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Saturday, December 15, 2012

Snow Fun Layout

One day (a few weeks ago) my hubby took the kids and went out of town to help his brother fix a car.... I think that's why he went.  It seems like that's all he goes there to do, so if I'm guessing that was the purpose of the trip, I have a pretty chance of being right.  Anywho, I believe the reason for hubby to take the rowdy kids with him was to give me a chance to catch up on the piles of things on my desk... and in the kitchen... and on his desk... lots of piles of things to be done, filed, finished, trashed, etc.  So what did I do?  I thoroughly enjoyed my alone time and watched cheesy Christmas movies on Netflix and made one (yes, only ONE) layout... but, I L.O.V.E. how this layout turned out, so I believe it was time well spent!
Supplies: patterned paper, stickers, embellishments (Doodlebug); vellum (The Paper Company); twine (Lilly Belle's Paperie on Etsy); ribbon (American Crafts); glitter glue (Ranger); ink (Colorbox); templates (Kiwi Lane Designs) Brackets, Large Brackets, Winter, Tags, Paisley Place, Tiny Brackets, Tiny Tags, Tiny Shapes, Happy Trails

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrapping!

Autumn Cards

A few months ago, my friend and college roommate got married (YAY!!) and I was invited to her bridal shower.  After finding out what her wedding colors were, I decided to make her a set of cards that she could use for whatever she needed.  Her colors were "anything autumn."  Here's what I came up with:
Supplies: cardstock (The Paper Company); patterned paper (Imaginisce); stamps (Imaginisce, Heidi Grace Designs, Studio G); ink (American Crafts, Ranger); ribbon (Offray, Pebbles, Inc.); dies and die cut machine (Cuttlebug by Provo Craft); border punches (Martha Stewart Crafts, EK Success); paper flowers (Prima); corner rounder (WRMK); glitter glue (Ranger)

 I made her 4 of each card, making the gift a dozen cards.  I wish I would have taken some closeup pictures of the individual cards to show some of the detail, but I didn't. :(  I did, however, decorate a brown kraft paper gift bag to match the cards....
Supplies: patterned paper (Imaginisce); card stock (DCWV, Bazzill, WRMK, Provo Craft); buttons (My Mind's Eye); twine (Pebbles, Inc.); ribbon (Offray); paper punch (Martha Stewart Crafts); die cuts and die cutting machine (Cuttlebug by Provo Craft); templates (Kiwi Lane Designs) Aspen, Tags

Personally, I'd be thrilled to receive this gift.  But I'm a paper-holic... What do you think- would you be okay at the receiving end of this type of gift?  Or would you feel a bit cheated?

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrapping!

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

November's Sincerely... for Kiwi Lane

Can you sense the holidays in the air?  The excitement?  The joy?  The overwhelming aroma of cinnamon pinecones at the craft store? ;)  There's also the hustle and bustle that goes along with the holidays, which can be a little stressful, right?  And one of those stressful things is coming up with some cute and creative cards for friends and loved ones.  That's where this month's Sincerely... cards and Kiwi Lane Designs Templates come in- I came up with 5 different cards for your viewing pleasure.  Hopefully there's something here that can help spark your creativity and make your card making a little less stressful this holiday season.... So let's get started!

Poinsettia:
 Supplies: cardstock (The Paper Company); patterned paper (Making Memories); brads (Imaginisce, Basic Grey); glitter glue, ink (Ranger); shimmer mist (Tattered Angels).  Kiwi Lane Templates:  Tiny Nature 5T, Tiny Holiday 7T, Tiny Tags 7T, Adorn 1A & 1B.

To make this poinsettia, simply cut out two of the tiny holiday 7T template and one of the Tiny Nature 5T.  Layer them and attach them together with a brad.  Spray the flower with shimmer mist, shape the petals and leaves and let it dry for a few hours.  Make the background of the card.  Attach dried flower to card.  I added some glitter glue to the center of the flower to make it more sparkly, but you can leave your brad as is.

