Best Friends Mini

Hey everyone...back again with another mini album!  I am having so much fun playing with all my chipboard and embellies.  This one has one very special feature that I'm so super duper excited about...a two part cover.  What's a two part cover you ask???  Well I designed how I wanted the cover to be and then I split up the embellishments between a piece of acetate and the main chipboard cover.  They are two separate layers decorated all their own, but yet they still blend well when placed together.  I'm definitely going to have to make that a go-to technique.  Here is a close up of what I'm talking about:

Here is the finished mini bound with my new toy 'The Cinch' by We R Memory Keepers and finished off with a twine bow and butterfly charm.  Below is a collage of all the inside pages.  Eventually this bad boy will go into my etsy shop once I work up the nerve to get me one LOL.  

I'm also entering this into the challenge posted over at Divas by Design: Make It Girly.  Everything about this mini is girly.  BFFs, bling, glitter letters, flowers, butterflies, charms, more bling, and just for good measure...an extra few bling.  LOL

Thanks for visiting!

♥

Christmas Joy mini

I have a fun mini album to share with you all today!  I know I always say my first love is scrapbook layouts, but I think a clooooose second is mini albums.  I just love the feeling of completeness that comes from finishing a project start to finish.  I actually made two of these bad boys, one for a friend who asked me to make her something to stick her Christmas morning photos in and one to go in my eventual etsy shop if ever I work up the nerve to hit 'publish'. ;)  I've been making them for friends, family and friends of friends for over a year now and I'm running out of minis I personally need and people I know first hand who need more quicker than I am getting tired of making them.  HA!  

The album is a ornament shaped chipboard base embellished to the point of exploding with spots to hold lots of wallet sized photos.  Several challenges helped inspire me along the way to finishing this bad boy off.  First up, Crafty Creations asked everyone to create something with snowflakes.  Well not only is there one on my cover, but the inside is littered with several too.  The chipboard album is my something 'new' (I just picked it up at Michael's yesterday in the 80% off section WOOT!) and the star is cut from my George and Basic Shapes cricut cart to meet the requirements for the Cut It Up challenge posted last week.  After die-cutting the chipboard, I painted it white and then modge-podged (oh yeah..that's a word LOL) and then glittered it within an inch of it's life.  That fun little star was inspired by workout #83 over at ScrapFIT.  Hop on over to their blogs for some kick-booty DT inspiration after you are all done here.  

Thanks for visiting!

♥

2012 A Year in Review

I really can't believe another year has come to an end.  Amazing how it seems to start off so slow, but then Halloween to New Years is such a blur!  I wanted to take a moment to look back on some of my favorite projects that I've created over the past 12 months.  You can click the picture to go to the original post. :)

Favorite Card

Favorite Mini

I'm sharing this one with ABAC's year in reviewdesign team project!  Click the pic to go to theoriginal post to see the full series of inside pictures!

Favorite Layout

Favorite Off the Page Paper Creation

Favorite Non Scrappy Project

Favorite Gift

Thanks for visiting!

♥Christy

Christmas tags

Six weeks....that's how long it's been since I blogged last.  What would you know...that's exactly how long it takes to heal from a broken foot....coincidence??  Not so much!  :(  Luckily I didn't have to be in a full cast, just a special little foot boot contraption, and I could even walk on it with minor pain (after about the first 10 days or so), but sitting at my scrappy table was just about the only thing I managed to do that left me with throbbing pain, so I've had to take a short crafty hiatus.  And a non-scrappin' mama is not a happy mama for sure!!!  But I've been back at it a week or so and I'm ready to get caught up on all the fun holiday layouts and projects I have planned and that will surely be created over the next month.

First up is the current installment of Anything But a Card challenge blog, where our DT leader was sweet enough to give me a few weeks off to recoup.  Our challenge running right now is 'Celebrating the Light' or 'Seasonal Holiday'....your choice.  I went with a set of Christmas tags that I'll be giving as a gift soon.  Hopefully said recievee does not follow my blog....haha!  Thanks for looking and make sure you click over to see the rest of week two's creations.

Thanks for visiting!

♥Christy

The secret to hairbows....

