It's my life

Christmas Traditions Mini Album

Last week I promised some more views of the mini album that I am working on about my family's traditions. Don't forget to stop by Embellish-it Online for all the supplies to make your own mini book.  Through the years my children have enjoyed some very fun traditions and still look forward to each.  Some are new traditions that we started when our first was born, others are traditions that we have carried forward from our own childhood.  Each one is special and part of each Christmas season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All the supplies that I used can be found at Embellish-it Online.  I used the Imaginisce Polar Expressions paper and embellishments as well as American Craft Thickers, May Arts ribbon, The Bind it All, and Kaiser Craft gems.

 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 

So what gifts are you making this year

Welcome to my weekly Embellish-it Online Scrapbooking design team post.  

I am working very hard this year to make it a homemade Christmas.  Everyone on my list is going to get something for Christmas that I have made.  It might be the packaging, it might be a mini scrapbook album full of memories, or a home decor item.  I would encourage all of you to join in.  These kinds of gifts are so appreciated by the receiver.  They know that you cared enough to take the time and effort to make something yourself instead of just picking something off the shelf.  Here are some ideas that you might try.

Gift Packaging

 

This cute little gift box was cut with an Accucut Die and then decorated with one of my favorite Christmas lines, Polar Expressions, by Imaginisce.  That cute little coffee mug filled with hot chocolate is a 3d dimensional sticker.  I am going to fill a bag with hot chocolate mix and put it inside.  I decorated the bottom and top with a scalloped edge and Stickles for a little sparkle. 

 

Isn't this paper just the cutest?   I just love all of the little images.  

Mini Scrapbook Album

A special person in my family will be receiving this gift this year.  This particular person does not enjoy going on the computer so I never have to worry about spoiling a surprise. :)  I love making mini albums.  I love how fun and creative you can be making them.  Today I will share a picture of the cover.  Stop by next Wednesday for a look at the whole album.  Again I used Polar Expressions and another set of dies from Accucut.

This is a mix it up mini album and the pages are all different shapes on the end.  I used my Bind-it-All to put it together and another cute little 3D sticker from the Polar Expressions line.  The title was created with American Craft's fabric Thickers.

All the supplies that I used can be found at Embellish-it Online.  If you haven't stopped by this wonderful online store you really should.  They carry some of my favorite scrapbook products and Barb, the owner, is a dear.  Let me tell you about the specials that you can look forward to this week.

It's Eva's week to pick the special. From November 15th through the 22th you will receive 10% off all Cuttlebug products!!  I absolutely love my embossing folders and have used one very similar to this one in my mini album.  

I hope you will stop by next Wednesday to see the rest of my mini album.

Embellish-Online Wednesday Spotlight on Polar Expressions

Often when I scrap I am conditioned to think about design elements, techniques, color schemes and many other details but today when I sat down to create my layout for this post I had an idea and just went with it. I started using any product that I thought would create the effect I wanted and I worked without thought to traditional design concepts.  I really had fun.

Polar Expressions by Imaginisce was a joy to use.  I loved all of the fun patterns and colors of the paper.  The 3D stickers were perfect embellishments for my snowy scenery.  Don't you just love the wreath?  I do!!

 

I love the texture of the Liquid Pearls that I used to create snow caps.  I also used some Flock on the snow ground as well.  

 

Do you see the snowflakes?  Those are actually pieces cut from some adorable ribbon.  As a final touch, the green glitter Thickers were perfect for my title.  

Most all of the supplies that I used on this layout can be found at Embellish-it Online Scrapbooking.

Paper:  Jolly Jingle, So Beary Merry, Sugar Sprinkles, Flannel PJ's, Fun Drops, Comfy Cozy

Thanks for stopping by today.  Don't forget about my card sketch challenge.  You will be very happy with the prize if you win!

Amber Road Embellish-it Scrapbooking Spotlight

Today is Wednesday so that means it is Spotlight on Embellish-it Scrapbooking day. Yeah!!  Each week I will highlight some of my favorite products offered in the store.  

I hope that you stocked up last week on the Pink Paislee special offer because today I am using some gorgeous paper and embellishments from the new paper line Amber Road from Pink Paislee.  The new Amber Road line is incredibly beautiful.  Deep rich colors and timeless patterns that touched my heart as soon as I saw it.  

I also had a few chipboard embellishments in my scrap stash from the Fetching Line by Pink Paislee.  I loved that I could use elements from these two lines together.  Be sure to stop by Embellish-it Scrapbooking to find out what the new weekly deal will be.  