Folded Christmas Tree:
 Supplies:  cardstock (The Paper Company); patterned paper (Making Memories); twine (Divine Twine); jewels (Doodlebug); ink (Ranger).  Kiwi Lane Templates: Rings 3, Adorn 3A, Tiny Strips.

This folded Christmas tree is pretty easy to figure out- trace and cut a circle and cut that circle in half.  Each half circle makes one tree.  Different size circles will make different sizes of trees.  Make sure you like the pattern on both sides of your paper, as you will be seeing parts of each side.  I do suggest trying your folds on a scratch piece of paper first, then mark and score where you want to fold on your pretty paper.  I also need to note that I adhered EVERYTHING down so it's all flat, but you could leave some parts of the folds unattached to add some dimension.

Washi Tape Tree:
 Supplies: cardstock (The Paper Company, craft supply); patterned paper (Making Memories); washi tape (Downtown Tape); glitter glue, ink (Ranger).  Kiwi Lane Template: Celebrate 6

Super easy Christmas tree!  Ready?  1- Trace and cut the cone/pennant/triangle shape onto white or cream card stock.  2- Cover shape in washi tape (or tissue tape or decorative masking tape), folding the torn edges over the shape.  3- Layer some background papers and adhere tree to card.  4- Add a star and a trunk.  And done!  You can add more embellishment, if you want to (or have time ;) ).  I added some dots of glitter glue to the dots that were already on the red washi tape.

3D Ornament:
Supplies: cardstock (The Paper Company); patterned paper (Making Memories); twine (Creative Impressions); ink (Ranger).  Kiwi Lane templates: Tiny Holiday 1T, Christmas 1, Adorn 3B

This card looks way harder than it really is!  Here's how you do it- cut multiples of the ornament shape. Fold them in half.  Glue them together.  Adhere to the card.  Hmmm.  Those directions made sense in my head, but don't seem adequate now... maybe I'll come up with something brilliant to show how to do it a bit later today :) Meanwhile, here's a slightly different view to help see what I mean:
3D Christmas Tree:
Supplies:  cardstock (The Paper Company); patterned paper (Making Memories); ink, glitter glue (Ranger); small star punch (Carl); jewel (Doodlebug).  Kiwi Lane templates:  Tiny Holiday 8T, Tiny Accents 3T.

This 3D card is done much like the ornament one, but you'll notice that the template is for only half a tree.  So when your tracing, trace one half, then flip the template and trace the other half.  Cut multiple trees (I did four), fold, glue together, adhere to card.  I added a lot of glitter glue to this one- to the edges of the tree, to the red star, to the white star- to make it look like it was glistening with ice crystals.  Beautiful!  Again, here's another slightly different angle to help you see the dimension:
Well, that's all I have for you today!  Debbie has a few more cards on the Kiwi Lane blog, too, so don't forget to check over there for more holiday inspiration.

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrapping!

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Floral Birthday Card

I made this little card for my neighbor to give to her daughter-in-law:
Supplies: cardstock (The Paper Company); patterned paper (My Mind's Eye); brads (My Mind's Eye, The Girls' Paperie); pearls (Doodlebug); ink (Ranger); rub-on (Pebbles); alphabet stickers (Making Memories); shimmer mist (Tattered Angels).  Kiwi Lane Templates: Tiny Nature 1T & 6T, Tiny Shapes 7T

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrapping!