The reason I say the 'secret' to hairbows in the title is because it truly has been the best kept secret that these things are so easy, so cheap, and so FUN to create all on your own.  You can walk into a super store and pay $3-$5 for a set of these... and if you go into a boutique-type store you will likely pay $3-$5 a piece.

If you are just jumping into crafting you will have to investment in a glue gun, alligator clips, ribbon and fun embellishments.  I found decorative buttons work best (not the kind with the 2-4 holes, but the bulky ones with the shank on the back) and if you walk into a craft store there are literally THOUSANDS to choose from.  If you are like me and have an entire Hobby Lobby's worth of scrapbooking supplies, you will only need to purchase alligator clips.  My local Hobby Lobby and Joann's were both out of stock, but they did sell them and they were slightly cheaper (and had multiple size selections) than Walmart if you used one of their handy-dandy 40% off coupons.  I found the ones I use in the tutorial below at Walmart for $2 for 6.  All of my ribbon is from my stash and a great way to use up pieces that are too small for a scrapbook page.  Every single embellishment I used above is from my scrappy stash as well.  I raid my buttons (you may need to cut the shank off most), my brads (these also require you to snip off the posts), my 'silk' flowers (don't use the paper kind), gems, and felt embellishments that are left over from pages I've created.

Watch my the video tutorial below, but before you get started check out my trouble shooting tips list below it.  If you give it a try and run into any problems, leave a comment and I'll figure out a solution and add it to the list.  If you have any smart tips I've missed, please share that in the comments as well and I'll gladly add that too!!!!  :)

• You will need to seal the ends of your ribbon with either a fray stop product or carefully with a flame. 
• You can experiment with any ribbon, but the very best results I've gotten have all been with grossgrain.
• If you make a mistake, you can pull up an embellishment, but then you need to pick off as much dried glue as possible and what is left behind can be remelted by touching the metal tip of your glue gun to it.
• The thinner your hair, the smaller the alligator clip you will want to use.  
• ***IMPORTANT*** Make note of where you part your hair, some embellishments have a definitely top or bottom to them and if you place the clip to the side of your hair, you'll want to make sure you attach the top embellishment facing the correct direction so that it's not upside down when you wear it.  
• This is a great project for any store-bought clips you may have that have gotten dingy, ruined or lost a piece.  Just pull off everything down to the clip and clean it up smoothly as best you can, and rebuild with pieces from your supplies.  
• When using these hairbows for smaller kiddos, try to to be cautious of what embellishments you use.  Find things that don't look like they will pose a choking hazard.  My youngest daughter is only 2, but with all of her sensory and texture issues, we can barely get her to put food in her mouth, much less choking hazards!  hahaha
• Keep an eye out at garage sales and thrift stores.  You will pay on average $3 a package for a set of buttons at a craft store, but can walk out with a selection of them second hand for pennies a piece.
• *STOP* Before you throw out that cute outfit your child stained beyond recognition, check to see if it has any cute buttons or sewn on embellishment that can be removed to decorate a hairbow.  I JUST cut a glittery embroidered heart off of a t-shirt my daughter put a hole in and it's about to become a super-duper cute clip!  

I created these for my contribution to this week's BLING challenge at Anything but a Card, so I dug out the sparkliest embellishments I could find (that and because my older daughter is the very definitely of a princess and all her things MUST sparkle) , but you put together the ribbon and embellishments that will match what you are trying to create and give the video another play while trying to make one of your very own!  

Thanks for visiting!

♥Christy

First Love Mini

I was catching up on blogs and saw Practical Scrappers was looking for mini album submissions and it just so happens that a few nights ago my nephew's girlfriend asked me if I could make a little album to put some of her favorite pictures of them together from the past 3 1/2 years all in one place.  Always one to rise to a challenge, I jumped in head first.  I even busted out the Cinch hubby bought me for Christmas finally.  I'd been too scared to give it a whirl, but this was JUST the project.  I gotta tell you, this tool is pretty much the most fun I've had in a while...and I own more than my fair share of scrappy toys.  :)

The paper is almost all Cherry Arte Vanilla Vintage line.  There are a few scraps I dug out of my pile of leftovers from other projects that matched well enough to get thrown in too.  The flowers are mostly Prima and Recollections.  I used misc gems, tags and stickers and letters from my stash.  The binding is done with my We R Memory Keepers Cinch tool.

