Oopsie

My brain doesn't work the way it used to. I blame it on having kids. Pregnancy and childbirth have been scientifically linked to the loss of brain cells. Really!

Aaaaanyway...

These are the three layouts I created with the Say Cheese kit from The Little Blue House.

I used the plastic rings in the kits as masks and sprayed over them with Maya Mist to create the background.

See the wooden camera piece? I created that patina effect by first misting it green and then pressing it onto a black stamp pad.

Fun and quick layout using the Sn@p collection from Simple Stories and layering my Instagram photos onto the printed frames. 

These Maya Road banner pieces were fun to layer with papers and fabric.

I struggled with this one a bit because the "Say Cheese" title was originally a deep golden yellow and it just wasn't working for me. So I misted over it with blue to get more of a turquoise color. It was a "Make It Work Moment" in my craft room.

 

I've been playing with paint droplets lately. The trick is to dilute the black acrylic with a tiny bit of water to get a nice fat drop. I haven't mastered it yet, but I'm getting better.

I had some ribbon scraps left over, so I stapled them around the paper clip.

I seriously thought I'd posted these, but no. Never happened. Sorry about that. Better late than never, I guess.

Have a great weekend!

Sneaks continued...

Ready for another sneak peek of the new "Say Cheese" kit from Front Porch Kits?

There's lots more to see, so be sure to visit the other design team members' blogs for more sneak peeks from this fun kit that's packed FULL of goodies!

Susan Tidwell: http://susan-artfulmusings.blogspot.com/
Kristy Fey: http://theno-noroom.blogspot.com/
Rhonda Merry: http://noidlehandshere.blogspot.com/
Valerie Bishop: http://myhere-rightnow.blogspot.com/
Lynette Chiles: http://netteart.blogspot.com/
Leslie Ashe: http://leslieashe.blogspot.com/
Robyn Schaub: http://dreaminginscraps.blogspot.com/
Elaine Howell: http://glittermehappy.blogspot.com/
Tracy Pounds: http://luv2cre8joy.blogspot.com/

Only two more days until the BIG reveal! One more sneak tomorrow and I'll be posting full projects  on Tuesday, so stay tuned!

It's that time again

I'm so excited to share that there is a brand new Front Porch Kit being released on Tuesday, March 5th!

Tracy has done an amazing job (as always) putting together a kit that inspires me to go a little outside of my comfort zone and play with supplies I might not normally tackle. Each time I open one of her boxes, I'm filled with a mix of anticipation and -- okay, I admit it -- fear(!) because I know that she always throws in a little bit of a curve ball. But I always end up loving what I create.

I can't share all the projects just yet, but here's my first sneak peek:

I can't wait to share more. In the meantime, please visit the other design team members' blogs for additional peeks:

Susan Tidwell: http://susan-artfulmusings.blogspot.com/
Kristy Fey: http://theno-noroom.blogspot.com/
Rhonda Merry: http://noidlehandshere.blogspot.com/
Valerie Bishop: http://myhere-rightnow.blogspot.com/
Lynette Chiles: http://netteart.blogspot.com/
Leslie Ashe: http://leslieashe.blogspot.com/
Robyn Schaub: http://dreaminginscraps.blogspot.com/
Elaine Howell: http://glittermehappy.blogspot.com/
Tracy Pounds: http://luv2cre8joy.blogspot.com/

I'll be posting more sneaks here on Sunday and Monday, leading up to the full reveal on Tuesday when the kit goes live.

See you soon!

 

CHA Download, Part 2: On Display

Continuing along my CHA recap series, today's post is all about the "wow" factor.

Yes, it's fun seeing the new products at CHA. But even more fun is seeing the clever and often jawdropping ways they've been used to create displays for the booths.

A few of my favorites:


Maya Road

Canvas messenger bags embellished with paints, mists, fabric, burlap and flowers


GCD Studios

Pure Bliss Collection by Heather Tozzi -- loved the rolled up papers


Crate Paper

Vintage window frames and mailbox door used as backdrop


Plaid (Mod Podge)

Wouldn't this be a fun kids craft?



Teresa Collins

Teresa's booth always has the prettiest mini albums.

Maya Road (again)

This is a chipboard butterfly album, but the designer created a box for it by adding bingo pieces and mini rulers to make the frame. Genius!

Bottlecaps

I could. not. stop. looking at this amazing wall art created with colored bottlecaps. I want this on my wall!
 
My Mind's Eye

Don't like your bike? Cover it in washi tape and you will love it!
 
Hemptique

Crocheted flower using hemp cord -- a little stiffer than yarn and comes in a huge variety of colors. If only I could crochet.