Friday, November 16, 2012

Paper Pumpkin Centerpiece

In my previous post, I mentioned that I did a centerpiece of paper pumpkins... and here it is!
Supplies: patterned paper (Imaginisce); die and die cutting machine (Cuttlebug by Provo Craft); brads (Imaginisce, Doodlebug); hole punch (Crop-a-Dile by Imaginisce)

I had seen these simple paper pumpkins around the paper crafting world a few times, and thought I'd try my hand at them.  It was so easy!  I don't have a picture or video tutorial, but here's the basic idea:
~Cut paper strips (the longer the strip, the larger the pumpkin).  My large pumpkin was 12 12" long strips that were 1" wide.  The small pumpkins had 12 strips that were 3/4" wide and 8" long.
~Punch a hole at each end of the strips. 
~Stack the strips and put a brad through the holes on either end of the stack of strips.
~ Fan the  strips out.  Doing this makes the pumpkin shape.
~For the stem- cut a strip of paper. Loosely roll up and adhere so it doesn't unroll.  Attach to the top of the pumpkin with a pop dot on the brad.
~Die cut leaves and adhere.  
~Add curly tendrils made of paper or wire, if you'd like.


 I added a leaf garland and put my pumpkins on a clear glass footed serving dish.  I think it's cute!  What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrapping!

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Gratitude Journals

For this month's Enrichment meeting at church, our theme was Gratitude (how appropriate/generic for November, huh?).  We had a speaker and some treats and we got to visit with each other and just be women... instead of moms, taxi drivers, housekeepers and whatever else we are during the course of our day!  I always look forward to this monthly meeting, and this month was no exception!  However, this time I was nominated to do a whole bunch of preparation- we wanted to give a gratitude journal to each of the ladies that came and I was asked to decorate 60 steno notebooks with something fall-themed... I think they told me to keep it simple, but I'm me.  I did keep it simple.... for me.  Here's one of the finished journals:
 And here's the box of all of them:
They really weren't that complicated to make- I used a bunch of dies and punches and used scraps from my scrapbox for the leaves.  I had vinyl made for the word on the journal.  And every journal ended up being slightly different from the next... just like the ladies in my ward!

I also made a dessert (Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake) and a centerpiece.  We ate the cheesecake, so no pics.  I'll post pics of the centerpiece later, though.  It was a quick project that anyone can do!

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrapping!

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

I lost count...

Yep.  I have no idea what number project I'm on because I forgot to keep track of recent projects that were given away, or used, or pages that were put away in a box (and will hopefully find their way to an album as soon as I find where I put my page protectors...) yada, yada.... To make this "gaol" even more disastrous and un-met, I went on my yearly pilgrimage to the Scrapbook USA Expo in September and spent... ahem... a LOT of money on scrapbooking supplies!  And added to the already huge stash of supplies I have.  I must confess, I got home and wondered what I was thinking... but, that place has some sort of spell it puts on me when I walk in and it makes me want to spend money!!  

Even though this goal has not been met (or maybe it has.... I just don't know!), it has gotten me to try to keep up with blog posts.  It has also helped me to get a few more personal projects done by participating in online challenges.  So, in my book, I'm not calling it a total loss...

And now here's what I have worked on for the last few months (well, the ones I remembered to take pictures of):

(Waaaayyyy back in September) I made 50-ish invitations for a church event, plus 3 12x12 posters:
 I will admit, this project got a little out of control.  Usually, I let my creativity just kind of roll for these kinds of things, then scale it back so I can make a whole bunch without taking a long time... this one was another story.  I wanted the invite to double as something the recipients could use as fall decor, if they wanted.  So I ended up cutting out and embossing three ovals for each invite, plus hand cutting a stem, twisting wire for the vine, sticking on a paper flower and a button.... for each invite!!  Plus two more pumpkins,  additional flowers, buttons and wire for each of the posters.  It was a bit labor intensive, but I thought they turned out cute!  I just don't really want to make pumpkins ever again... or at least for a while.  ;)

My neighbor asked me to make some cards for her twin sons' birthday, which was October 30th.  This was one of them (I ended up doing one more that was similar, too) and the other one is in a previous post (the washi tape background):
 Supplies: cardstock (The Paper Company, Provo Craft); patterned paper (Imaginisce); vellum (Provo Craft); twine (Lilly Belle's Paperie on Etsy); alphabet stickers (Making Memories); ink (Clearsnap); button (craft supply); brads (American Crafts); Kiwi Lane Templates: Tiny Holiday (ghost), Tiny Tags (tombstones)