I also want to thank everyone who has stopped by my blog in the last couple of days and left a comment.  Everyone has been so sweet and kind and I have so enjoyed reading them all.  You still have until tomorrow to leave a comment to win.  See this post for more details.

My next post will feature a fantastic new sketch by Valerie Salmon so please check out the Got Sketch blog on Thursday morning to see my layout and the others.

Spotlight on Pink Paislee at Embellish-it Scrapbooking

Do you like a sale?  Well of course you do.  So do I.  That's why I want to tell you about a sale that is going on at Embellish-it Scrapbooking right now.  Select lines of Pink Paislee are now 30% off including some of my favorites, Enchanting, and Fetching from the Winsome collection.

When I took out these pictures of my daughter I knew that the Enchanting line was going to be perfect.  I also used a little bit of paper from the Captivating line too.  

One of the parts of this layout that I love the most is the green strip of paper.  I wanted to use some dry embossing on my layout but it just looked too plain after I put it down, so I took my ink pad and rubbed it all over the paper.  The Cuttlebug folders make such a deep embossing impression that the ink just slid along the top.  A little trick that I use is to distress paper with a dry ink pad.  I have an old extra Chocolate Chip ink pad and I use that one when I want to do some distressing because the dryer the pad the more control you have. In this instance it worked perfectly.  

Let me tell you about an extra bonus that you can get at Embellish-it Scrapbooking.

You can get Free Shipping on domestic orders of $50.00 or more!  Enter code 4SP9HD in the coupon box at checkout!

Also, Embellish-it Scrapbooking now has a NEW Frequent Buyer Club!  For every $5.00 in purchases you'll receive 1 point.  Collect 30 points and you'll receive a voucher for $15.00 off on your next purchase! 

So if you like these Pink Paislee lines as much as I do then you will want to run right over to the website store and order some and maybe you will also find some other great items that you want, I mean need. :)

You might also notice the bracket chipboard frames and swirl.  They are from Bo Bunny and I painted them and then clear embossed them to seal them and add a shine.  I just love making my own custom chipboard embellishments.  

I'll have another project to show you tomorrow using Eskimo Kisses from Basic Grey.  It is something I have been working on a long time and I finally finished it today.  I really loved how it turned out.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I hope you have a wonderful day.

School Days

I think I have finally found a school paper that I like.  It's actually not school paper but Cosmo Cricket's The Boyfriend line, but it's got some very cool school themed papers in it.  I think I like the red testing paper the best and that background paper is very cool.  You can find these papers and more at Embellish Online.  

They also carry tons of American Crafts Thickers. Click on the link to go to the Embellish-Online store to see them all. I have used two different sets on this layout.  The brown felt numbers and the yellow vinyl letters that spell "School".  There is just something about that little bit of dimension of Thickers on a page that make me like them so much more than sticker letters.

You might also noticed the stamping on this layout.  The numbers in a row is a stamp block called Numbers from Unity Stamps.  I love their stamps.  They really have a wonderful unique selection.  Just perfect for both scrapbookers and card makers.

Do you also see the tiny little staple?  That is from Tim Holtz's line and is called the Tiny Attacher. It is so cute and fun, you are sure to want one.

World Card Making Day is almost upon us.  I will be teaching a "Mystery" card class.  I would love it if you could attend. Please email me for more information on time and place.

Embellish-Online September Trick Or Treat Blog Hop

Halloween is just around the corner! 

Think way back.....way back when you were a little kid. Its October 31st and its time to do some serious trick or treating. After 6 months of Mom fussing over your Halloween costume, which streets are safe and how big your candy sack should be, you are finally on your way! Time to score some serious candy!

Yep, trick-or-treating is finally here! 

The Embellish-it On-line Design team would like to do a little trick or treating of their own.

Each of the Embellish-it On-line Design team members are creating some wonderful treats for you to see and will share a trick/tip with you as your hop along our September Blog Hop. Not only do you get to see their special eye candy/treats and get a trick/tip or two, but you also will have the opportunity to win a REAL treat! 

An Awesome Prize Package! 

Hop along the blogs and you will have two chances to be entered in a random drawing for the prize package. You can...

1~ Copy and Paste a blurb/banner about this Trick or Treat Blog Hop on your blog and leave us a link in Mr. Linky on the EIO Blog Hop Post.

2~ If you don't have a blog, that's okay, please still play along with us, create a project and upload it to our forum here.