Check back on Friday for my last CHA post...a wrap-up of projects, classes and other fun stuff. See you then!

CHA Download, Part 1: Favorites

I flew home from CHA on Monday and woke up this morning to a mix of snow and sleet for my drive to work. Reality is so cruel.

But back to the trip...it was fabulous in EVERY way: oohing and aahing over all the great new products coming out, meeting the amazing minds behind all those products, trying new techniques, learning lots and, best of all, giggling all night long with sweet friends who are just as crazy as me.

I'll be devoting the rest of the week to posts about things I saw and did at the show, and today's post will showcase my favorite products and collections:


Maya Road Wood Embellishments

I always love Maya Road and, honestly, I could fill up a full blog post with favorites from this company (hmmm, maybe someday...), but these little wood rulers (called Measure Twice Cut Once) and the polaroid frames (You've Been Framed) stole my heart. Come to Mama!


Sweet Girl Collection by Echo Park

Well, you knew there would be something from Echo Park in here, right? I loved all of their new releases, but the swirly, circle-y paper in this one put it over the top for me. I want to cut that up right now!

Chic Tags - Birthday Cake Collection

I was so happy to see this booth. I'm kind of a tag-junkie, and I've been using this company's tags for a while, but they've always come in kits. I didn't realize all this time I could buy full sets of them on Scrapbook.com and ACherryOnTop.com, but I'm so glad I know now! (Why yes, I did already place an order. How did you guess?)


Elle's Studio You & Me

In addition to all their wonderful tags and titles, Elle's Studio is now doing paper! Yippee! My favorite was the chalkboard-look paper in this line. While I was checking out all the gorgeous releases, I got to meet Elle and she was so kind and friendly. She was handing out little bags of samples, which I can't wait to use. Thanks, Elle!

Maggie Holmes for Crate Paper
 

Maggie rocked this collection! The papers are beautiful -- just as you'd expect from anything that says Crate -- but what really stood out were the variety of embellishments. Not just the same old, same old -- adorable bobby pins, mini bows and a whole lotta other fun stuff. Love it!

Chevron Ribbon by May Arts

The chevron ribbon May Arts released last year was (and still is) a staple on my craft table. But this is like Version 2.0 -- vertical chevrons in bright colors and neutrals. I think I need them all. Oh yes.

Dear Lizzy Lucky Charm Collection

Really nice muted primary colors, lots of fun, on-trend patterns, like chevrons, stripes, florals. But the thing that really got me was the horse chipboard. My horse-obsessed girl is going to love this!

We R Memory Keepers 360 Tote

It's been a long time since a good crafting tote hit the market, and this one combines all the best features: plenty of pockets for organizing tools, zippered compartments on every side, 360-degree rolling wheels for easy maneuvering around all those crop tables and a bright, fun pattern. There's also a matching paper storage tote with accordion files to keep all your pages organized with no bent corners...bonus!

Jinger Adams Craft Armoire

Storage-challenged scrappers, this is for you! It hangs over a door and opens to reveal tons and tons of organization for paper, tools, embellishments, ribbon...everything you can think of, Jinger has it covered. The door even has corkboard in the panel so you can pin notes and ideas.

Of course, there are lots of other fantastic new things that I'm excited about, but I'll save those for another day and another post.

Check back tomorrow for a look at the most clever and beautiful displays I saw. Until then...

My Word for 2013

New Year's Resolutions never really worked for me, so I stopped making them years ago. Instead, I choose a word that I want to focus on for the year. It's kind of a common practice in scrapbooking circles, known as One Little Word. It's much simpler than a resolution because you never really fail, as long as you let that word guide you all year. When you make a mistake, you think a little about it (maybe write a little about it), then get back on course.

I gave a lot of thought to what my word would be for 2013. There are plenty of ways I could go: relaxation, focus, contentment, home. All good concepts, but none of them really captured what I need to work on. In the end, I decided what I really needed to do was to stop trying to do all the thinking about what could happen or not happen in the future and be more aware of today...this moment.

So my word for 2013 is:

 
Present in the little moments, paying attention to the here and now.

Present in my kids lives -- at their performances, in their classrooms, talking about their day, listening to their ideas.

Present in my relationships -- tuning into what others really need from me without them having to ask (or beg). Just being there when they need me.

This will be a challenge. The planner in me likes to think about tomorrow, and the next day and the next task on my to-do list...and the next idea....and the next place to go...

But then again, it might be pretty refreshing.

I made a little pocket on my layout to tuck some thoughts into throughout the year. I figure it will be fun to read them at the end of the year and see how I did.

Happy New Year!!

It's back!

I guess writing about my "lack of mojo" and getting it out in the open was kind of therapeutic because, after more than a week of zero creativity, I ventured back into my scrap room and I finished not one, but TWO projects!

Okay, okay. It helped that several shipments of supplies arrived for the classes I'm working on. It's kinda hard to ignore the growing stack of boxes taking over my dining room.

So what did I make? A film canister album!

The Note to Self line from Echo Park is so fun, and it's perfect with the canister. The inside fold-out is 6 panels and holds five 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 photos, which I had printed at Walgreen's -- just select a 4x6 collage print and choose two photos. They'll each print at about 3 x 4 to give you a little room for cropping. This is one of the classes I'll be teaching at the Great American Scrapbook Convention in Chantilly.

Here's a look at the other class project I finished: a canvas binder album using Maya Road and American Crafts.

Lots of misting and masking in this class. Must remember to pack extra paper towels.

One more quick share...a layout I created (last month) for my first guest post on the Ella Publishing blog. I wrote about finding love for those not-so-perfect photos on your camera roll. C'mon...you KNOW you've got some of those!

Check out my post at Ella for the story of how I got past my need for "perfect." 

Thanks for stopping by!

Class Crazy!

I'm just going to say it. I have no projects to share today. But don't worry. I have a good excuse: I've been spending all my crafty time this week preparing classes for the Great American Scrapbook Convention.

I have THREE wonderful classes in development, with some fabulous and very generous sponsors, including American Crafts, Echo Park, Maya Road and Canvas Corp.

So my craft room is full of boxes, like this one...

And this one...

Projects in progress like this...

It's a very exciting mess, and I'm enjoying all the preparation that goes into making some great classes for GASC Chantilly.

That's right. I said Chantilly.

I'm not teaching in Arlington this year. In fact, I wasn't even planning to go to the convention this year because my 10th wedding anniversary falls a few days before the GASC Arlington show, and Adam and I planned a special celebration/getaway for that weekend. I had totally accepted the fact that I would miss GASC just this one time. And it was O-KAY.


But then an amazing opportunity came along, and I couldn't say no. So I will be teaching at GASC Chantilly on June 22-23.

Class descriptions and registration details will be up in the next week or so, and if you're in the Northern Virginia/DC area, I hope you'll check out my classes. I love how they're turning out!

Quiet time

With the exception of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, my house was pretty quiet for most of the holidays. My mother graciously offered to take the girls to visit my aunt's house for a few days before Christmas and for a week of camping in South Texas after Christmas.

I have a love/hate relationship with the girls being away. Of course, I love how quiet the house is and how clean it looks without toys strewn every which way. But I also hate how quiet it is. It's too quiet. And it's kind of sad walking by the toy bin, seeing all the things so neatly put away and not being played with.

So what do I do with all my free, quiet time? I scrapbook. Photos of the girls. Naturally.

I wanted to do something fun with these photos from 4th of July, and when I saw the "it's a banner day" sticker in this collection from Lily Bee, I knew immediately what I wanted to make.

And of course it has a banner -- I'm so predictable.


More fun summer photos that I hadn't put to good use...this layout was up on the Pretty Little Studio blog earlier in the week. I used paper and vintage tags from the Antique Store collection. The patchwork pattern reminds me of one of my Granny's handmade quilts.

I hid the journaling inside this Maya Road envelope on one of the Restaurant Receipts from Pretty Little Studio. I think it's cool that these receipts were modeled after original antique receipts from the 1930's and 1960's.

Have a great weekend, and be sure to stop by on Monday, when I'll be sharing a fun announcement!

A little diversion

We interrupt this onslaught of holiday-themed red-and-greenery to bring you...

...Easter?!

Yes, I know I'm getting WAY ahead of myself by posting spring-themed projects. But Imaginisce just released a brand-new collection: Hippity Hop. After four weeks of December Dailies, cards, tags, ornaments and holiday-themed layouts, it was a welcome change to play with something pink and blue and springy.

The idea for this layout came from a sketch I saw on the October Afternoon blog. When I saw the birdcage die-cuts, I thought they'd look cute hanging along some twine. Then I added some patterned paper flags, a canvas Maya Road banner and an Epiphany Crafts heart. The twine is hanging from two iTop medium brads.

 

I've had the mini clothespins for a while, but kept forgetting to use them. They were the perfect size to clip on the photos.

One of my favorite things about this collection is the kites. I hand-cut some clouds to play into the kite scene on this layout.

Be sure to "hop" over to the Imaginisce blog each day this week to check out more projects with this fun, new collection -- and a chance to win it all!