I really had fun with the inside pages.  I tried several new things that I'd never even considered.  On the first page I embossed a piece of acetate with a Tim Holtz folder and cut out the clock to stash in the cluster (I embossed a few tags with it too just to have good flow).  I had so much fun with this that I absolutely went around cutting up random packages for the acetate just to emboss HAHA!  The 4th page is actually an envelope that I added so she could stash more pics or even memorabilia.  A few pics down (the 10th/11th page) you'll notice I went all embossy on the acetate again and made a clear page to display 2 tiny instagram pics.  The back page has a fold out accordian mini inside a mini that she can either stick down wallet sized photos or even jot down notes.  I also left just a few spots open so she can add even more photos down the road.  The verdict is in and she is in love with this so SUCCESS!!!!!

Relax in the SHADE!!!

Our fearless leader gave the DT a big ol' challenge this week....SUNGLASSES!  We could choose to work with bright colors that make us wanna pull out our shades or we could use sunglasses on our project even.  I chose to go quite literal and incorporate actual sunglasses.  My youngest has quite the collection of sunglasses (yes I know she's only 2, but if I get to have 16 pairs of flip flops, I won't begrudge her 6 pairs of shades LOL) and needed somewhere to store them.

I used a Maya Road tin that came filled with chipboard that's long been used up as the base.  Add a little Helmar 450 and 'Surf Shop' by Reminisce paper/embellishment line (plus a few things from my stash) and voila.....  sunglasses bin!!!  Click on over to Tanya's blog to see what the rest of the Paper Hoarders have in store to brighten your day.  :)

Father's Day Coupon Book

This week over at Paper Hoarders, our theme is Father's Day.  There was also an optional sketch you can follow.  I started off with the sketch as you can tell from the tag shape I kicked off the project with, but along the embellishment path, I strayed a bit.  :)

For Father's Day this year, the kiddos and I decided to give hubby a coupon book.  So we picked some of his most hated chores and gave him a get out of it free coupon.  Also a few coupons for his favorite things to do.  I got a little corny and made little rhymes for each coupon, I'll share them at the end of this post, but warning they are super corny!  LOL.  :)

Thanks for always making sure we have clean dishes.  

You having a break from them is just one of our wishes.

It doesn’t take much of a genius to do the math.

It’s been too long, let us give your car a bath.

When you have three kids, sleep’s something you lose.

How about a nice long afternoon snooze?

Most nights you only get one fifth of a vote.

Tonight you can control all of the remote.

Not every recipe can be a grand prize winner.

So tonight you pick our dessert and dinner.

Fun times always seem to find their way,

This afternoon we want you to plan our day.

We know that cleaning dishes is your least favorite chore.

Let us do them for you just once more.  

They say that eight hours is prime.

Tonight you choose everyone’s bedtime.

As far as dads go, you da man.

Call us your butlers, you wish is our command.

Comedy, action, sports or a good fright.

Anything goes for Dad’s choice movie night.

Photo holder

This week at Paper Hoarders we are working on Mother's Day themed goodies.  Scrapbook pages, cards, altered items, gifts, if it's made with paper...it's groovy!  I decided to make a photo holder.  It's made from an office clip and gussied up with scrappy paper, flowers, letter stickers and twine.  Click on over to Tanya's blog to see what the rest of the ladies came up with :)

Paper Issues! ..and a request

So I happened upon THE most fantabulous blog ever the other day.  The blog title is absolutely hilarious and definitely drew me in to checking out what it was all about.  It's called "We have issues...PAPER ISSUES!"  HAHAHAHA.  How great is that?!?!  Not to mention, frighteningly accurate LOL!  Their featured theme right now is 'learning curve' and they want you to share all of your school related projects.  The thing I totally loved most is that they leave it open to you sharing anything with them that involves paper.  It could be altered items, layouts, cards, gifts, if you used paper on it...it counts!  Click the blinkie to pop over and see all the AMAZING creations that have been featured so far after you check out my fun piece.