This is another birthday card I made for my neighbor- this was for her granddaughter, who turned 4:
Supplies: cardstock (recycled file folder); patterned paper (My Mind's Eye); stamp (Studio G); embossing ink (Tsukinedo); embossing powder (EK Success); twine (Lilly Belle's Paperie on Etsy); button (craft supply); ink (Ranger); jewels (Doodlebug); alphabet stickers (Making Memories); Kiwi Lane Templates: Celebrate (cupcake top), tiny shapes (cupcake bottom)

This layout is one of the few I got done in October.  I threw this together from scraps from a paper kit by Echo Park.  I've used the kit for at least 7 layouts, this was the 8th.  Not bad for one paper kit, huh?  Of course, I used my trusty Kiwi Lane Templates, which made this layout go together extremely fast- we're talkin' 20 minutes fast!!  Sometimes I even amaze myself! ;)
Supplies: cardstock (We R Memory Keepers, DCWV), patterned paper, stickers (Echo Park); pen (Staedtler); ink (Ranger); ribbon (Pebbles, Inc.); staples (office supply); Kiwi Lane Templates: Tags, Tiny Tags, Spook Alley (zig zag border)

That's all I have documented as of late.  I do have some decorated steno notebooks done (nearly 60 of them) that will be handed out at this month's church activity (tomorrow).  I should take some pictures before those leave, too...

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrapping!

Monday, October 29, 2012

Mid Week Mojo Coral 6

I was actually able to do a page based off a ScrapbookSteals.com sketch within the allotted timeframe- a rarity!  So here's my take on Coral 6:
Supplie: cardstock (We R Memory Keepers); patterned paper, stickers (Echo Park); washi tape (Downtown Tapes); brads (Basic Grey); twine (Lilly Belle's Paperie on Etsy); ink (Ranger); punch (EK Success)
It's a bad night time photo- sorry!  But I really liked this sketch.  I've pulled out these photos a number of times in the past few years, but didn't seem to have the right thing in mind to put them on a page.  So back into the box they went, until today.

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrapping!

MCM #107

I've been trying to catch up on my ScrapbookSteals.com challenges and here's my take on #107 (the one with the owl):
Supplies: cardstock (DCWV, Provo Craft, The Paper Company); washi tape (Downtown Tapes); letter stickers (Makin Memories); ribbon (My Mind's Eye), brads (Basic Grey); die cutting machine (Cuttlebug); dies (Lifestyle Crafts); stamps (Imaginisce, Fiskars); ink (Clearsnap)

I used washi tape for the striped background.  It was fun to use wahsi like that and I'm trying to come up with some more ways to use it... it's my new love! ;)

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrapping!

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Off to School (#39)

This layout was based on a sketch... emphasis on WAS!  I ended up combining a few different sketches and ideas I found and it morphed into something that didn't really resemble what I started with, so I'm not even going to link it.  I'll save it for later :) and maybe I'll make a page that resembles the original sketch.
Supplies; patterned paper (Fancy Pants, Prima); brads, washi tape (My Mind's Eye); twine (LilyBelle's Paperie on Etsy); bag (Whisker Inc.); paper clips, manilla tag (office supply); ink (Ranger); button (Fancy Pants)

Kiwi Lane Templates: Large Brackets, Paisley Place, Tiny Tags, Tiny Brackets

I love adding actual office supplies to school-themed layouts.  This one had the manilla tag and paper clips.  I added washi tape to the yellow paper clip on the little bag and it made it look like a little flag.  I loved all the school elements in this paper from Fancy Pants- they have one sheet that is just flash cards and I cut one out for the perfect little accent.  My little brown paper bag (reminiscent of brown bag lunches) also has another smaller accent- a journaling card that looks like a page from a teacher's grade book.  Great collection of papers and I loved how it turned out!

