is super cute on my adorable little model.  

I love the ruffle at the neck and the big bow makes it very girly.

The top normally does not have a ruffle on the bottom but I decided to change things a litte and add it.  I'm glad that I did because it just tied everything together.  Here is a picture of the pattern in the dress version.

 

You can get the pattern here at The Cottage Mama Etsy Shop or if you would like to get one made by me for your special little girl please message me here or at my Sew Many Ruffles Etsy shop.  Sew Many Ruffles is a custom handmade children's boutique specializing in trendy but timeless clothes for girls and boys.  I love custom orders so let's design a one of kind outfit for your child together.

 

 

Silhouette Tutorial on Resizing

I have a tutorial on Lori Whitlock's blog today that I hope you will go and check out.  Often times the files that I purchase are too big or too small for what I need.  If I need it smaller, then it's pretty easy to just select all and reduce the size, but if I need to have it bigger, it may be that the pieces are too big to fit on the 12 x 12 mat.  So that's when I get out my trusty knife tool and start cutting it apart.

Learn my tricks on resizing a box what has a sliding drawer to hold a 3D card.  You'll be surprised to see how easy it is and how learning these fun techniques can help you in many different ways.

Here is my project, and here is the link to my tutorial.

Resizing a Box Tutorial by Christine for Lori Whitlock

 

Summer is Here

Well, the weather has definitely turned hot and we are spending shorts periods of time outdoors.  Garrett loves being outside, so to keep him cool, we've set up a little kiddie pool on the driveway.  If it gets any hotter, I might have to jump in there too.  Oh, yeah, he loves to mow the lawn.  I wonder if he still will when he is 10.

I've been keeping very busy with all of my projects.  I have been sewing a lot, testing patterns,  and think I finally might be ready to add a couple new items to my Sew Many Ruffles Etsy shop.  Last week, I added these cute little bow holders, bows, and felt clippies.

I had at first thought that I would have seperate blogs for my sewing, scrapbooking, stamping, card making, and family life, but I have quickly realized that I just can't keep up with content for all of them, so I am combining everything in my main blog that I want to share and hope that it appeals to everyone.  So I think that I will be changing the look of my blog.  I just love the picture that I have on my header but I just it's time to retire it.  I don't have any ideas right now but things will be changing.

I'll leave you with a look at my card for May's card kit for Scrapbook Mania.  Unfortunately, this is the last month that we will be releasing a card kit but after 2 plus years, it's time to do something new.  :)

Have a fantastic day!

 

 

 

 

 

Do you need a Father's Day gift idea?

Today on the Petaloo blog, I am sharing an idea for a gift you can make for Father's Day.  All the details are right here, so hop on over to see more pictures and learn a little bit about how I made it.

Pattern Testing of the Vintage Georgia Dress for The Cottage Mama

Ahh, where do I start.  I've had to keep this little secret for a couple of weeks but now I am free to spill the beans.  This adorable little baby girl is modeling a dress that I sewed from a pattern that I was selected to test for The Cottage Mama.  The pattern is now available in PDF form and it will be available in print form by the end of June.

I absolutely love this dress.  The pattern was inspired by a dress that the pattern maker, Lindsay Wilkes's mother wore when she was young.  There are so many things to love about this dress.  The flutter sleeves, the adorabe Peter Pan collar, and the long sash that ties in a bow at the back.

This pattern was surprisingly easy to make.  Lindsay gives such great explanations and great color pictures of each step.  This is the first time that I have ever made such a detailed dress and I was thrilled with the pattern and how easy it went together.  I will definitely be making this dress for my Sew Many Ruffles Etsy shop.

We did some inside and outside shots.  Isn't she just adorable?

I aso have a couple more outfits in the works.  Shhh, it's a secret.  :)  But I will share as soon as I can.  

Until then, if you are interested in purchasing the Georgia Vintage Dress pattern, you can go here.

If you are interested in a dress for your little girl, please message me on Etsy here or email me.  I might still be able to get this fabric or I can suggest some others that will look great as well.