I had been asked (more like hounded) since the day school started to make something for my kiddos to put their box tops for education in.  They've been going into the junk drawer and then when the teacher set a date for the month they could bring them in, they dug through that drawar making all kinds of messes to find every last one.  Enter Super Scrappy Mom to the rescue (I really should wear a cape with all the miracles they expect me to preform HA!).  This started out as a box of taco shells...add a little scrappy yummies from my stash and voila!  We have a box to stash away all of our box tops until it's time to take them to school.  

The typeset paper is The Paper Studio.  The green paper is Creative Imaginations (I really didn't crop that well...it has words all about school and the ONE I centered on is vacation?!?!).  The apple is a cardstock sticker from Reminisce and the swirl is cut from the Sizzix-Flourish die.  The ribbon is from Hobby Lobby.  The word 'box' is The Paper Studio chipboard letters and the word 'tops' is by Recollections. 

Also, while I have everyone's attention....  My friend Tanya is collecting cards for her little friend Aidan.  He is four years old and battling Leukemia.  Getting mail just brightens his day (isn't that just like a 4 yr old??) so she's having a card drive!!  If you make a card for him and get it to her by the end of this month, your name will be put into a drawing for a goodie.  Though, when you click over and see his sweet little face, you won't need any extra motivation to make a boy-rific card for him!!  For details click HERE and below is my card (all the cuts are Create-a-Critter).

Journal Jar!!

I originally made this as a gift, but I have fallen so in love with it, that I'm not sure I can give it up.  I should have known better than to use my favorite My Mind's Eye line on the project!!!!  I altered a clear jar and filled with 52 strips of journaling prompts.  I altered a dollar store hard covered, spiral journal to match.  I tried to think of questions I wish I could ask my grandparents about their life, memories that I don't want to forget, things I'd like my family to know someday.  This was the most fun I've had making a project and I can only imagine it'll be even MORE fun filling out the journal.  The theme at Papercraft Star is 'books' so the journal is my entry there.  :)

Christmas treat set...

The challenge over at Design Dollies is to create a themed set.  I got this cute little stamp that has a snowman and the sentiment says, 'hope your holiday is filled with warmth'.  I thought it would be perfect for sending hot cocoa treats.  So I made this card following the sketch at Stamp, Scrap & Doodle.  The stamped image is hanging as a tag on the card.  The matching treat bag is following the tutorial over at Project Tuesday.  I cut a window in it with a Cuttlebug die of a little house and when you open it up (behind the layer of patterned paper) there is a package of hot cocoa mix and a small candy cane.  I am sharing this with the YUMMY themed challenge over at Fab 'n' Funky Challenges too.  What's yummier than a treat bag filled with cocoa!!

Yes, a cereal box...REALLY!

The challenge this week over at One Stop Craft Challenge is to alter something.  Never one to let good junk go to waste if I can help it, I saved 2 Honey Combs cereal boxes from certain death in the trash can and covered them, blinged them, glued them, cut them...you name it, I did it.  I just bought my new 2011 calendar last night and found it such a pain to try to go through the old calendar searching for dates like birthdays and such that had to be transferred over while weeding through the countless don't forget notes calendars fill up with when you have three kids.  So my 'dates to remember' calendar was born.  I decorated each page for the month and included a generic calendar that I can jot down dates on without it being a Mon, Tues, etc organized type.  For the front page I printed the words 'Dates to Remember' out on vellum and layered it over 1" squares I cut from each of the calendar pages.  Thanks for looking....

(click each pic to see a close up)

Reading rocks....

I'll start by saying I love paper piecing. That said...it is NOT the technique to incorporate into a project you are mass producing! I freehanded this little guitar based on our guitar hero guitar. It's the only frame of reference I had LOL. I did simplify it greatly because #1 I was mass producing it and #2 I was cutting it relatively small. These little guitars are only 1.5 inches wide.

I started with the challenge at Fab n Funky Challenges. Using black and white and just one other color. My other color is red. The background sheet music paper was a digi image I printed out on white cardstock then matted with black cardstock to give it some weight. These are bookmarks for kids afterall! The sentiment is also computer printed from my word processing program. The ribbon is regular red grosgrain ribbon tied through a 3/16th eyelet.