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrapping!

What a Lovely Meltdown (#38)

This page ended up being the companion page to the layout here and has hidden journaling that tells the story of what REALLY happens when we take the kids out for a photo shoot (and explains why I didn't attempt it last year):
Supplies: patterned paper, stickers, die cuts (Authentique); twine (LilyBelles on Etsy); brads, manilla tags (craft supply); ink (Ranger)

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrapping!

Monday, September 17, 2012

September's Sincerely for Kiwi Lane (#35, 36, 37)

Hello Kiwi Fans!  and all others who may stumble upon this blog :)  Today I have a few cards for Kiwi Lane's Sincerely.  I was given the assignment of "Back to School" and immediately I thought of crayons, pencils, notebook paper and chalkboards and that's what ended up on these cards!

A+
Supplies: patterned paper, stamp (Imaginisce); card stock (Provo Craft, Bazzill); ink (Ranger, Tsukinedo); alphabet stickers (DCWV); ribbon (Offray); circle punch (EK Success)
Kiwi Lane Templates: Thoughtful 2B, Tiny Wacky 3T, Tiny Accents 4T, Tiny Tags 3T, Adorn 2A

For this card, I stamped the notebook paper on white card stock, cut it out and added letter stickers.  I also made a pencil using layers of the same template shape.  Here's how:

First, cut a full tag shape out of cream colored paper (this serves as the base for all your layering and ends up only showing the tip of the pencil) like this:
 Then cut another full tag out of yellow paper (I used a pattern for a bit more interest) and cut the tip off with those zig zag scissors that I know you have ;)  like this:
 Turn the yellow paper so the back side is showing and score every 1/4".  This makes raised lines and adds some texture to your pencil.  You can use a scoring board or the groove in your paper trimmer:
 Now use sandpaper or a sanding block to gently sand off the surface of the scored lines, exposing the white core (if you used a solid core card stock, use a bit of ink on a dauber to add some ink to the scored lines instead) like this:
 Next, trace just part of the tag onto pink cardstock for the eraser like this:
 Layer your yellow paper and eraser on the pencil base and add the "metal" part of your pencil just below the eraser using a silver metallic ribbon (I used 1/8", but 1/4 would also work) like this:
 As the final touch to your pencil, punch a 1/2" circle out of black cardstock and adhere it to the point of the pencil like this:
Now all you have to do is trim off the extra black card stock and silver ribbon and you have a pencil!

#1 Teacher
Supplies: patterned paper (Imaginisce, Prima); card stock (Provo Craft); ribbon (Pebbles); crayon (Crayola); ink (Ranger)
Kiwi Lane Templates: Tiny Tags 3T, Tiny Wacky 1T, Tiny Strips, Tiny Shapes 8T

This card has a crayon, also made out of the tiny tags! I'll show you how in just a bit...  But, I wanted to point out that I used crayon to write the sentiment (I also tried writing it with my left hand to make it look like a child wrote it, but it was unreadable!).  Remember that in your card making, you can use things that you normally would never use for your scrapbook layouts, like writing with crayons and pencils.  You don't have to worry about your card materials being archival quality and acid free, which opens up a whole world of options.

So here's the step by step for the crayon:

Trace the tag on card stock like this:
 Then make a dotted line across the tag, separating the tip from the rest.  Move the tip down a bit and trace again, only going to the dotted line.  Make another line at the top to mark where you will cut the point off the tip to make the flat crayon top.  Like this:
 Now erase the outside line where you have doubles, and the pointy part of the tip.  This is what you should have left:
Cut along the solid lines (NOT the dotted line) and you have your crayon base.  Just flip it over (or erase all the lines), add a "wrapper" and whatever you want to use to embellish it and you're done!