Oh, to see more variations of this dress from the other pattern testers, go to this Pinterest board, or to Lindsay's blog post.

Would you like to Win a Silhouette Portrait Machine

There is still time to enter this fabulous Silhouette Portrait giveaway from Lori Whitlock as well as some pretty awesome deals from the Silhouette store.  Scroll down to see the details and enter the Rafflecopter giveaway!

Here's where you enter the giveaway!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Lori Whitlock Spotlight- Brand New Sliding Cards

Today I am sharing two cards that I made with Lori Whitlock's Ornate Pull Out Cards.  I used numbers 1 and 4 today but the others are super fun too.  You can see more pictures and information about them on Lori's blog.  

Thanks for stopping by.  Here are the supplies that I used to create my cards.

Lori Whitlock SVG's: 

Ornate Pull Out Card 1

Ornate Pull Out Card 4

Other Supplies:

Sweet Girl Paper Collection by Lori Whitlock for Echo Park Paper

Sweet Girl Embellishments by Lori Whitlock for Echo Park Paper

Sweet Girl Cardstock Paper by Lori Whitlock for Echo Park Paper

Silhouette Cameo Electronic Die Cut Machine

Sewing Sunday - New Products in my Sew Many Ruffles Shop

You may or may not have heard that I have been turning my attention more and more to my sewing machine and have opened up an Etsy shop called Sew Many Ruffles. I really enjoy all of my paper projects but wanted to add a little something else to my crafting pursuits.

I really am not new to sewing at all, and have made many a baby quilt, bags, pillows, costumes and other things for around the house or for fun.  I think I probably made my first stuffed doll when I was under 7.  In the last couple of years though, my machine had seen a lot more paper than fabric and so I decided I wanted to change that.

So you are probably wondering, how do you get from playing around with a sewing machine for fun to opening an Etsy store selling handmade custom boutique dresses?  Well, I don't really know except that I seem to have the entrepreneurial spirit ingrained in me and when I love making things I just have to share them.  Since I can't really afford to just give them away, "Hey a girl's got to be able to buy new fabric!",  I decided that it would be best to try to sell them, and so Sew Many Ruffles came in to being.

I am still doing all of my other crafty pursuits, having lots of fun creating for Lori Whitlock and Petaloo and teaching Scrapbooking and Silhouette classes monthly, so you will see be able to come here for inspiration in those areas but now I'll also be sharing a little bit of my sewing projects as well.

Please help me spread the word about my Etsy shop, Sew Many Ruffles by liking me on Facebook.  I have a Facebook Fan Page here as well as a blog dedicated to Sew Many Ruffles here.  I'll also post specials and discounts here and on my Facebook Page so be sure to choose notifications when you are there "Liking" me.

Have a great day!

Lori Whitlock Spotlight- Card Carrier and Matching Card

I'm going to let the pictures do the talking today.  If you would like more information about either the card box or the card, click on over to Lori Whitlock's blog and you will see a few instructions about how I created them or , as always, please feel free to leave your questions in the comment section.  I'll get right back to you!

Thanks for stopping by.

Lori Whitlock Supplies used:

Stationary Box

Layered Flowers Set 2

3×4 Quote Cards

Celebrate Today phrase (Silhouette store, Design Id #9382)

Other Supplies:

Sweet Girl paper paper collection by Lori Whitlock for Echo Park

Sweet Girl Cardstock stickers by Lori Whitlock for Echo Park

Sweet Girl Chipboard Shapes by Lori Whitlock for Echo Park

Sweet Girl Brad collection by Lori Whitlock for Echo Park

Sweet Girl Washi Tape by Lori Whitlock for Echo Park

Silhouette Cameo

 

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Lori Whitlock Spotlight- Easter Ideas

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A Mother's Day Gift using Petaloo and Simple Stories

This week on the Petaloo blog and Petaloo Facebook Page you will see some beautiful projects created by the designers for a special team up with Simple Stories.  There is also a chance to win $150.00 in Petaloo and Simple Stories products.  