So here is my treat for you.  Actually I have two.

If you are having a Halloween party you will need to have some ideas for treat bags and decorations.  You can quickly put these cute little gable boxes together and decorate them with paper.  Place cards with the kids names or fun Halloween sayings like the one above will look great as accents pieces.  I just loved the fun colors and patterns in the new Halloween line from American Crafts.  Don't forget to use the code word Glitter when you purchase your product at Embellish-it Online for a 20% discount.

Then after the festivities you will want to document everything with a layout.  Here is a quick layout for you to put together using the amazing American Craft Halloween papers and American Craft Hocus Pocus glittery chipboard letters.

So here is my trick.  To save on cardstock, especially when I only have one piece left of the color I need and I want to use it as an accent piece, I cut out the middle of the paper and then lay my patterned paper on top of the cutout.  Usually I cut out of the middle a 10x10 piece so I have a big enough piece to work with if I want to make a card or run it through my Cricut or Silhouette which I did here to make the pumpkins.

I hope you like my trick and will use it on your next project.

If you are coming to my blog first please be sure to start at the beginning at the EIO blog.  Then go to down the list.  Next is

Danni

A Card in 30 minutes or Less

One of the great things about loving paper, stamps, and embellishments is that you can make a card for any occasion.  But the thing that I love the most is that I can make one quick if I am in a pinch.  I can't tell you how many times I have thrown together a gift card holder or a quick birthday card for a child in less than 10 minutes.  The following card was made for a challenge on Embellish Online.  The challenge was to make a card in 30 minutes or less.  Using this paper from Cosmo Cricket made this challenge super easy.  I just loved the hanging clothes that I had to make something to go with the theme.  Please join us in our challenge at Embellish Online by uploading your card to the gallery.  



If you decide to take the challenge please leave a link to your card in the comment section and I will randomly pick from them to win something fun.  Make sure to comment by Thursday, September 24th by 8p.m. CST to be eligible for the giveaway.

Thanks for hanging with me!

A Little Challenge

Today I saw a challenge on Let's Scrap that I thought would be a lot of fun to do.  For the challenge you had include the color orange and you had to create a layout that showed pictures of things that told something about you.  Well I have always been a big reader and have some very favorite books and authors so I created my layout about them.  

I wanted my layout to have sort of a office, bookish feel to it so I decided to use some of my DT paper from Embellish-Online.  This Cosmo Cricket line, Boyfriend, is awesome.  I love the bold stripes, and the ledger paper.  It was the perfect backdrop for my pictures.  I wish I had saved the text in the journaling box to post here but I deleted it thinking that I would need it again. I just journaled about my love for reading and my first favorite authors and books.  Anyone remember the Nancy Drew series?

I've just started doing some of the challenges and sketches at Let's Scrap and it's been a lot of fun.  This one is tagged challenge14 if you decide to go there and take it on.

Here is the supply list from Embellish-Online for my layout.  Remember if you click on the blinkie on my sidebar you will get 20% off all of your purchases with the codeword "Glitter".  

Patterned Paper:  Cosmo Cricket Boyfriend, Letters:  Heidi Swapp Chipboard Letters (a blast from the past), StampinUp! ribbon (see orange), craft ink and clear embossing powder, Misc chipboard shapes.

Stitch-it Up Challenge at Embellish Online

Please join me at Embellish Online for my Stitching Challenge. It can be a card, a layout, it doesn't matter just show us what you can do. Here is the challenge thread.

Stitching on cards and layouts is one of my most favorite thing to do. You would be surprised how easy it is. Sewing with fabric and other materials is much more difficult. Paper doesn't slip around especially when you have a little adhesive to keep it in place. I also love that you can use stitching on embellishments where you don't want adhesive to show through. That is the case of my card where I used a transparency over my background paper. Experimenting is the best thing to do. Take some scraps and sew in some circles, or along the edges. See what your different settings will do. You never know it be that extra little something that you were looking for to make your project complete.

You don't have a sewing machine? Well hand stitching is a beautiful accent too. I am thinking I will need another post for that. :) And don't forget stitiching on cards and layouts does not have to be perfect, in fact, sometimes it looks better if is messy. Try it, you will like it! 

Want to make your own? Embellish Online is where you can get the supplies I used. While you are there check out the great sale they are having. Put in the code word "glitter" when you check out and receive an additional 20% off as well. Have fun stitching. Basic Grey Lemonade Basic Grey Lemonade Transparency American Crafts Thickers