Back 2 School
Supplies: patterned paper (Imaginisce, Prima); card stock (Provo Craft); twine (SupplyOwl on Etsy); "school" sticker (DCWV); glitter letter stickers (Making Memories); ribbon (Offray); ink (Ranger)
Kiwi Lane Templates: Tiny Holiday 4T, Tiny Accents 4T, Adorn 3A & B

While Kiwi Lane does not currently have an apple template, you can think outside the box a little and use a pumpkin with a bit of modification.  I trimmed the bottom so it looked more like an apple, and I made the stem more rounded. 

So, I would love to see what you come up with from looking at these school-inspired cards!  Leave a link in the comments so I can take a peek!

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrapping!

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

I {heart} Games (#34)

Supplies: cardstock (Provo Craft); patterned paper, journaling spot, stickers (Echo Park); brads (My Mind's Eye); ink (Ranger); twine (craft supply)
Kiwi Lane Designs Templates: Tiny Tags, Tiny Brackets

This layout is based on the Pearl #1 sketch for Scrapbooksteals.com.  I must say, this is not anywhere close to my usual style, but I had a lot of fun creating this layout!  And because it used smaller pieces of paper, I could use scraps from a line that I wouldn't usually be able to use on anything but cards.  This would also be easy to create using a 6x6 pad of paper.  It really is one of my favorite layouts lately!  And a big THANKS to my friend Susan.  She sent me the twine that I used on the banner.  It originally had a green strand in there, too, but it didn't quite go together so I took it out and it was perfect!

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrapping!

??? (#33)

Hmm... I just realized that I didn't ever title this page.  I should find it and fix that!
Supplies: patterned paper, stickers (Echo Park); card stock (craft supply); journaling stamp (Autumn Leaves); twine, brads (craft supply)
Kiwi Lane Design Template: Tags

Simple 4th of July page (tired of seeing those yet? ;)  )  The wavy edge was done with a wavy edge ruler- you just press it onto your paper and tear.  There are a few manufacturers that make them, but I use the Fiskars brand.  And they come in a few different patterns.  It just adds a bit more dimension to an edge without a lot of work.

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrapping!

I Love this Time of Year (#32)

 Supplies: patterned paper, die cuts (Authentique); fabric flowers (Bazzill); paper flowers (Prima); brads (My Mind's Eye); paper flower chain (Doodlebug); butterflies (Momenta); ink (Ranger)
Kiwi Lane Design Templates: Paisley Place, Strips

I love fall leaves, and these were some of my favorite photos from a few years ago.  My mom took them and I think they are beautiful!  I found these transparent layered butterfly stickers at Big Lots for $1.  I used two of them for this project and there are still six or so left for a few more projects.  Here's a close up of the group of flowers and butterfly:
Thanks for stopping by and happy scrapping!

4th of July Luau (#31)

 Supplies: cardstock, patterned paper, letter stickers (Echo Park); brads (My Mind's Eye); twine (The Twinery); buttons, jewel stickers (Doodlebug); punches (EK Success, Martha Stewart Crafts); ink (Ranger)
Kiwi Lane Designs Templates: Scallops, Spooky, Tags

This layout was based on the Scrapbooksteals.com Pearl #3 sketch.  I added more photos and have to admit, I think it's a little cluttered.  I should have stuck to the original sketch a little better and not squished everything in.  Other than that, I like it- the colors in the paper are bright and fun and fit the feeling of the photos perfectly!  Here's a closer look at the tiny photo in the bottom right corner along with the embellishments.
Thanks for stopping by and happy scrapping!

Jonathan (#30)

Supplies: patterned paper, alphabet stickers, die cuts (Authentique); brads (Doodlebug); ink (Ranger)
Kiwi Lane Design Templates: Happy Trails, Tags, Strips

I'm pretty sure this was based on the Scrapbooksteals.com Pearl #7 when I started it... then I veered away from the sketch.  I guess there's still a slight resemblance :)  

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrapping!