To learn more about my project and to see more closeup pictures please stop by the Petaloo blog here.  I really enjoyed working with all of these lovely products and hope that you will be inspired too.

To see more click here.

Lori Whitlock Spotlight- Scrapbooking "Project Life" Style

Hello everyone.  I am sharing a scrapbook page today that I created using some new die cuts from Lori Whitlock.  The "Project Life" style of scrapbooking is new to me and I am enjoying learning how to manage the supplies and photographs and how to be "creative" with it.  

So I had a little fun with some diecuts from Lori Whitlock's store.  I combined some shapes and used some fun negative space technique.

To see more closeups and to learn more about how I created a few of the 3x4 cards, please check out my blog post on the Lori Whitlock blog here.

Lori Whitlock supplies used:

Remember This Title

4x6 Life Frames 2

12 Arrows

3 Labels (Silhouette store Design ID# 14672

Wonder Layout

Other Supplies:

All About a Boy paper collection and chipboard embellisments by Lori Whitlock for Echo Park

All About a Boy washi tape

All About a Boy decorative brads

Ali Edwards Just Awesome Tabs stamp set

Aunt Jana Sketch Silhouette font

Silhouette Cameo

Silhouette Sketch Pens

Becky Higgins Project Life Photo Sleeves

Night of Navy Stampin Up!  ink

 

Petaloo and Bella Blvd Team Up This Week

Well, I'm a bit late with my blog post but you still have time to hop on over to the Petaloo blog and comment to win!  

I already had a post schedule for Tuesday so I had to wait until today to tell you about the team up with Petaloo and Bella Blvd.  

We are having a party all week at the Petaloo blog, sharing projects for birthdays.  Home decor, gifts and gift bags, cards, anything to do with birthdays.  The Bella Blvd design team is also sharing their birthday projects using Petaloo flowers too so you'll want to stop by their blog as well for more inspiration and of course more chances to win.

So I am going to share a little sneak peek with you here so you'll have even more of an incentive to hop on over to the Petaloo blog. :)

 

Have a great day and have fun soaking up all of the beautiful projects from both teams.

Petaloo Supplies used:

Petaloo Floradoodles Embossed Mulbery Paper Daisies in YellowPetaloo Floradoodles Embossed Mulbery Paper Daisies in FuschiaPetaloo Dazzlers Birthday - Gift Boxes

Other Supplies:

Bella Blvd Birthday Girl Paper and Sticker Collection
SVG Cuts "B is for Birthday" digital cutting file
Silhouette
misc buttons
Stampin Up! ribbon

 

Lori Whitlock Spotlight- Flip and Swing Birthday Cards

Today I have another project for Lori Whitlock.  Have you taken a peek at her store lately?  It is so full of fun things.  It seems that I am on a birthday kick this week as I have two birthday cards to show you today and some more birthday projects later this week for Petaloo.  Be sure to come back to see that.

Let me tell you a little bit about these cards.  I am totally addicted to this style of card.  It is an interactive swing flip card and it opens up by pulling both sides out at the same time.  I wish I had made a video to show you because they really are adorable.  Everytime I have shown them to people, I always hear a bunch of oohs and how cute!

The card is actually very easy to put together.  On the girl birthday card I used the scalloped circle flip swing card.  By the way each of these cards come together as a set so if you buy the file you will get both the scalloped circle and the rectangle.  The scalloped circle card also comes with a mat shape so that it is easy to layer different papers on top of each other.

This is what the card looks like, pulled apart, on the inside.  As you can see, you can decorate both the front and the back of the scalloped circle.  Here I used some pretty stickers and another digital die cut sentiment that I found in this card kit.

The papers that I am using are all from Lori Whitlock's new Sweet Girl and All About A Boy paper and embellishment collections.  I love the happy colors and the double sided plain colored cardstock that coordinates with the set, is perfect for this card that is decorated both inside and out.

