Be a Rockstar!

An imperfect picture of my perfectly wonderful daughter - playing with a guitar that she wants to learn to play "for real, Mom" - and letting her inner diva shine.  The perfect papers to use were HEIDI SWAPP'S Sugar Chic Collection, of course.  That was pretty much a no brainer!  Those zebra stripes, hot pink, and bold colors are fun and a little funky - just like my daughter!

I Love these H.S. envelopes, which are perfect for journaling that you may want to keep private.  And I wanted to use these American Crafts accordian flowers that were left over on my desk, but one of the buttons didn't work with my layout.  No problem!  I simply added a circle-punched piece of my paper and a heart on top of it, and it was perfect!

Here's another view showing off my sweet cluster and my handmade banner (because, let's face it, I'm a banner addict).

And speaking of banners, reminds me of flags.  And that reminds me of these WONDERFUL flags which are part of the H.S. Sugar Chic Collection.  Pretty cute, huh?

That's it for me tonight.  I'm heading off to bed where I will hopefully dream up my next fun project.  Hope your week has been going well, and you have a happy, crafty weekend!

A Lori Whitlock Wheel Card and Favor Box

I love celebrating birthdays with family and friends!  And, to me, nothing says "I am thinking of you" more perfectly than a handmade card or gift - especially ones made using LORI WHITLOCK'S files.

I don't know about you, but when I was little I used to love cards and pop-up books with little wheels on them that you could turn.  So, when I saw that Lori was designing wheel cards, I knew I wanted to make one; and what better time than a friend's birthday?!  Paired with this sweet little favor box, I had the perfect way to tell my friend I was thinking of her on her special day.

I want to start by showing you this favor box because it's one of the newest items in Lori's SHOP. 

At 2x2 inches, this SCALLOPED BOX is the perfect way to dress up party favors or a wonderfully cute way to wrap a pair of earrings, which I have done!  It took literally less than a minute to assemble, and it's so cute!  I used Echo Park's Hello Summer papers (designed by Lori, of course).  I dressed up my scalloped edge with a little bling and added a butterfly in place of a bow (that I cut out twice and layered) from Lori's RELAX SUMMER IS HERE files.

My card was also super easy to make!

To make this card, I used a combination of papers from Echo Park's Hello Summer and Dots and Stripes collections.  Those super cute flip flops that I LOVE and have been using a lot on my cards and mini-albums lately are from Lori's DON'T BOTHER ME files.  I just added a little bling to the flip flop straps - much like the staps of my flip flops in real life! Aren't they cute?

And that fun wheel on my card?  This is what it says:

That's it for me today.  What about you?  Have you been crafting more or less now that summer's here?  Is there any project you are really excited about working on?

Celebrating Friday at Practical Scrappers with a New Sketch

It's Friday, and it's my turn to blog over at PRACTICAL SCRAPPERS - yippee!!!  And to complete the trifecta of fun, I have created a new sketch, which is what I used to create this layout about my wonderful son who is about to turn 18 (gulp!).  Want to see it?  You do?  Well, click on the link to PRACTICAL SCRAPPERS (that's right, I linked to it twice), where you can see my sketch along with close-ups of this layout!

TTFN!

Crafting Ireland Issue 11 and a Workshop!

Issue 11 of Crafting Ireland, a wonderful online crafting magazine, is out.  I am so thrilled to be part of the design team and have had a blast making projects along with step-by-step instructions both for the magazine and upcoming blogs, including my Good Wishes Wedding Wreath, seen here.  Want to know why it's called a "Good Wishes" Wedding Wreath?  Want to learn how to make this?  It's easy - just read the magazine by clicking HERE.  You can also check out the blog, which will has some pretty exciting projects to be featured in the near future, by clicking HERE.

Also, did you know Crafting Ireland is holding a free online class via UStream?  Yep!  We are all about keeping up with the digital age and staying in touch with our friends from all parts of the world!    That's right, Crafting Ireland's fee online class is on the 21st of July at 3pm BST on our ustream channel: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/crafting-ireland.  

In the class Nicole Mullen will show us how to create some mini scrapbook layouts. These layouts are perfect for card makers who want to get into scrapbooking or for scrapbookers who find they are running out of space for bigger layouts! We will also make a desktop flip display stand for the pages so you can show them off wherever you like!