Let's Go Fly a Kite (#29)

If you're a frequent visitor of this blog, you may have noticed the recent lack of posts that contain pictures of projects.  Well, that is about to be rectified.

Let's Go Fly a Kite
 (I don't know what is up with the color in this pic... I tried to fix it, but to no avail.)

Supplies: cardstock (DCWV, Core'dinations); patterned paper, stickers, journaling card ( Echo Park); twine, buttons, brads (craft supply); ink (Ranger)

So no sketch for this layout.  Just wanted to use up a bunch of scraps.  So I punched squares for around the perimeter of the page, added a block in the middle for the photo, title and journaling and made a cute little paper pieced kite, some buttons, stickers and brads and... Ta da!  All done!  Super easy page that took a total of 30 minutes to do (but, of course, I didn't get to to it in one sitting.  This was 30 minutes of working here and there over the course of three days).  And a big THANKS to my friend Susan who sent me the twine to play with.  It actually had a strand of green on it, too, but it wasn't the right color.  I took that off and the blue and white that remained was perfect!  I just noticed that I didn't use a  KLD template for this LO... weird.... I didn't think it was possible for my creativity to work without them!

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrapping!


Tuesday, September 4, 2012

I Think I Just Might Be A Chicken...

I know, I know.  I haven't had any scrap happy fun on here for a few weeks, but it's been crazy with school starting (both the daughter's new school and the hubby's Master's program), getting another cold (really?!?) and just trying to get in a new groove with a new schedule.  I haven't done anything besides layouts for the shop and a few (dozen) cards for special orders.  And it's driving me crazy!!  I have sketches printed and taped to the wall around my creative place that are calling my name... Anyway, no layouts on this post either.  Yep, boring.

So why do I think I'm a chicken?  I keep seeing calls for design teams.  And I keep going to those websites that tell the requirements for each design team member.  I have read each requirement carefully and thought to myself, "I could do that!" I have discussed with hubby what the requirements for each call have been, I have pulled out layouts that show my style/s of scrapping, and I have started to write the short essays that most calls ask you to do.  And then, after I've looked at my work and my words, I've talked myself out of submitting anything for any design team calls.  Why?  I think it's part fear of failure, part fear of filling my plate too full and ignoring more important things like the family, and part a feeling of inadequacy.  Silly?  Maybe.  But I just can't seem to get over that bump and commit to trying for something that I might not get.  True, I'm already on a design team, which means I've done it before, right?  Nope.  The ladies at Kiwi Lane asked me to be on their design team.  They have been my friends for a few years and gave me the option of participating or not.  I love using their product so much that the decision was simple.  And there was no scary application process.

So here's my question(s) for you, my readers: Have you ever applied for a design team?  Do you have any tips for me to get over my chicken-ness?

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrapping!

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

August's Sincerely for Kiwi Lane (#26, #27 & #28)

If you have been sitting on the edge of your seat and checking for this post every 15 minutes for the last couple of hours, my sincere apologies!  I went to publish this post right after Kiwi Lane posted this month's Sincerely on their blog and *SuRpRiSe!!*  NO internet... at all!!  And for some reason my phone doesn't let me log into certain sites and this is one of them (the other one is Etsy- two of the top three sites I use on a daily basis.  Of course!) so I couldn't do it from there.... I was getting close to asking my neighbors (who I don't really know) if I could use theirs- desperate times!