And here is the boys card.  I loved the extra mats that are included in the cut file.  They really bring it all together for a nice finished look.  I added some chipboard embellsishments from the collection as accents.

Then as you pull on both sides of the card, the inside is revealed.  I used the same sentiment on this card as I did the other but just cut it a little bit bigger.  Some more chipboard embellishments and some fun washi tape and it's done.

Here is a quick peek at what the back of the card looks like.  

If you have any problems with putting your card together, don't forget that Lori Whitlock has a fabulous You Tube channel where her videos are all about putting her files together.  Believe me, I've had to watch a couple and you know they are pretty fun to watch and very informative.

Supplies Used:

• Flip Swing Card Set 2  (See the assembly video at this link too)
• Happy Birthday Cards  (Happy Birthday sentiment)
• Sweet Girl paper collection and embellishments by Lori Whitlock for Echo Paper
• All About A Boy paper collections and embellishments by Lori Whitlock for Echo Paper
• Silhouette Cameo

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Lori Whitlock Spotlight- Sweet Girl Mini Album

I have a cute little mini book to share with you today.  I am using the Mini Album Pinking Edge and some papers and embellishments from Sweet Girl by Lori Whitlock for Echo Park. 

We are on vacation right now and heading out to see some snow, so I'm just going to leave you with some pictures of the album.  I'll try to get back on the computer later today and give a few more details about each page.

Supply list is at the bottom.

Mini books are really so much fun, especially when you can cut out your own.  It easy to add as many pages as you want and even alter the size.  Have a great day and thanks for stopping by to see my project.

Supplies Used:

Mini Album Pinking Edge

Scalloped Shapes

4x6 Frame- Silhouette Store #9783

Sweet Girl Paper Collection by Lori Whitlock for Echo Park

Have a wonderful day!!

Easter Card with Petaloo Flowers

I've created this beautiful card with the newest Petaloo flowers.  They are gorgeous!!  I've also used some Silhouette files and Graphic 45 paper. If you would like to see more, just click on over to the Petaloo blog here.

Have a fantastic day!

Creative Silhouette Series Class - Last Chance to Register

I just wanted to let everyone know that Friday will be the last day that you can sign up for my Creative Silhouette Series- Cards class at My Creative Classroom.  In the class you will be learning how to create the card below, from scratch, no die cut files needed, just the Silhouette software that came with your machine!  Pretty cool, huh?

Cost: $14, Registration ends, March 22, 2013.  Once you sign up the material, 4 videos and 4 step by step instruction sheets, are available to you forever at MCC.

So, come with me, and find out all the things that you can do with your Silhouette!

Lori Whitlock Spotlight- Chocolate Bunnies and Easter Baskets

Ok, I will admit it.  I have a weakness for chocolate. So I'm so glad that most holidays feature sweets as part of the celebration.  Easter, of course, is no exception.  In fact, it's the best holiday for chocolate and sweets in my book.  So when I saw that big chocolate bunny created by Lori, I just knew he would be the perfect thing to put into my woven Easter basket.

First, I cut out the basket.  I used some woodgrain paper from     Lori Whitlock's paper for Echo Park.  The basket went together very easily but I would suggest cutting out two handles so that you can have both sides of the handle look the same and so that it is a bit sturdier.  Lori has a video on her YouTube channel that shows you the exact steps to putting this basket together.

Next, I added this cute little bow as decoration.  Wow, what fun these little bows are to put together.  I am definitely going to do more of these in my future projects.

Here is my little chocolate bunny.  I thought it would be fun to cut out his bow a couple more times and attach the extra pieces with foam adhesive.  I love the dramatic look.  I also cut out a mirror image of him and the bows so that you could see him from both sides.  

Supplies used:

Woven Basket

3D Bows

Chocolate Bunny

Other Supplies used:

Sweet Girl 6x6 Paper Pad by Lori Whitlock for Echo Park

Note To Self Collection by Lori Whitlock for Echo Park

Silhouette Cameo

Scor Tape

Stampin Up! Dimensionals

Bo Bunny Gems

Making Memories Brads