Supply list for the online class
Mini layout pages:*4 sheets of cardboard/chipboard at 13cmx13cm
*10 sheets 6×6 paper cut down to 13x13cm – keep the off cuts!
*This will make 4 double sided pages so you will have 8 pages in total, you can of course make more if you wish!
* Polaroid style photo mats: photos are 7.4 x 7.4 cm and the white card to matt them on is 9.6cm x 8.1cm.
*You will need 8 photos and 8 photo mats
*Adhesives, border punches, trim, score board, duct tape and tools as usual
*Binding rings or ribbon (Binding rings do work the best)
*Crop a dile/eyelet setter and eyelets (optional)
*Hole punch
For the stand:
*1 x Sheet of chipboard 30cm long and 15cm high
*2 x pieces of chipboard 15cm high and 6cm wide
*Duct tape
*Paper or paint to cover it
*Optional – embellishments. I use tissue tape.

Happy Crafting!

My Improvised Heidi Swapp Memory File

I was sitting around the house yesterday morning, feeling to urge to create a mini-album using a few of the several hundred pics I took on our recent vacation.  But I wanted to do something a little different.  I had seen Heidi Swapp's Memory File system online and loved the concept, but I had never seen the actual file folders in my favorite scrapbooking store (I really need to have a chat with whoever orders the merchandise there!).  "That's fine," I said to myself, "I'll improvise."  And that's exactly what I did.  First, I found a (rather beat up) blue file folder that I had previously used to bring home work documents. Then, I dusted off my Silhouette and pulled out my Echo Park Paradise Beach Papers, my paint, my markers, and different bits and pieces from about 20 different manufacturers.

The concept of the Memory File is pretty easy.  It's an alternative to a mini-album in that you can create small flip albums or pocket folders to hold a collection of pictures and journaling (always important to me).  When opened, my memory file album looks like this:

The stickers included in the Paradise Beach paper pack made it super quick and easy for me to create this little cluster:

I created a pocket behind my main picture by sewing the paper I used for matting my picture to the paper cut out in the shape of the file folder.  The pocket was sewn on before the file-folder shaped paper was glued down to the folder.  It was the perfect size for holding extra journaling and a tag!

My flip album was super easy to make.  I started by cutting out four of Lori Whitlock's mini-album shapes.  Then I layered them along the back of the folder starting from the bottom and working my way up.  They are perfect for adding smaller photos, or even hidden photos or personal journaling that you may not want everyone else to see.  For me, it just means I can add one extra thing. Ha!

I used the "second page" to add even more journaling about our road trip to Florida, along with a few little pictures taken with my phone.  These are pictures that may not have normally made it into a mini-album or onto a layout, but I had plenty of room here!

I loved using my Silhouette Cameo and Lori Whitlock's adorable files to create this little car!  (Note: I also used Lori's files to create the palm trees and the sun on the front of my Memory File.) To add extra dimension, I created the tires from black buttons and circle-punched pieces.  I then added a Heidi Swapp journaling tag so that I could squeeze in just a little more additional journaling!  

That's it for today.  Before I sign off, I wanted to ask, is this something you would like to see a video tutorial for?  I could definitely see making more of these, so let me know!

Remembering the Good Times...

We just came back from one of the best family vacations I have ever been on.  It started out with a long road trip, where we played the alphabet game, sang songs, napped, talked about anything and everything, and stopped at convenience stores and produce stands; and it ended in Florida on a beach with white sand, gentle waves, and beautiful turquoise water.  We didn't do anything particularly special once we got there, but that's exactly what made our vacation so wonderful.  We relaxed.  We played on the beach.  We spent time together.  And we didn't rush anywhere - not once.

Of course, a vacation means pictures, and I still managed to take lots (and lots and lots) of them.  For my first layout using my vacation photos, I chose to go with Heidi Swapp's Sugar Chic Collection.  I had just finished using it for another layout, one that didn't use beach pics.  I still had the papers out and being the completely lazy innovative person that I am, I decided they would do quite nicely for my beach-themed photos, too!

I used a punch to make my flowers - so simple and so pretty!  The small journaling tags were actually from October Afternoon's 9 to 5 Collection, but they matched perfectly so I decided to use them.

If one layer is good, five is better.  Add a little paint and some stitching, and it's practically perfect (in every way)!

I wanted to get Hunter's impressions and thoughts from our vacation, so I conducted a quick interview and typed out her answers.  I fashioned a pocket from the paper behind the pictures, and I made a simple little booklet to place in it, with a picture on the outside and my daughter's answers to my questions inside. 

Vacation may be over, but we have those wonderful memories filed away - just waiting for us to pull out and read (and remember) in the years to come.

Happy Summer, and Happy Fourth of July!