This month's Sincerely assignment was notecards.  To me, notecards are those cards that aren't for any specific reason, just a little note to someone to help brighten their day.  It's those little notes that you love to get in the mail or stuck in your front door... and it doesn't hurt if there is a sweet treat with it ;)  So I came up with three cards for this week.  And they are easy!!  How do I know?  I started them on Tuesday afternoon and had pictures done and submitted later that night.  And I went to Back to School Night within that time frame, too.  Yep, still a procrastinator... I'll let you know if that ever changes, but don't hold your breath :)

Just a Quick Note:
Supplies: card stock (craft supply); patterned paper (My Mind's Eye); ink (Ranger); stamp (Studio G)
Kiwi Lane Templates: Tiny Wildflower, Tiny Nature, Adorn

This card is pretty self explanatory- I just used the templates, traced, cut, inked and adhered.  Then I added a stamp using distress ink (the same one I used on the edges) to give it a slightly worn look to match the paper.  This card is completely flat and could easily be mailed without extra postage.

Just a little FYI- I used My Mind's Eye Miss Caroline paper for all the cards in this post.  It was the paper kit that Kiwi Lane had a few months ago, so if you were able to snag one and have leftovers, I highly suggest you make some of these!

Just for You:
Supplies: same as previous card, plus a button (Provo Craft) and twine (LillyBelle's Paperie Etsy shop)
Kiwi Lane Templates: Adorn, Tiny Accents, Tiny Brackets, Tiny Tags, Tiny Strips

This was a very rough interpretation of this week's Monday Card Madness (#97) at Scrapbooksteals.com.  I always appreciate the inspiration I get from their sketches!  Again, pretty self explanatory.  Trace, cut, ink, adhere, stamp and then add a button with twine.  I did curl the petals of the flower for some dimension.  If you wanted it flat, just trade the button for a piece of paper and don't curl the petals.

Butterflies:
Supplies: same as first plus baker's twine (Divine Twine) and jewels (K&Company, Doodlebug)
 Kiwi Lane Templates: Tiny Nature, Mini Photos, Mini Scallops, Mini Strips.

This is not a standard A2 card like the previous two.  This is a 5x7, which may not really qualify as a notecard, but it can be for just a note (a really LONG note!), so I think it counts!  Again, just trace, cut, ink, adhere.  But before you adhere the butterflies, fold/curl their wings to add some more dimension, if you'd like.  Then add jewels for some sparkle!  Here's a little closer look at the butterflies:
Well, that's all I have for you today.  I hope you enjoyed it!

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrapping!

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

#25

Are you ready for more 4th of July??  Well, if you aren't, I suggest you stop reading... now.  These are all from the same year, mind you.  But, I think I'm making a dent in my photos- I can actually move the photos in my box! (They have been pretty smashed in there- so much so that when I would go to take out one, it would pull up a few more.)  I'm not even going to worry about the other photos that are in other places for now, just the box.  Then I can do the rest... good plan?  I thought so ;)

This layout was based on a Scrapbooksteals.com sketch- Pearl 4a:
Supplies: cardstock (Bazzill, craft supply); patterned paper (Echo Park); buttons (Basic Grey, Doodlebug, craft supply); twine (Lillybelle's Paperie on Etsy); flags (Pebbles, Inc.); alphabet stickers (American Crafts, Authentique); ink (Colorbox, Ranger); pen (Staedtler); thread (craft supply)

Kiwi Lane Designs templates: Scallops 1 A&B, strips, photos

 You may have noticed that the original sketch is for a single page. And I intended to narrow down my pics and use just three, but I couldn't seem to get them narrowed down to less than 5, so I stretched out the layout and made it a two pager- and I really like how it turned out!  I used my sewing machine to stitch around the border on the plaid paper and to stitch across the star paper, making more of a defined edge by the scalloped border.  I used my trusty Scor-pal to make the little paper rosettes.



I've probably said this before, but I'm going to say it again- if you haven't tried using a sketch to jump start a layout, you should definitely give it a try next time your creative juices are running low!  If it doesn't fit what you are working with, adjust it!  You can take just a few elements out of the sketch and use them on your layout, or do an exact replica... the possibilities are endless!  And you can use KLD templates for elements on nearly any sketch- I do it all the time and it makes it so much faster!  You should try it, then come back here and let me know what you think!

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrapping!