Inspiration comes in many forms...

There was a thread on the Paper Popsicles message board earlier this week about where inspiration comes from. I replied that I usually find inspiration in galleries and blogs, then it all becomes a jumbled mess in my brain until it finds its way to the page. Can you tell I'm not very organized in this department?

But once in a while, inspiration comes from somewhere completely different. In this case, it was a combination of (a) a vintage find at my in-laws' house, (b) a special photo that I had tucked away for a while and (c) the weekly sketch challenge on the Paper Popsicles blog.

The vintage find has kind of a cool story. We were at my in-laws' house for dinner on Sunday, and my girls were making their usual mess of toys all over the living room. As I started to make an effort to straighten up the mess, I picked up this little strand of yellowed silk flowers. Immediately, I said "ooooh...these would be perfect on a layout!" So my mother-in-law said "Take them!" She then went on to explain that they had been on the wedding hat of my father-in-law's mother. I just thought they were so beautiful and perfect, I couldn't believe I had the luck to find them that way. And I knew they would be perfect for a photo that I had been meaning to scrap for a while.

The photo has a cool story, too. It's four generations of women in my family: my grandmother (who passed away last month), my mother and my aunt, myself and my two daughters. Somehow, we only have girls in this family. Personally, I think it's because we are all so strong and fiesty...those Y chromosomes never had a chance in this group!

So here's the layout...


It's a little different from my usual fun, bold style, but I like it. I hand-cut the flower and flourish shapes from My Mind's Eye paper, then used them as masks when I sprayed Glimmer Mist for the background.

Here's a close-up of those amazing vintage flowers...


I threw in some elements from a Jenni Bowlin Junque Box -- a book page and a button -- to complement the vintage feel of the flowers.


Thanks for visiting! Have a wonderful weekend!

What a nice surprise!

I love an unexpected, pleasant surprise. So when Paper Popsicles decided to release our Design Team projects for the November kits early as a little pre-Halloween gift, I was delighted. Mostly because it answered my question, "What am I going to post today?" But also because I can't wait to buy the Jolly By Golly kit (the one I didn't get to work with this month...the one that includes all those yummy Cosmo Cricket papers) to make Christmas cards -- now that I'm in the Christmas spirit and all. (wink, wink)

As for the kit I *did* get to work with, well, it rocked! It's called Seasons of Color. Admittedly, we don't get a lot of "fall color" here in Texas. But when I put my not-so-fall-colored photos with these vibrant fall papers, it actually makes them seem a little more fall-ish. Take a look...

And here are the three cards I made with the kit:



The specialty papers in this kit are amazing: the scalloped circle and the lace acorn paper are from Little Yellow Bicycle, and the orange doilie paper is from BasicGrey. I'm pretty happy with myself for making ONE sheet of the BasicGrey paper last through two layouts and two cards...that has to be some sort of a record, doesn't it? (Well, at least for me it is.)

Photos of all the November kits and projects are in the Paper Popsicles Gallery. Check it out!

Thanks for looking!

60 Days and Counting...

Can you believe it? Only 60 shopping days left until Christmas?! Yes, I know it's annoying to walk into the nearest shopping mall to sounds of Perry Como and strands of glistening lights when we haven't even gotten Halloween out of the way yet. But that's how it is, and I couldn't resist adding a little "holly jolly" to my blog on this cold, rainy afternoon.

Here's a fun little home decor project I did this weekend using the Polar Expressions line from Imaginisce. I just love that little polar bear feltie and, the moment I saw him, ideas started brewing in my head. Yes, that can sometimes be dangerous. But in this case, all turned out well and I ended up with a new piece of holiday decor.


I made the tree by cutting strips of the green paper (which conveniently has diagonal stripes all over it) and trimming the edges parallel to the diagonal in different lengths. I then stacked them on top of each other to form the tree. The lights and peppermint decorations are actually rub-0n borders that I cut up.


The presents were just cut with a square punch, then I trimmed a bit off the top to make them more rectangular. That's Imaginisce ribbon, and it's double-sided, so the same ribbon was used on both packages...just different sides.

I even made the fireplace out of Imaginisce papers. I liked the way the red words lined up to seem a little like bricks. Reminds me a little of the fireplace in the house where I grew up.


The sentiment, stockings and peppermint on top of the tree are all chipboard from the Imaginisce Polar Expressions line, too. Are you sensing a pattern here? :)

To finish off the project, I wanted something to spice up the somewhat boring frame I bought at Michael's, so I took more Imaginisce ribbon, trimmed it into pieces, ran it through my Xyron "X" and adhered it onto the frame to create a border.


Since the length of the ribbon that came in the package wasn't *quite* long enough to make it all the way around, I finished it off with little chipboard wreath, which I mounted onto the chipboard backing that came in the package of rub-ons. I really love manufacturers who include nice chipboard in their packaging...it's such a bonus!!

And now that I've gotten a jump on my holiday decor, I guess it's time to start thinking about Christmas shopping. Right after I get rid of all this Halloween candy.

Flower Power!

Today, I’m going to show you how to create a sweet little paper flower (like the one I used on my card for the Paper Popsicles blog sketch) using just a few simple tools.


You will need:

• A circle punch (I’m using a 1 ¼” circle punch)
• Scraps of paper (double-sided paper creates a neat effect; however, you can still do it with single-sided paper and your contrast color will be white)
• Adhesive
• A button or brad for the center of the flower

I’m using the double-sided papers from the Cosmo Cricket Girl Friday line, both of which are still available in the Paper Popsicles store.

1. Punch 6 circles from your scraps of paper.


2. Take one of the circles and fold a small portion of one edge toward the center. Fold the same portion of the other side of the circle toward the center so that you have a petal shape like this.


3. Repeat with the other 5 circles, making sure that the shape of each petal is uniform with the others.


4. Begin adhering the circles onto a layout or piece of cardstock. Align the folded edges together to create a full circle of petals.


5. Finish with a button or brad in the center.

You can also make a stem from ric-rac, ribbon or paper and add some leaves. Perfect for a card, layout or home decor.

Who doesn't love a FREEBIE?!

Check out the adorable shaped card template that Paper Popsicles is offering for their Freebie Friday!


I think this example is so cute and would be super easy to scraplift for Halloween or Thanksgiving cards:

All you have to do is go to the Paper Popsicles store, in the Shaped Card Templates section and add this to your cart. It's free, there's no shipping cost and it will be emailed to you today! Can't beat that!