Scrapping with Christine

Recycled Packaging

2012-01-30T12:34:00.000-06:00

Ever since I started making cards I've had a lot of "aha" moments on things that would work on a card. There is so much freedom when you don't have to think about things being acid-free. I have been saving the packaging from light bulbs because it is a great white corrugated paper. I used that for the layers on the bottom of this card - making it a perfect fit for the Practical Scrappers feature on corrugated elements. It wasn't intentional but it kinda looks like a card you should give a family coming home with a new baby boy.

Supplies Used:

Buttons from Studio G

Pins from ???

Paper & Die Cuts from Momenta

Pearls from Creative Charms

Twine from The Twinery

Big News and a Thank You Card

2012-01-24T22:44:00.000-06:00

Let's kick things off with talking about how unbelievably excited I am to have been chosen to join the Quick Quotes Design Team. I love my design team positions and the way they keep me constantly growing and challenged in this fabulous art. Can't wait to get started with another one! Here's the official announcement!

Today I've got a Clean and Simple card to share with my favorite color combination and some gorgeous Momenta and Authentique goodies! I love that I was able to use the gray Momenta paper and let it shine, but not overwhelm my card. And how about that pretty sentiment - beautiful script from Momenta!

Color Combo Card

2012-01-23T22:45:00.000-06:00

I made this card for a color combo challenge offered up by CARDS magazine using the colors Navy, Yellow, and Light Blue. It didn't get picked up (it's okay two others did :)) so now I can share it! It also had to have clouds on it. I enjoy these challenges, it's fun to see what you can come up with in your stash! I fussy cut my clouds and used the little bling dots to add some pizazz to them. I like how it brought out the yellow too! My sentiment comes from AC and my yellow paper comes from Authentique but everything else is Momenta!

Speaking of Momenta....Have you tried our Design Your Own Stickers yet? You can request a FREE set just by sending your name and postal address to social@mymomenta.com!

(open to US and Canada residents).

Help!

2012-01-22T00:25:00.000-06:00

I'm trying to gauge what of my stuff is most eye catching...if you have a few minutes I have a survey up on my "Favorite layouts" tab and my "Favorite cards" tab. I'd love for you to just vote for any that really catch your eye. Sometimes a neutral eye is helpful in removing that sentimental attachment to a project :) Thanks in advance to any who are able to help out!

Authentique and our Christmas card picture

2012-01-20T20:12:00.000-06:00

Okay so this is one of few layouts ever that my colors do not match the picture. I'm getting crazy in my mid 30's :). I wanted to use some of the Authentique Gathering line, the colors in it are just gorgeous. I combined it with several items from the Amy Tan line and some Momenta die cuts and paper and it all came together. I created my patterned paper circles by using my triangle punch and putting them all together. Definitely loving the orange, turquoise (is this the right name...maybe teal?), and brown combination!

CARDS Magazines Rolled Paper Challenge

2012-01-19T08:20:00.000-06:00

The challenge this week was to use rolled paper. I thought about going the flower route but wanted to try something new. I rolled up my chevron papers and glued them down (trying to match the chevrons as much as I could) and then trimmed it down to fit the heart. I always enjoy getting to include gray and love how this all came together from my stash!

Supplies Used: Authentique patterned paper, The Twinery Bakers Twine, Momenta sentiment, all the rest is old stash :)

Clustering Layout

2012-01-18T14:14:00.000-06:00

My grandma recently told me she saw a picture of a card I made and she didn't understand it. I realized it was one that had a big giant cluster in one corner. I explained to her that it was kind of an art form - clustering things together to make them eye pleasing. Her response: "Oh okay, well then I get it." That's when I decided to make this a topic for a feature at Practical Scrappers. I do a lot of clustering, just look at my recent work...I especially do it a lot on cards. Today I have a new layout to share that features it in a couple of spots:

My little guy is almost 18months old and I just am getting around to this picture of him as a brand spankin' new baby (I have done a lot from his first year - no guilt here - just one of those that didn't get done). I followed the colors in the picture and it made for a strange combination but I think it still works :) I enjoyed going thru my stash and putting together items from all kinds of companies!

Supplies Used: Cosmo Cricket Stickers, October Afternoon Flags, The Twinery bakers twine, My Minds Eye patterned paper, Momenta patterned paper, Glitz design stickers and patterned paper, Simple Stories patterned paper

He likes the Packers and the Vikings?

2012-01-17T09:10:00.000-06:00

I wanted to put together a quick, simple layout about my sons love of two rival teams. Only in the mind of a 7 year old can you love the Packers and the Vikings. Because there were sooo many big elements I knew I needed to keep it clean. I'll be honest, this is not my favorite layout ever, not sure if it's the yellow, the twine not looking as much like a football as I'd like, or that it's just too simple :)...but I am happy to have ventured out of my comfort zone a big and to have his love of these teams documented! We can't love every single layout we make right? And my son loved it!

Winter Twig Layout

2012-01-13T23:17:00.000-06:00

Back with another Little Yellow Bicycle project - I'm gonna have to make a run for more of their stuff here before too long :)

I picked up some of the little clothespins to play with, they add a fun dimension to the layout don't they? For my chevrons I cut down the paper that was plaid to begin with and created my own chevrons. It was a fun puzzle to try to put together :) I also splatter painted - this was actually a first for me! I wanted it white like snow so I had to go with paint. A lot ended up on me but I was happy with the end result!

Supplies Used: All paper & snowflakes: Little Yellow Bicycle

Letters: Momenta

Bakers Twine: The Twinery

Winter Twig Card

2012-01-12T14:19:00.000-06:00

I love the Winter Twig line from Little Yellow Bicycle! I decided to play with it and make a layout (I'll show ya that later) and a card. I first punched out silver glittered circles and made a grid with them. Then I added some snowflakes and circles from the Make a Snowflake kit they have. I used a couple extra circle snowflake stickers (don't) know where those are from. Lastly I added a sentiment and outlined it with a turquoise gel pen. I love how it just feels sparkly and bright like a fresh snow!

Supplies used:

Sentiment - SRM stickers

Gems - Creative Charms

Everything else is Little Yellow Bicycle or just my stash :)

CARDS Magazine Recipe Challenge

2012-01-11T21:25:00.000-06:00

Paige offered up the challenge this week to use 3 flowers, 2 butterflies, and 1 bird. This might be the fastest card I have made in a long time...all from the same sticker set (except the sentiment), a little pattern paper, and some bling :) This was a very fun challenge!

And I got two cards picked up for the June issue of CARDS magazine! Wahoo! :)

Supplies Used: Sentiment SRM stickers, Martha Stewart butterfly punch, Creative Charms bling, The Twinery Bakers Twine, MME stickers & Patterned Paper

Using up some Christmas Stash

2012-01-09T23:19:00.000-06:00

We just had a feature at Practical Scrappers using up leftover Christmas stuff. I decided to pull out some tinsel and see what I could do with it. I had absolutely no idea if it work. I used the Glue Arts Perma Tac cartridge and covered the heart with it. The tinsel stuck real easy! I then trimmed around it and trimmed more where it was just unruly. Topped it off with a banner and voila! I think that experiment turned out pretty great!

I decided I would layer it at the bottom of a card and see what happened with that. Not loving that nearly as much...but here's the result anyway :)

Supplies Used:

Jillibean Soup: letters & Patterned Paper

Little Yellow Bicycle: Flower, Tag, Patterned Paper

2012-01-09T07:00:00.000-06:00

Today I got to participate in my second cross promotion for Momenta. This round is with Glue Arts and all I can say is WOW! It's amazing how nice it is to work with a quality adhesive...I've worked with some pretty bad ones in the past and it's a complete bummer when your project keeps falling apart. Glue Arts has a great variety and holds your stuff down marvelously! Soooooo here's what I created!

For my first project I created a layout using the Momenta Earth Tones Die Cut Pad and a variety of Glue Arts Adhesive.

I used the High Tac cartridge with the Glue Glider Pro to attach all the frames.

The U Cut it 3D adhesive comes in a big rectangle shape allowing you to cut it into a size you want to use. I used that to pop up my matted pictures.

I was especially impressed with how easy it was to use the Glue Glider Pro with the high tac cartridge on little pieces it worked perfect for getting adhesive onto little die cut letters as well as the entire border (we all know what a daunting task this can be!). I could just place the different pieces right onto the gun and pick up adhesive that way. It was fantastic to not have gooped up fingers after putting down a whole bunch of small stuff! My border on this layout was created by cutting shapes from the die cut pad and gluing them all down with the Glue Glider Pro. I then machine stitched over the top.

Glue Arts Supplies Used:

Glue Glider Pro High Tac Cartridge

U Cut it 3 D Adhesive

Momenta Supplies Used:

12 X 12 Diecut Pad PA 2394

Premium Paper Pad PA 2331

My second project is a card with a medallion flower. This is a such a clean and simple card for me! I think medallion flowers are one of the biggest tests for adhesives. This one is made out of patterned paper. Once it was folded and scored I used the Micro Squares to connect my two ends. I then punched a circle and Raisen's Squares for the base. I also used Raisen's Squares under my button. The rest of the card is put together using the Perma Tac cartridge for the Glue Glider Pro.

Glue Arts Supplies Used:

Glue Glider Pro Perma Tac Cartridge

Raisen's Squares

Micro Squares

Momenta Supplies Used:

Family Ties Super Paper Pad PA 1839

Tomorrow at Momenta and Glue Arts

2012-01-08T11:32:00.002-06:00

I am sooo excited for this Cross Promotion that begins tomorrow! Glue Arts and Momenta are teaming up for the week! I can't wait to see what both teams come up with...hint, hint, I'm up tomorrow :)

Winter Layout for Practical Scrappers

2012-01-07T22:15:00.000-06:00

I created this one for fun to add to the Practical Scrappers winter feature last week. I have had these BoBunny winter papers since last year but hadn't used them. I'm finding I am more of a seasonal scrapper - like if it's cold then I want to do cold not a beach layout :). Anyway it was the perfect time to pull them back out! I also added some Momenta letter stickers and Momenta die cuts (borders and journaling spot) and of course some bakers twine :)

Super Star and Medallion Flowers

2012-01-07T10:06:00.000-06:00

At long last I've conquered the medallion flower! I got a scoring board for Christmas making medallion flowers a much more doable creation! I've tried other ways but always mismeasured something and ended up with a goofy looking flower. As I was playing with it I opened up one of our Die Cut Pads from Momenta and looked at the border strips in there and realized they would make beautiful medallion flowers. The best part is that they punch right out and have multiple colors/designs to them so you don't have to find just that right paper to make a neat looking flower!

After I punched each one out I scored them every 1/4 inch. I then folded them and used some tacky and quick drying glue on a circle on both the back and front to hold them together. You can see that circle on the front of each of mine - I added a flower sticker to each to give them some extra color. I even used a scalloped border to create one of my flowers and it worked great too!

This set of die cuts coordinates beautifully with the Free to Be Me line! For the rest of my layout I cut out 3 inch squares from three different papers in that line and made a grid. I used two frames from the Die Cut pad to mat my picture. I outlined everything in black mimicking the doodling you find in the Free to Be Me Line.

Supplies Used:

Free to Be Me Super Paper Pad PA 2263

Bright 12x12 Die Cut Pad PA 2393

Puffy Title Sticker ST 2442

Vellum Card

2012-01-04T22:31:00.000-06:00

I haven't been able to participate in the CARDS magazine challenge for awhile and knew I wanted to give it a whirl this week. The challenge was to use vellum. I have plenty of vellum stickers and vellum sayings...but I decided I wanted to see what a vellum base would look like. It actually makes for a pretty cool winter look don't ya think?

Supplies used: Authentique Journey Die Cuts, Creative Charms Pearls, The Twinery Bakers Twine

My first publication!

2012-01-02T00:06:00.000-06:00

I had my very first paper publication come out in December and I am officially allowed to share the project with you now! But first a picture of me and my magazine :) Thrilled would be an understatement! Looking forward to more issues to come!

If you've been following me for awhile you've probably seen this card before. I made it for Practical Scrappers for a frugal finds feature using coffee filters. I was shocked when it got picked up by CARDS. What to do with it when it gets back to me?

Butterfly Garden Card

2012-01-01T10:55:00.002-06:00

This totally would have made my top 10 from 2011...but I needed to hold it back for Momenta! I think it actually may be one of my all time favorites! I don't use a lot of pastels in my scrapping but I wanted to check out the Butterfly Garden Pyramid Pad from Momenta and I'm so glad I gave it a chance. This Pad has the most gorgeous paper and is amazing when fussy cut! Check out all the dimension on this card and it wasn't even difficult to do! I based this card on a sketch for CARDS magazine submission calls for May. It didn't get picked up (three others did though!) and I have no way to link you to the sketch.

I created my base from a nice yellow cardstock. Then added the striped patterned paper at the bottom. One of my favorite features of our pyramid pads is that they have one "busy and detailed" side of paper and one "calmer and neutral one." I used one of the neutral sides for my pink background to help ground things before I went dimension crazy! The pyramid pads are set up with two sided cardstock in descending sizes and the designs get smaller to make them more user friendly for cards. I love them!

I punched 5 1 1/2 inch circles (in all different patterns), and 5 1 inch circles (again in all different patterns). I glued them together and then popped them each up. I fussy cut the flowers and popped those up also (just in the center) and then pulled the petals upward so they really popped up. You don't see a lot of this but I did it in this card too and I think it adds a really nice touch! I topped those off with gems. Finally I fussy cut two butterflies and glued the first one down tight but only glued the body of the second one down. I pulled the wings forward, again to give it some pretty pop. I am officially hooked on this pyramid pad!

Supplies Used:

Butterfly Garden Pyramid Pad PA-2382

Textured Cardstock Pad PA-0656

2011-12-29T08:54:00.000-06:00

i'm up at Momenta today with this layout about "Three Little Meyers." I took this picture because I was entertained by how Lucy's (middle) size compared to the other two. The one on the left is 2 years younger than her and the one on the right is only a year older. I

think Lucy got my genes when it comes to height! I have a quick tutorial on Momenta all about how I made the flowers on this pop up.

Momenta Supplies used

Chloe's Garden Pyramid Paper Pad PA-2384

Die Cut Pad PA-2392

Puffy Alphabet Stickers

My Top 10 Projects of 2011

2011-12-27T22:50:00.001-06:00

I have changed a lot as a papercrafter this year! I barely made cards or altered projects before this year, now they are a big part of my repertoire. I made my first manufacturer design teams (Momenta & Creative Charms) this year and also got published for the first time (Cards December 2011). It's been a great year, join me as I attempt to recap my favorites :) Thanks to each of you for all your support!

1. Created this one just for fun using Authentiques Glowing Line. I loved the diamonds and they fussy cut fabulously.

2. I made this card for my little boys first day of school, it's so fun and whimsical - I love what I did with teh Momenta paper and also all the doodling.

3. I made this layout for a kit feature for Burlap & Buttercups kit club. Love the patterned paper chevrons I made.

4. I also made this card for the Burlap and Buttercups feature.

5. This was my first layout as a designer for Momenta, plus I can't resist the pictures of my little boy in his "Son of a Scrapbooker onesie :)"

6. Made this one just for fun this fall, love that I got so many photos on it but still have some white space!

7. I made this for the Bella Blvd feature last winter here on Practical Scrappers

8. Love all the Jillibean soup goodness and the paperfolding adding dimension.

9. Made this menu board as a project for Momenta

10. A card with a fun dimensional flower made for Momenta

Snowy Top Ten

2011-12-26T23:46:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and is kicking back and enjoying a little down time! I made this one months ago as a magazine submission, but alas it didn't get picked up and I held it back for it to be more seasonably appropriate. I'm sitting here hoping for our first big snow...so it seems like the right time :). I listed out all the things that Lucy loves about the snow and fussy cut some cute little snowmen. I based my colors on her various outfit colors and I love how it is nontraditional but still works.

Supplies Used: Momenta Patterned Paper and Cardstock, The Twinery Bakers Twine, Cosmo Cricket Letter Stickers, Pink Paislee Letter Stickers, American Crafts Thickers, The Girls Paperie Stickers

Momenta Design Team Announcement

2011-12-23T22:33:00.000-06:00

I have loved every minute of my design team experience with Momenta and so with great excitement I share the following news!

It is with great pleasure that we introduce to you the

2012 Momenta Design Team:

Andrea Budjack

Christa Uttley

Christine Meyer

Cristal (Pinky) Hobbs

So very excited to be sticking around for all of 2012!

Merry Christmas to all of you!

Be Merry, Be Jolly...

2011-12-20T21:55:00.000-06:00

I was totally inspired by my fellow Practical Scrapper Audrey's work with the Little Yellow Bicycle Christmas line that I got some myself to play with. It's very rare that I am that inspired by a specific line...but when I saw what she had done I really wanted to try some of it! Here's the layout I created. I love their line of flowers that come with some assembly required, but not too much! I also absolutely adore those corrugated elements...especially in bright pretty Christmas green!

Supplies Used: Cardstock is Momenta, Sentiment stickers Momenta, twine is Jillibean Soup, everything else consumable is Little Yellow Bicycle, Fiskars Border punch

Altered Charger Plate

2011-12-15T09:20:00.003-06:00

If you are anything like me, you are running a little short on time during this busy season. I direct a children's Christmas musical and that has eaten away at a lot of my crafty time! I needed a quick gift that still had that "wow" factor. Sometimes I am just amazed with what you can do with papercrafting supplies and other items you have on hand. I had purchased a couple of charger plates to have on hand and decided to decorate one of those and make it into a cute winter decoration. I went with a red plate and used silver letters from Momenta and snowflake stickers also from Momenta. I measured carefully to make sure my letters were straight and even (quite a task on a circle!) and after placing those on added the snowflakes and gems randomly throughout. To get started I followed the triangle rule of design and did my big snowflakes in a couple triangles first, then from there it was completely random.

Found out yesterday that Cards Magazine is going to publish THREE of my cards in their May issue! Woohoo!!!!

AKA

2011-12-09T20:38:00.000-06:00

It has been awhile since I just crafted for myself - I've been working hard on CHA projects and when I haven't been doing that I have been busy directing our school Christmas musical. I finished up those CHA projects yesterday and decided I needed to do a layout just for fun and it has nothing to do with Christmas!

I've been itching to play with the freebird line from Authentique so I pulled that out and went crazy layering.

The layout focuses in on all the different nicknames we have for Cooper - I put those on different flags throughout. I used some of my favorite Momenta letters for the Cooper title (I love how they have a childlike look to them!) I also used some Twinery twine to make an interesting border that coordinates beautifully with Freebird.

Supplies used: Letters from American Crafts, Cosmo Cricket, and Momenta; Paper from Authentique and American Crafts, Twine from The Twinery, Circle Punch from Creative Memories,

Candy Cane Wreath

2011-12-04T21:59:00.000-06:00

Lucy and I put this fun wreath together. It was inspired by one I saw on Pinterest. Of course I had to dig into my stash of bakers twine from The Twinery for the bows (definitely also necessary to hold it together!!!). I like the contrast of the green with the red. While we were making it Lucy discovered that she thinks candy canes are pretty tasty too!

Welcome Winter?

2011-12-03T15:38:00.000-06:00

Okay winter hasn't taken over here, so I reserve the right to post a summery card! :) This one is full of fussy cut goodies from Imaginisce. I used fabulous embossed Momenta paper for my base. I also added three colors of bright bakers twine from The Twinery. This card came together pretty quick and smoothly and I couldn't stop smiling looking at those little silly fruits :)

Don't Laugh

2011-11-29T08:50:00.000-06:00

I try very hard to make the main focus of my scrapbooking to remember everyday moments. Those are the things I am really afraid of forgetting! This layout combines a variety of silly pictures of Lucy - but the title is what I really want to remember. She is a hilarious little girl and is constantly saying things that make us laugh that she doesn't realize are funny. Then when we laugh (especially when daddy laughs) she says "Don't laugh" She says it so cute and drawn out. We always end up explaining that what she said was funny...but she rarely understands. We are learning the art of stifling our laughs :)

I used an Imaginisce paper full of border strips and cup them up and just started color blocking. I had a vision and it was a little bit of a puzzle, but their sheets have soooo many great sizes it ended up working out just great. All the pictures are from last spring/summer so the bright cheery paper was the perfect fit!

Supplies Used: Patterned Paper Imaginisce, Letter Stickers from Momenta, Bakers Twine from the Twinery

Imaginisce Fall Layout

2011-11-28T21:29:00.001-06:00

I've been busy working on magazine submissions and CHA projects...so I do not have a ton to share right now. But I do have a layout I made using some Imaginisce goodies! It feels weird to post a fall layout now, but I'm doing it anyway :)

I wanted to try slanting some border strips just to see if they would add a different feel to the layout. It's not something I'd do all the time, but I like that it adds a unique and graphic look to things. I also trimmed the ends of those all differently and curled some of them up. I created my border using tiny little torn strips for a mosaic look. I also tried to highlight everything with a bakers twine heart. You know me, I love that bakers twine :)! I did my journalling on the little tags talking about all the things that I am thankful for about Lucy.

Fall Coasters

2011-11-25T20:23:00.000-06:00

I've been making coasters again! This time I decided to try two layers of paper and added some gems using the I-rock tool made by Imaginisce. I also wanted to make them seasonal and used some pretty fall paper from Imaginisce.

I absolutely love how they turned out. The only thing I would change is that I would do them all with monochromatic gems next time. I thought I'd like the contrast of the orange and teal as seen in the top left one, but I actually prefer the teal on teal of the next one. Lesson learned for some Christmas ones :) In case you are interested here's links to my Momenta coasters and Authentique coasters.

Studio Calico Cards

2011-11-22T23:35:00.000-06:00

I didn't have a chance yet to share the cards I made for my Studio Calico feature over on Practical Scrappers. I made both of them while at an all day crop so I was working completely with the kit and what I had on hand.

I really like using gray and pretty much any other color right now :) And in case you haven't picked up on it...I'm totally into manila tags too! Seriously, I need stock in those things! I used washi tape on both cards, this was only my second time ever using washi tape! It's fun and adds some interesting texture. I like that you can tell these cards came from the same kit but still have their own style.

Momenta & Epiphany Crafts Swap

2011-11-20T09:00:00.000-06:00

I am participating in my very first product swap with Momenta and Epiphany Crafts this week. I got to use the Shape Studio Round 14 Tool. This tool allows you customize your own epoxy bubbles in just a matter of moments. I wanted to show just how versatile this little thing is so I have created a variety of projects to share! I love to make every project that I create have a unique element to it - this tool is perfect for that!

First off I used it to make the centers of these fussy cut flowers. I decided to keep my centers all the same color but I love that it adds some dimension and makes them my own style of flowers. Plus, no searching for an embellishment for the center that matches just right...I made my own!

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These little round bubbles were screaming Christmas ornaments to me. I knew they would be an easy and cute way to decorate some simple ornaments. I picked up these plain plastic ones from Michaels. I have three kids and each year we give them a new ornaments - so for this year I made them each a different one that says "Joy" using Momenta letters and the shape bubbles. I used paper from the "All Through the Year" paper pad as the background for my bubbles. I loved how easy it was to line up the cute little stars inside the shape tool and make them work in my bubbles. I then added a little glitter into each one that matched the colors I had used.

For this first one I used some Design Your Own Stickers and the bubble for my "O"

Here I made my "O" using the shape bubble and the silver metal setting.

For this last one I used the bubbles to add some extra color and interest.

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My last creation is a bright and cheery layout starring the Free to Be Me line and the shape bubbles housed in the metal settings from Epiphany Crafts. This paper did not need a lot added to it so some simple handmade flowers topped by one of a kind centers were the perfect embellishments.

You can't go wrong with this versatile and fun tool! I'm excited to see what the other designers come up with this week...you'll have to check in at Momenta to see too and get yourself entered to win the Epiphany Crafts prize! You can also check out the Epiphany Crafts blog and see what their designers made with our stuff!

Supplies Used:

Epiphany Crafts: Shape Studio Accessories Bubble Caps Round 14, Shape Studio Tool Round 14, Round 14 Silver Metal Settings

Momenta: Chloe's Garden Pyramid Pad, Free to Be Me Super Paper Pad, Green Puffy Alphabet Stickers, Black Polka Dot Puffy Alphabet Stickers, Design Your Own Stickers Mercedes Lower Case, Design Your Own Stickers Jennifer Lower Case, Puffy Alphabet Stickers ST 3191, All Through the Year Super Paper Pad

Washi Tape Card Challenge

2011-11-16T21:28:00.000-06:00

I didn't think I was going to get a card done this week for the Cards Challenge...life has been busy! But I managed to squeeze one in. I used the brand new line "Gathering" from Authentique. It has a gorgeous combination of colors including brown, teale, and orange...so fabulous!

The challenge was to use washi tape, not a favorite supply of mine. I twisted mine up and then used it to form a heart shape which I echoed with bakers twine.

Supplies Used: Bakers Twine from The Twinery, Washi Tape from Studio Calico, Kraft Cardstock, and everything else is from Authentique

Echo Park Projects

2011-11-15T10:28:00.000-06:00

I've been playing a lot with Echo Park goodies so I thought I'd throw my hat in for this month's Fresh Face Designer Call. to do so I needed to submit three projects with instructions....so here goes!

I really wanted to use the Splash line...but I wasn't up for scrapping something summery. So I made the Splash line work for snow! Those swirls totally can work for a wintery gust and the colors are bright and fun for a little boy. It was fun to look at this line thru a winter lens!

In addition to the Splash Collection I also used papers and stickers from the Little Boy Collection.

I began by cutting out tags in orange and brown to use as a base layer

-I hand cut a couple of circle shapes in blue and orange and used those as a second layer before putting down my orange matted pictures

-I punched a whole bunch of snowflakes in orange, brown, and green and used foam dots to pop those up on the swirls. I added some gems to the middle of each of those. I also placed a couple of snowflakes down by the pictures. You'll notice that my bottom brown snowflake on the swirls and the two surrounding the pictures form a triangle - helping to draw in the eye to the photos.

-I fussy cut the flag and also popped those pieces up with foam dots.

-Lastly I cut out words and a title. Instead of journaling I decided to use a few fun and fitting words matted on little banners. The sticker for the title originally said "A little dirt never hurt" I cut it in half and took out dirt and replaced it with Snow and Fun!

My goal in this layout was to create something totally unexpected with an older line - I think I achieved that and it was a fun challenge!

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My next creation again used the Splash Collection and the Little Boy Collection

I had a seen a reindeer tag on pinterest that used stars for ears and filed it away to try. Now that I've done this once I'm gonna have to do more with my kids!

-I cut a tag from brown paper

-I cut two stars on my die cutting machine that are about 2 inches tall. I used yellow but then inked them up with some brown so they weren't quite so bright.

-I hand cut an oval for his yellow nose base (what do you call that part on a reindeer? If you know, you should probably be on Jeopardy :)) I also inked this up.

-I doodled some outlines on both the yellow parts too, just to add a homemade touch.

-I added googly eyes and ribbon for a scarf and lastly wound up some bakers twine to make his nose.

Super easy and fun! I can see the kids really making these their own!

*********************

My last creation is a card using the Little Boy Collection and Little Girl Collection

I love the Autumn feel to this color combination!

-I cut 1/2 inch strips from the green, brown, orange, and purple papers.

-I cut those down to all the same height and started laying them down. It fit together mostly although I needed to add smaller pieces in just a couple spots.

-I filled in the holes with punched hearts

-I added some bakers twine to make it look like a wrapped package and topped that off with the "I Love You" sticker that is popped up on foam dots.

-I then matted my whole card with the brown paper.

Hope you've enjoyed!

Christine

Tis the Season

2011-11-14T21:36:00.000-06:00

Okay this one was super hard to photograph with all the metallic!!! I used my favorite border punch again and created some ruffles using more of that fabulous Black Tie line from Momenta. The challenge at Practical Scrappers was to use some old stash for a Christmas project. I used some really really old holly stickers to add some extra Christmas kick to it. I also finally used up some really old red bling! And of course it wouldn't be a project from me if it didn't have Bakers Twine from The Twinery on it!

Supplies Used: Letters and Paper from Momenta, Gems from Hobby Lobby, Bakers Twine from The Twinery, Stickers from Doodlebug Design

Wedding Layout for Momenta

2011-11-13T06:06:00.001-06:00

First of all the winner of my Momenta sticker giveaway:

Lillian Child send me an email at practicalscrappers@gmail.com!

I'm up on the Momenta blog today! I had my choice on what to create and decided to with a layout this time and feature one of my favorite photographs ever. Last year my little girl was a flower girl for my brother's wedding. After going down the aisle once, she decided she hadn't had enough. She crept up the side aisle and went all the way to the back of the church and as the ceremony was beginning she went up the aisle again. It was one of the funniest and sweetest moments that day and the photographer managed to catch it (you can see in it that the bride is already up front being given away by her father). This layout is titled "Sweetie times Two" to commemorate her making two trips up the aisle.

I started off with some black textured cardstock and distressed the edges with sand paper. I then punched a whole bunch of black hearts and glued those down in lines. I love the added texture of the white core cardstock from Momenta. I used a piece of patterned paper from the Black Tie Metal Paper Pad as my next layer. The picture is matted in green cardstock. I used the same cardstock and punch border strips but made them a little longer and used them to edge the picture on one side. I added part of a scallop frame from the Kalieidoscope kit on the other side. Finally I added the "Sweetie" (ST 3602) title. I cut the word "times" from vellum stickers (ST 4917) and two is spelled out from puffy alphabet stickers. The title is topped off with a whole bunch of little heart stickers (ST 4938).

Studio Calico layouts

2011-11-09T21:33:00.000-06:00

I have a Studio Calico feature up on Practical Scrappers today. Here are the three layouts I created:

Still loving that triangle punch and absolutely love this layout!!! I inked the edges of each and every triangle and glued them all down. I highlighted a few with dashes - who knew grey and yellow and teal would go together soooo nicely! I even misted on it and don't hate it!

I was going for a funky grid on this one...eh, just eh. It's fine but a little haphazard for me :) It was worth a shot right :) What do you think?

Had fun doodling and scattering things about on this one and love that really old pic of my Lucy!

Soup Spotted!

2011-11-09T09:15:00.002-06:00

Got Soup Spotted for the card in the next post! A first time feature on a manufacturer blog that I don't design for! Sweet!

Wood on a card

2011-11-08T09:53:00.000-06:00

The challenge on the Create blog this week was to use wood on your card. I decided to go with popsicle sticks and work them into some paper weaving. I had fun playing around with all the Jillibean goodies that I just picked up! Pretty clean and simple card but satisfying nonetheless!

Supplies Used: Everything is Jillibean Soup!

The two prettiest girls...

2011-11-07T19:58:00.001-06:00

This is another one of my creations from the crop last weekend. I had picked up this paper from My Minds Eye and stickers from We R Memory Keepers....they matched together so beautifully. I took it along so I could use it and I love how it came together. It doesn't hurt that the subjects are fantastic too!

Hey if you haven't already liked Momenta on facebook....they are trying to get to 2000 fans and they'll do a big giveaway when they get there. I would love it if you would head on over and tell them I sent you! If you click on Momenta above it's linked right to there facebook page!

Drama Queen

2011-11-06T05:24:00.002-06:00

Lucy and I did a little photo session and she gave me all sorts of silly poses to choose from. She is one dramatic little girl so this cute title from Momenta was perfect! I have been saving the Amy Tan silhouette waiting for the perfect layout to use it on and it combined with the crown was perfect. This layout combines so many things I love: Lucy, Momenta, Bella Blvd, and bright colors! Used up some stash stickers in this one so I am entering it at Burlap and Buttercups!

Supplies used: Patterned Paper: Momenta & Pebbles, Stickers: Bella Blvd, Momenta, American Crafts, The Twinery Bakers Twine

A boy's story...

2011-11-05T14:19:00.000-05:00

I went to an all day crop last weekend. There were about 60 people there raising money for a local school! They had a layout contest and gave you the striped paper (one of my layers) to create with. I combined it with some fabulous Echo Park and ended up winning the contest!

Supplies Used: Echo Park and American Crafts paper, Echo Park and Bella Blvd stickers

A Card with no sentiment

2011-11-03T23:27:00.000-05:00

The sentiment is usually an afterthought for me...seriously. So I thought this would be easy - but Paige's challenge on the Create Blog this week was somehow tough! Here's what I came up with...using some of my favorite colors!

I'm so crazy into layering that I feel like this needed more. But I was out of time and forced myself to just stop! Plus let's be honest there are still 8 layers if you start at the bottom...how crazy is that!?!
Supplies Used: Momenta Patterned Paper, Bazill cardstock, The Twinery Bakers Twine, Sizzix Die Cut, Creative Charms Bling

Momenta Giveaway and Card

2011-11-02T12:51:00.000-05:00

I have been looking for months for a good triangle punch and finally found one last week at Archivers! I have now used it on one card and one layout! I am up today at Momenta so I created a card using scraps and this punch as my focus. I love this Chloe's Garden line!

I've got some Momenta stickers to give away today, I'd love it if you'd hop on over to Momenta and become a follower. Leave me a comment letting me know you did so here and I'll enter you to win!

Creative Charms Winner

2011-11-01T13:27:00.000-05:00

The winner of the Creative Charms goodies is

Beth Hillier!

Beth send me an email at practicalscrappers@gmail.com and I'll get it out to you!

2011-10-31T20:48:00.000-05:00

I created a box fold card tutorial for Momenta This card uses a fold like a box top for the front of it, making for a really surprising and unique look. I learned this technique several years ago at a Local Scrapbook Store and love to use it when I need a card with something special.

Creative Charms Blog Hop

2011-10-28T07:00:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the Creative Charms Blog Hop! My term with Creative Charms is over so I thought I'd share with you my favorite projects that I created while on the Creative Charms Design Team. I've got a whole bag of goodies to give away from Creative Charms! All you have to do to qualify is become a follower here and leave me a comment!

Here's the order for the entire hop

Creative Charms - http://creative-charms.blogspot.com/

Lisa - http://lisadorsey.blogspot.com/

Kristal - http://www.gettingcricky.com/

Diane - http://www.capadiadesign.com/

Arlene - http://www.teenyterrors.blogspot.com/

Laura - http://www.lauraevangeline.blogspot.com/

Amy - http://www.aimitup.blogspot.com/

Ellen - http://www.scrapstampnmama.blogspot.com/

Angi - http://www.cokiepopaper.blogspot.com/

Christine - http://scrappingwithchristine.blogspot.com/ ***You are here***

Midori - http://www.scrapsforme.blogspot.com/ ***Head here next***

Creative Charms is going to be picking winners from people who leave comments on their blog and on our blogs too! So you have a double chance to win today if you leave a comment. Thanks for stopping by!

Hello fall!

2011-10-26T22:44:00.000-05:00

Another week another challenge at Create. I love these challenges...they've totally stretched me. As I was wandering the dollar store aisles last week I stumbled onto these Leaf Doilies. Of course I snatched some up and voila, card fun! I love that you don't have to give one thought to acid free on cards...it's so freeing :)

Supplies Used: Bella Blvd stickers, Echo Park stickers, The Twinery Bakers Twine

2011-10-24T23:04:00.000-05:00

So we used bread tags and ties for our admin feature of Frugal Finds over at Practical Scrappers. I love these monthly features because they stretch me sooooo far out of my comfort zone. This first one uses regular bread tags. I tried to make them blend in...not sure I achieved what I was going for - but it did make for an interesting graphic look.

For my second card I used ties from trash can bags. They were still hooked together so they made a perfect backdrop for the black frame. I love how they look like a shiny corrugated paper. I might just use these again :)

Leaf Piles

2011-10-21T13:16:00.000-05:00

If you follow me at all you know this layout does not meet my normal bright and cheery color scheme....but I have to say every time I look at it I love it more :) Put the whole thing together with a bunch of scraps from here and there. I created my chevron stripe by cutting 2 inch squares in half to make triangles and then laying them out accordingly. I like that this looks like fall without having all orange, red, and brown. Love those colors but love some variety even more!

Supplies Used: Creative Charms Gem Leaves, Miss Elizabeth lace tape, Pebbles (woodgrain PP), Pebbles letter stickers, Cosmo Cricket letter stickers, The Twinery Bakers Twine

437 Questions???

2011-10-16T09:17:00.000-05:00

I recently saw something that said that the average 4 year old asks 437 questions per day. My darling 4 year old might even exceed that! Most days she asks me at least 10 times "What was your favorite color when...you were a kid, you were 12, you had long hair?" The questions are often hilarious making them a little less tedious to answer :). I love to document our everyday life so for this funky layout I decided to make those questions the centerpiece. I created this for Momenta and it might just be one of my all time favorites!

I used all kinds of goodies from the Emily's Garden line including the circular letters you see in my title. I attached each of those to a stick pin. I used paper from it and cut out flower petals. I didn't do any tracing or anything for them and just went for a very free form style. I added bakers twine and a stick pin to the middle of each of those. After I added all my elements I started writing out some of the questions that Lucy likes to ask. I wanted to do that last so that I could go back and read all of them without having to uncover something. I also added some doodling throughout the layout.

Supplies Used:
Emily's Garden Paper Kit PK 2045
Puffy Alphabet Stickers ST 2557
Let's Party Puffy Border Stickers
Other: Pink Paislee & Doodlebug letter stickers, The Twinery Bakers Twine

It's not winter yet...

2011-10-15T06:02:00.000-05:00

So how about a fun spring card? I had been wanting to play with my Wonderland stickers from Momenta. The little bugs on it are so cute! This was a great stash card, almost everything in it came from scraps!

Supplies used: Crate Paper, Nikki Sivils Paper, Momenta stickers, Three Bugs in a Rug borders & sentiment, My Minds Eye stickers

Spider Card

2011-10-12T23:33:00.000-05:00

I can hardly believe that today is my second to last post for Creative Charms. It seems like I just got started there, but my term is quickly coming to a close. Since I have been on a Halloween kick and Paige requested Halloween cards for the Create Blog...I'm back with more Halloween :) I love a fun Halloween sticker and these twinkle stickers from the Kit of the Month are fabulous! I used them to create a fun sentiment for my card. I also added a couple of Black Gradient Gem stickers to my fussy cut spider for his eyes. I love that he totally pops off the page with his legs all bent crazy.
Supplies Used: Bella Blvd patterned paper, CTMH sticker, Creative Charms Halloween stickers, The Twinery Bakers Twine

Cards Magaine, here I come! :)

2011-10-12T09:47:00.000-05:00

I am anxiously awaiting the December issue of Cards magazine as it will be my first magazine publication....but in the meantime I got fabulous email this morning saying that they'd like to pick up a submission of mine for the March issue! Since getting on manufacturer teams I've started submitting regularly...but the competition is fierce, so anytime one gets picked up it is a huge honor and thrill!!!

2011-10-11T09:13:00.000-05:00

I have been loving checking out all the fabulous Halloween themed crafting going on all over the blogs and Pinterest. For my project today I decided to join in on the fun and create my first banner ever! I have little kiddos and we try to keep Halloween light and silly...so with the help of my sweet four year old we created a cutesy Halloween banner featuring our favorite Halloween icons.

Together her and I looked thru magazines to find inspiration on what I could make still look like the icon but in a triangle form. You'd be surprised how many ideas we came up with. I sorted thru my Momenta paper pads and some scraps that I had left from kits, locating all the colors that I wanted to use. I tried to create some using solid cardstock and others with patterned paper - keeping an interesting combination by doing that. After I created it I had her tell me what it was (that way I knew if I was on the right track...) I also had her help me with a little bit of making dots and doodles here and there. I used very simple paper piecing to create all of these and added some punches for the facial features. They all of course have to adorn googly eyes - between those and goofy smiles I think we got them all pretty silly looking!

Here's the final product:

And here's some close ups of all the fun icons:

This was one of the most fun things I have ever created...it's amazing what you can do with fun paper! One funny note - we don't have a fireplace mantle and I want to hang this in our kitchen windows. But for the sake of a picture to share with you it is hanging up over our master bed :) The things my sweet hubby endures for the sake of crafting!

Supplies Used:

PA 2329 Kaldeidoscope Super Paper Pad

PA-0658 Primary Cardstock Paper Pad

PA-1502 Black Tie Paper Pad

PK 2370 One Fine Day Kit

PA-2389 Travel Pyramid Pad

PA-1991 All Through the Year Paper Pad

PK 2045 Emily's Garden Kit

May Joy Fill your Heart Always

2011-10-04T14:50:00.000-05:00

This layout totally shows a different part of my creative brain that seems to be emerging. As I was discussing with my mother yesterday...I have no idea what you would call my style right now...it's a big old mix of bright, fun, whimsical, graphic, and vintage. Best part is it makes me happy and I love it - and that's what matters right! Did this layout just for fun playing around with some embellies that I've had that were crying out to be used! I am really loving tags and tickets right now...especially manilla colored ones :)

Supplies used: Jillibean soup corrugated bird, American Crafts thickers, Cosmo Cricket letters, Crate Paper patterned paper, Pebbles Patterned paper, Paper source tags & ticket, gcd butterfly, tattered angels glimmer mist

Authentique Glowing Layout

2011-10-03T07:03:00.000-05:00

Just in case you were starting to wonder if I still did layouts, I thought I'd better share one. I made this one just for fun using Authentique's Glowing line. I really struggle with papers like this that already have so much design on them. I always feel like I "need" to add more but don't want to overkill. So basically I just fussy cut some diamonds from other paper in this line and added those. I used foam under them so they'd pop up. I think it's enough to make the page mine without being overwhelming :)

Supplies Used: Authentique Glowing Line, Momenta Cardstock

Using Food Coloring

2011-10-02T21:20:00.000-05:00

This month we did Food Coloring for our Frugal Finds on Practical Scrappers. I was a total skeptic but Kerri and Erin wanted to do it. Trusting their brilliance, I agreed to give it a whirl. They came up with amazing stuff...you should check it out! I made a marbled paper for mine using the technique described here.

I've been itching to use the Glitz Design Rub On that made the music background. The other thing I did on this that was new is that I rolled up a piece of brown paper and used it for my little accent underneath the sentiment. It adds a different look to things just by using a little piece of scratch paper.

I've really come to love this regular feature on Practical Scrappers. Even when it completely takes me out of my comfort zone. It's fun to work with a medium that is not the norm!

Supplies Used: Glitz Design Rub On, Bazill Cardstock, Close to My Heart Sentiment, The Twinery Bakers Twine, Martha Stewart Punch, Sizzix Die

Momenta Blog Hop

2011-10-01T05:00:00.000-05:00

To celebrate World Card Making Day, all the Momenta designers are participating in a blog hop showing off cards made using fabulous Momenta products. If this is your first stop you should head back to Momenta and start from the beginning, you don't want to miss a single stop!

Momenta is providing a fabulous prize on this hop! To participate, all you have to do is leave a comment on each of the 16 blogs on the hop (a complete list is below). The deadline for commenting is 11:59 EST, Sunday October 2nd. Five winners will be chosen by Random.org on Monday, October 3rd and will be announced on the My Momenta blog! Each winner will be receiving one of our five boxed card kits…

Each Card Kit contains 12 Cards and envelopes. Assorted stickers, cardstock borders and gems! They even come in a super cute coordinating box to hold all the goodies!

Now....on to my cards! I love to use cute scenic patterned papers to create a unique card. The moment I laid eyes on the Halloween paper in the Through The Year Super Paper Pad I knew I was going to love using it! I used three different sheets to make four simple but fun cards. The only non-Momenta thing I had to add was some googly eyes...afterall what would a cute Halloween card be without some googly eyes?

I appreciate you stopping by here today! Hop on over to Cristal (aka Pinky) next. Here's the blog hop list in case you need to start over:
�Start: Momenta (http://mymomentablog.blogspot.com/)
�Abigail Prado (http://www.faithabigaildesigns.com/)
�Aymee Gandy (http://www.southernbellescrapper.blogspot.com/)
�Carrie Walz (http://everydaymoments-carrie.blogspot.com/)
�Christine Meyer (http://scrappingwithchristine.blogspot.com/) YOU ARE HERE
�Cristal Hobbs (http://blueyecicle.blogspot.com/) THIS WILL BE YOUR NEXT STOP
�Erin Morehouse (http://girlpaperscissors.blogspot.com/)
�Jamie Cripps (http://jamielanedesigns.blogspot.com/)
�Joanna Bandelin (http://scrap-making.blogspot.com/)
�Jodi Wilton (http://luvalotland.blogspot.com/)
�Kristine Berc (http://stashofprettypaper.blogspot.com/)
�Linda Abadie (http://lindaabadie.com/)
�Monika Wright (http://iloveitallwithmonikawright.blogspot.com/)
�Sherri Thompson (http://www.sherrithompson.blogspot.com/)
�Bonus Entry: Tell us you hopped along on our Facebook page! (https://www.facebook.com/mymomenta)
�End: Momenta (http://mymomentablog.blogspot.com/)

Happy Halloween Authentique Style

2011-09-29T11:32:00.000-05:00

Authentique sent me some parts from the Glowing line to work with...that combined with a fussy cutting challenge led me to cut up one of the papers that had the orange and black diamonds all over it. I used those and the reverse side to create the bottom of this card. I curled up the edges to make them pop up. Kind of an interesting twist on ruffles. Topped it all with layered buttons, ribbon, and bakers twine and some sticker lace. The sentiment is a combo of Authentique and Momenta.

Supplies Used: Authentique paper, The Twinery Twine, Hobby Lobby Ribbon, Miss Elizabeth Lace Sticker

Trick or Treat Card

2011-09-29T09:01:00.000-05:00

You are gonna see a lot of Halloween cards from me in the next few days. Let's just say I've been inspired by the Halloween product I've been getting and since it's World Cardmaking Day this weekend, I've been making lots of cards! That plus most of the layouts I've made are for magazine submissions :) This card uses Creative Charms Gradient Gem Stickers (I love love love these....so many great colors and sizes on one little sheet!) The little spider is fussy cut from some Momenta paper and the sentiment is also from Momenta.

Momenta Coasters

2011-09-25T21:34:00.000-05:00

I told ya I'd be back with my Momenta coasters. Similar concept that I made using the Family Forever line. I went with this line because it's one of my favorites and has the colors and designs to have that wow factor in a family decor item.

Once again, here's the jist on how I made them:
I used regular white ceramic tiles from a home improvement store. Mine cost a mere 8 cents. I cut out some scrap felt and put that on the bottom of the tile. I then cut 4 1/8' X 4 1/8' squares of patterned paper. I used a homemade glue mixture of half white glue and half water (you can also use modge podge) and had my four year apply that all over the tile. I then laid the paper down on the glue and applied more glue over the top, wiping up anything that was excess so puddles didn't dry. I added the monogram and applied glue over the top of that, again wiping as needed. Lastly I sprayed it with clear glaze spray paint and learned that there probably isn't enough ventilation in a basement to be spraying something like that :).

PA 2240 Family Forever Premium Pad

Creative Charms Design Team Call

2011-09-23T16:26:00.000-05:00

Creative Charms Design Team Call

When: Now – October 10, 2011

Details: Creative Charms is looking for self-motivated and creative designers to design projects twice a month for the Creative Charms blog. This position will begin on November 1^st with a three-month initial contract. Design team members are compensated with $30/month of Creative Charms products.

We are looking for designers that meet the following criteria:

·         have an active personal blog with a following of at least 100 members
·         be active on Facebook and at least 2 other “gallery” sites (2peas, CK, etc)
·         able to work within a short time frame
·         able to post at least twice a month on the Creative Charms blog
·         creative in scrapbooking, card making and altered projects
·         previous design team experience (preferred but not required)
·         published in print magazines (preferred but not required)

To apply please send the following:

·         name and mailing address (US mailing addresses only)
·         link to your personal blog
·         links to any design team that you currently serving
·         three (3) photos of your best original projects or link to on-line gallery
·         list of all design teams that you have been a member
·         list of published works (date/publication)

Please send all applications to midori@creativecharms.com with the Subject: Design Team Call before October 10^th. The Design Team will be announced by October 15^th.

"Love"ly fall card

2011-09-23T16:16:00.000-05:00

Another card full of Bella Blvd goodness. I so enjoy their designs and the way they all layer together beautifully! It was unintentional but this card has a nice fall feel to it. Not a normal color scheme for me :) of course there are still some beautiful brights thrown in there!

Sunny Layout

2011-09-22T17:05:00.000-05:00

This picture totally inspired me...but I knew if I didn't get it to commited to paper soon I wouldn't want to do it for awhile. I have trouble scrapping a total summer picture in the middle of an Illinois winter :) So here's a super summery layout. The echo park paper had the black outline around the scallops already and I decided to mimic that with doodling throughout the layout. It was interesting to see the difference when I added the doodling....it made for a very different layout than I began with! I also did some fun stitching on my punched border. I rotated between a straight stitch and an X stitch...just to try something different and fun :) It is loosely based on the sketch challenge from Burlap and Buttercups.

Here's the sketch:

As you can see I flipped the sketch on it's side and went with one photo...I said loosely :) I'm not so good at following sketches in an exact format :)

Supplies Used: Echo park little girl line, little boy line, Nikki Sivils die cuts, American Crafts Sticker

You're always there for me

2011-09-21T21:20:00.000-05:00

I've been working hard on magazine submissions so I don't have as much to share as usual! I do have a card to share that I haven't yet. Pretty much has all my favorites...colors, bakers twine, a banner, bella blvd :) My favorite thing on this one is how I lined up the banner to match the scallops on the scallop border sticker.

Teacher Gift

2011-09-19T21:46:00.000-05:00

One of my fellow teachers had a rough day with yucky messes to clean up. She's a brand new teacher and I felt so bad for her! I was trying to think of something to brighten her day and remembered I had picked up some extra hand soaps from Bath & Body Works. I told my hubby I was going to give her a little card with it...but that it was of course going to have to be cute and handcrafted. Here's what I came up with...

The tag is an old one from the Target dollar spot. The letters had to be tiny to fit and say "I Hope Today is Less Messy." I added some of the great butterflies the pink Blooming Garden set from Creative Charms. I also added some Fancy Polka Dot Ribbon from Creative Charms in yellow, green, and pink.

And here's what it looked like tied on to a matching soap bottle of course :) Teachers work so hard - I love to try to find lighthearted ways to encourage them! This also qualifies for the make a gift for someone challenge over at Burlap and Buttercups!

Bright and cheery on a cold and rainy day

2011-09-18T22:44:00.000-05:00

It's a cool, dreary day here in Illinois. Here's a bright and cheery card to counteract that :) All Bella Blvd goodies including some fussy cut flowers.

Authentique Coasters

2011-09-14T23:38:00.000-05:00

I was having a bad day last week and decided to spend some time with Lucy doing a fun project. We created our own, monogrammed coasters! We made four using Authentiques Journey Collection and four using Momentas Family Forever Collection. I'm saving the Momenta ones for now...but you'll get to see them in the future! Here's how we made them. We used regular ceramic tiles (.08 cents) and cut out squares that were 4 1/8" X 4 1/8". We put homemade modge podge (equal parts white glue and water) on the tiles, put the paper on, and then did a top coat of the glue mixture. Then we added the M's and put glue over them. Once that dried we sprayed them with clear paint to add a glossy look and seal everything in (making them usable as coasters). I wasn't sure if the M's would make them not hold up as well...so far we're good! Even without the M's they would be a fabulous, one of a kind addition to any house! I'm thinking these might just be some Christmas gifts this year...

Toothpick Flag Cards

2011-09-14T12:21:00.000-05:00

I have got so many projects to share these days...you'd think I have nothing else to do. The reality is I'm spending my post mommy duties time in the evening crafting. Life has been so busy, crazy...the only way to keep myself sane is to get downstairs and play! Multitasking...totally necessary in my scrappy world right now. I wanted to enter the Cards magazine challenge this week but knew I had other responsibilities...so I worked Paige's challenge (toothpick flags) into them :). I created this Halloween card for a Practical Scrappers feature on Double Embossing.

This did not start out going this direction...but it ended up working nicely :)

My second entry was for Lucky Girl Crafts design team work.

My Summer Honey

2011-09-13T20:21:00.000-05:00

Since I still had some stuff left from my Burlap & Buttercups kit, I decided to play along with their challenge this week. The challenge was to use blocks and I decided to go uniform and use mine to make a diamond pattern - I'm sure this is not the proper name.

I did this whole layout and then decided I needed to mist on it. And then I hated the misting I did. So I had to rip the whole thing apart and start again...argh! I know, I know I could have embraced it...but when I've spent an hour working I want to love it! So alas, the finished product. My favorite thing of all is the little X's made from staples...a fun little touch

Pictures too cute {not} to scrap

2011-09-13T14:06:00.000-05:00

I am up today at the Lucky Girl Crafts Blog. When Erin posted last week that our challenge at Practical Scrappers was to use Gray, Yellow, and Red I decided to make a layout to serve a double purpose! I cut out all my cute Cooper pictures and just started layering. I love this color combination...thanks for the inspiration Erin! I did lots of doodling on this and machine stitching...definitely two techniques that I'm stuck on :)

Authentique's First Sketch Challenge

2011-09-11T22:23:00.000-05:00

Even though I'm not eligible to win, I wanted to play along with the very first Authentique sketch challenge. Here's what the sketch looks like...

And here's my interpretation...I'm gonna make it huge because I used lots of little letters on this one

I absolutely love the Journey line from them. I knew I liked Blissful...but seriously this one rocks even more :). Who'd of thought turquoise and grey would be so good together! This is a pretty typical, millions of layers layout from me. To make it different (you have to do something unique...) I cut out some of the chevrons and used them as anchors in the corners. I love how nicely the off white works with white in this line. It confuses my brain that they work so nicely together :) You still have time to join in on this challenge...head on over to the Authentique blog for all the details!

Authentique Supplies Used:

Journey line: Noteables, Promenade, Explore, Icons, Diction

Blissful line: Petite type circle

Lucky Girl Crafts Blog Hop: Honored & Remembered

2011-09-09T00:01:00.005-05:00

We're kicking off the September Lucky Girl Crafts Blog Hop - my first ever - and I am going to share a layout with you today that I made about my Father In-Laws Retirement. He retired in June after serving in the ministry for 33 years. Having a retired pastor in the family definitely came in handy a couple weeks ago when my own hubby/Pastor had an appendectomy...we couldn't find a local sub so he took over for Ben.

Jessica has a special treat for y'all this weekend:

As a special incentive to our Lucky Girl friends, everyone who places an order over the blog party will receive a free gift - the larger the purchase, the larger the goody! PLUS - one lucky, random person who places an order will receive $50 worth of goodies when their order ships!

There are still tons of AMAZING deals left in the store from the sale that started last weekend - www.LuckyGirlCrafts.com - so hurry over and get your favorite crafty supplies before they're gone!

September's kit

And now for my layout...

This was the first thing I made out of this months kit...so many great choices of things to use!

I've been machine stitching a lot on my projects lately...I've seen a lot of people do this where they sew write thru a title - I'm not sold but I tried it :)

Here's the whole list for the blog hop in case you need to start over:

Store Blog

Christine - You are here
Ana
Natalie
Jessica
Angi

Now go ahead and check out Ana's project!

Count your Blessings

2011-09-08T14:10:00.000-05:00

I had so much fun making this silly card. I loved the goofy dinosaur and knew I wanted to use it in a comical way. It uses a variety of products from Bella Blvd and lots of doodling...doodling seems to be a new go to technique for me.

Dimensional Flower Card

2011-09-07T09:48:00.000-05:00

I created this fun card using some gorgeous paper from all Momenta products. To create my flower I just cut 1/4" stripcs and then connected the ends to form a circle (like countdown chains we all made as kids). I pinched one end and set that down on my white circle where I had some liquid glue. I gave that a chance to dry overnight. It makes a pretty flower but you definitely have to put a center on it. I used just a small black circle and then the cute pink circle on top of it. It makes for some fun and unique dimension that are a surprise when you see the card.
Supplies Used

PA 1502 - Black Tie Metal Paper Pad

PA 2329 - Kaleidoscope Super Paper Pad

NC 1360 - Kaleidoscope Card Kit

2011-09-05T18:08:00.000-05:00

Raw chipboard...the more I play with it the more I figure it out and discover that I actually like it. Practical Scrappers is featuring cards with chipboard today. For mine I used a chipboard sentiment that I inked up and then misted. I'm entertained with the fact that after doing all that in picture it still looks like raw chipboard. In person it actually is a nice shade of chocolate brown :)

Supplies used: Crate Paper sticker, Ticket, Cosmo Cricket Stickers, The paper source tag, Jillibean soup patterned paper, Bella Blvd Patterned paper

What's up at Lucky Girl Crafts

2011-09-03T23:20:00.000-05:00

Jessica is having an awesome Labor Day Weekend Sale over at Lucky Girl Crafts. Things are moving fast...you'll want to check this out soon!

And on that note...here's a peek at the September kit "The Little Things that Count"

I'm so excited about all the brand new Jillibean Soup goodies!!! I've been busy working on some projects for Practical Scrappers, but I'll be diving into this kit in the next couple days and creating some fun stuff to share.

Tips and Tricks: Taking a Great Picture of your Cards

2011-09-03T23:00:00.000-05:00

I've got a tutorial on this topic up on Practical Scrappers today and here's the link.

Authentique Uncommon Card & Creative Charms

2011-08-31T22:06:00.000-05:00

I am up today over at Creative Charms and I made a project featuring the September Kit and Deal of the Month. I love matching up my Creative Charms goodies to some of my favorite paper lines and really love when they come together this beautifully! As soon as I knew I needed to work in that color scheme I knew I wanted to make a card with a vintage feel using some of Authentique's paper from the "Uncommon" line. The kit and deal of the month are both all about black and pink so I included some of the black gradient pearls (from the deal of the month) and the gorgeous netted flower (from the kit of the month) on my card. Black and pink is one of my favorite color combos and has such a nice vintage feel to it. I also used some of the Fancy Polka Dot Ribbon for my bow. With a color combo this great these kits won't last long...pick up one for yourself!

Using Felt Coasters on a Project

2011-08-27T09:14:00.000-05:00

Erin, Kerri, and I (the administrative team at Practical Scrappers) have been doing a monthly frugal finds feature at Practical Scrappers. It's been fun to see the creativity that is brought out using strange products. Life has been crazy for me...so this is not my most "creative" work but it still turned out pretty :)

The day I found out I was going to be a design specialist for Authentique I was so excited I went down and pulled out my stash from them and used it with the coaster. I used some paper from the "Blissful" line to back the coaster. I like the way it subtly pops out. I also used paper from that line in a couple other spots. I've also been incorporating machine stitching into my projects a lot more lately. Still trying to perfect that technique, but it does add some interesting texture. Kerri and Erin did some great projects too - here's the link for the post on Practical Scrappers.

Supplies Used: Authentique Blissful line patterned papers, The Twinery Bakers Twine, Creative Charms Vintage Poppy, Jenni Bowlin Beautiful Journaling Card, mesh

2011-08-25T08:52:00.000-05:00

Just a nice, simple layout that I created using the Burlap and Buttercups kit. Most of the detail was already in the paper so I didn't have to do too much :)

Supplies Used: Fancy pants paper, Little Yellow Bicycle canvas stickers, Bella Blvd letter stickers, Simple Stories stickers

Rock the first day!

2011-08-23T09:44:00.000-05:00

I surprised Timmy with this card this morning. He loved it and said he was going to keep it forever or at least as long as it would last :) On the inside I wrote "Be your best, Do your best, and Show Jesus' love."

I used the One Fine Day collection from Momenta as well as that cute little sunshine sticker. I have used this line for several things and I really wanted to give it a different look so I did some doodling/outlining throughout. I've been seeing a lot of people doing more doodling...I think it's a rising trend...I was especially inspired by the talented Erin and decided to use it too. I love that a card lets me try something new without committing it to a whole layout :)

Supplies used: One Fine Day by Momenta, The Girls Paperie word sticker, Black Sharpie

Lovin' Chevrons

2011-08-20T21:07:00.000-05:00

I keep seeing Chevrons everywhere in the papercrafting and decorating world. I decided that I definitely wanted to try and make some of my own using some of that gorgeous paper from the August Burlap and Buttercups kit.

Here's what I came up wtih:

Supplies Used:

Simple Stories 100 Days of Summer, Cosmo Cricket stickers, Bella Blvd Sophisticates, The Twinery Bakers Twine

Friendship Card

2011-08-19T07:44:00.000-05:00

I made this card using the August kit from Burlap & Butterflies for a feature at Practical Scrappers. I tried several new techniques and was very pleased with how it turned out.

I punched circles and then folded them into squares...a little time consuming and tricky but I like what it adds. I also machine stitched - I've done that more in the last week than I have in my entire scrapbooking career. My buttons are filled with bling to completely change the look of a button.

Supplies used: Burlap and Buttercups August kit, The Twinery bakers Twine, Fiskars Border Punch, Creative Charms Gradient Sticker Gems, Simple Stories Patterned Paper & Stickers: 100 Days of Summer, Bella Blvd Sticker Sentiment, Pebbles Felt Bird

Curly Princess & Summer Shimmer

2011-08-18T19:16:00.000-05:00

Another day at Lucky Girl Crafts and today you are seeing my second layout with the Summer Shimmer Kit. Lots of fussy cutting, doodling, and details :)

I'm up at Creative Charms today!

2011-08-18T06:00:00.001-05:00

Authentique has burst onto the scene in the papercrafting world and I for one love their stuff! Now that I am officially a design specialist for them, it seems like the perfect day to share this layout! Their "Blissful" line combines beautifully with my absolute favorite Creative Charms product: Yellow Groovy Petals. I recently had a conversation with a friend about how great I think the Groovy Petals are - I think I may have convinced her just by showing her this layout :). I also used some Gradient Pearl Stickers including dyeing some of the white ones to be the coral color.

I've also got a kit premiere up over at Practical Scrappers and more projects coming up on Lucky Girl Crafts...I'll get those up here soon, but in the meantime if you want to check them out - head that way!

Have a Great Day!

Christine

Awesome News!

2011-08-17T21:58:00.000-05:00

The moment I layed eyes on the "Blissful" line from Authentique I fell in love. They are a brand new company with a unique style and marvelous color combinations! So I thought I'd take a shot and apply for their design team...I'm thrilled to announce that they chose me to be a design specialist. I do not have responsibilities on their blog but I am responsible for creating with their products and sharing them with the scrapping world. I was absolutely shocked to get their email and of course went downstairs and had to find a way to work them into my project for Practical Scrappers on Saturday...stay tuned :) Funny enough my project for Creative Charms that premieres tomorrow also features lots of "Blissful" I'm off to sleep on Cloud Nine :)

See thru Card for Lucky Girl Crafts

2011-08-15T13:14:00.000-05:00

Jessica always puts together such amazing kits and this month is no exception. I love the unique color combinations you can find in this months kit. This first card uses my absolute favorite color combination of all! I love black, white, and turquoise together.

I cut a spot in my card to attach the clear bag to. I then added the patterned paper to frame it. I created the flower using a punch and more of the patterned paper. I can't wait to write my message with a pretty turquoise pen and see it pop thru!

Kicking things off at Lucky Girl Crafts

2011-08-13T01:43:00.000-05:00

I shared how excited I was to get to play with the August kit from Lucky Girl Crafts and get my design team post rolling. Today over at the blog we're sharing a project that showcases our five favorite products from the kit. Now let's be honest, I had a hard time picking out just five! I always go for all my favorites first...so I had to hold back a little bit :) First up here's what the kit looks like:

I'll be sharing projects with you all week that I made using it.

Here's my five fave project:

Here's the five I picked:

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Mask Mini Florets (I've never used one before - it was awesome!)

Bo Bunny Die Cut Petal Pushers Blossom

Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist

Making Memories Glitter Bling Frame Pink Flower

SEI Sunny Day Glitter Die Cut Accents

Hop on over to the Lucky Girls blog and check out the other designer creations!

Blog Hop Winners

2011-08-10T23:36:00.000-05:00

Thanks so much to all of you who took time to visit and comment! Here's the two randomly generated winners:

Jennifer

Kray

Shoot me an email at practicalscrappers@gmail.com and I'll get you your prize!

Family Menu Board

2011-08-09T09:03:00.000-05:00

It's my day up at Momenta and I created a Family Menu Board. Our closest grocery store is about 15 miles away, so meal planning is a necessity in my house. I recently came across a family menu board on pinterest and decided I wanted to make my own version that would fit what I need to keep track of and use colors and embellies that are my style. I decided to use the Family Forever Paper Kit for the bulk of my board with some Design Your Own Stickers printed to match the colors in the Family Forever Line. The Design Your Own Stickers come with two in a package so it was perfect to be able to print two different accent colors instead of just one. All the stickers, tags, and frames come from this great page kit!

Here are some close ups of the various parts

For my title I used some of the Andrew Design your Own Stickers (printed in purple) for one part, letters from the kit for another part, and Jennifer Design your Own Stickers (printed in royal blue) for the last part.

The base for my menu board is actually two 12 X 12 white boards. I went with these so that I could have some parts that were erasable. I used the Andrew DYO stickers printed in purple for day abbreviations.

I think this is my favorite feature! I attached a note pad to this so that I can just pull my shopping list off when I am ready to use it.

This time I used Andrew stickers but printed in forest green. I created an area to keep track of ideas for next week - leaving enough space to use the whiteboard part. I also put an envelope on here to keep coupons in that would work for the following week.

People are forever giving me recipes and I misplace them - so I made an area where I could store recipes until I can get them properly filed. Here again I used the Green Andrew DYO stickers and letters from the kit.

Momenta Supplies Used:

ST 4515 Design Your Own Alphabet Sticker Jennifer Large Uppercase

ST 3903 Design Your Own Alphabet Sticker Andrew Small Uppercase

PK 2407 Family Forever Page Kit

Other Supplies: Ribbon, Ric Rak, Envelopes

CAS Friends Layout

2011-08-08T00:33:00.000-05:00

A very clean and simple layout created using almost all Momenta products. This is another addition to the album for Taylor.

Supplies Used: Kaleidoscope Paper Pad

The Twinery Bakers Twine

Practical Scrappers Designer Blog Hop

2011-08-04T23:00:00.001-05:00

Thanks for joining us for the Practical Scrappers Blog Hop. We're sharing projects that relate to the number two since it's our second anniversary! Today I'm sharing a project with you of TWO of my kiddos. I've got a prize to give to TWO of you who visit and are a follower of my blog and Practical Scrappers. All ya have to do is leave a comment letting me know you were here. I'll be giving away some goodies from Momenta and Creative Charms, TWO of the companies I design for. We have an extremely talented group of designers, I know you'll enjoy checking out their blogs.

Practical Scrappers

Christine You Are Here

Kerri Go Here Next

Teresa

And now.....for my TWO project :)

Thank you so much for visiting me today! I've got two prizes for anyone who is a follower and leaves a comment: I'm going to be creating two goodie bags filled with stuff from Momenta & Creative Charms - rather than just do one line of something I thought a variety would be fun! Then you can check out all kinds of goodies :) Hop on over to see my buddy Kerri next!

2011-08-04T01:01:00.000-05:00

I love the color green and use it all the time but sometimes it is hard to find a pretty green flower to add that extra kick to your cards. Creative Charms has some great green flowers that are unique and add great dimension to any project.

For this card I used a darling green dream brad flower. My border is created using a a square cotton pad, yes a cotton pad...adds some fun dimension doesn't it? I'm really enjoying the frugal finds challenges that we have been doing at Practical Scrappers!

This card uses a green shimmer flower with a pearl brad. The layered scallops are also made from cotton pads, this time circular ones. How fun is it that they were already embossed!?!

Both of these cards use Design Your Own stickers, from Momenta, for the sentiments. I love how easy they are to use and that I was able to personalize them exactly to what I wanted for my cards. If you haven't checked them out already, it's totally worth it! Especially when you consider that if you use them now you can enter that project in the facebook contest...$250 in Momenta product and $100 cash just for trying out these great stickers, what's not to like? You can get all the details you need right here.

If you haven't already popped in on our anniversary festivities at Practical Scrappers you need to! We've got prizes, an online recipe contest, and beginning tomorrow a blog hop! See you tomorrow for some more fun!!!

Both cards use cotton pads on them (one circular and one square) - part of our anniversary celebration at my site Practical Scrappers was to use cotton. So of course I thought I'd work them in with some great Creative Charms flowers! I'd love to have you join in our fun over at Practical Scrappers today too!

Scrapping about a teenager?

2011-08-03T00:04:00.000-05:00

We have a fabulous young lady who babysits our kids regularly (okay we actually have several - definite perk of being a Pastors family). My daughter has especially taken to Taylor. I have been working on a scrapbook for her with some of her favorite pictures. This is one of my favorite pages so far. It is almost all from a really really really old kit - the colors/topic never worked for me before. But it was perfect for this Taylor page.

Supplies Used: Colorbok (? I think) Kit, Cosmo Cricket Chipboard Letters, The Twinery Bakers Twine

Lucky Girl Crafts August Kit

2011-07-31T23:37:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited that my first kit is up at Lucky Girl Crafts. I can't wait to share some projects with y'all from it - but I'm on vacation and until I get home and actually work with all I can share is what is in it! Check out all the stunning details here.

Two oldies but goodies

2011-07-31T23:11:00.000-05:00

Practical Scrappers is celebrating our 2nd Anniversary. In honor of that I asked each designer to pick their two favorite projects that they have made for Practical Scrappers. Kerri counted up that she had 147 projects to choose from, I'm sure mine is that or higher so I decided to go way way way back to projects from the first few months of Practical Scrappers. Although my style has evolved some since I made these, I still think they are fun! It's kinda fun to see how much my style has changed since 2009 :) I hope you'll join in on some of the fun this week!

I Love You Because...

2011-07-29T11:47:00.000-05:00

I saw an idea for something similar to this on Pinterest and wanted to make it my own using some scrappy supplies. I'm all about finding ways to build up my kids and make sure I'm telling them about the ways I love them.

I put the paper inside, but made a line on it so that I can write on the outside of the frame with a dry erase marker. My plan is to erase it every few days and change it to say something new.

Another pinterest inspiration...using pinholes to add some design to something. I traced a big heart on the back of the paper and then poked holes randomly all over the outside of the heart. I didn't fill in where I put the words because I thought it looked cool to just have it on the outside :) Next up, a second one for Lucy...maybe with different colored letters so it's not exactly the same :).

Supplies Used:

Pebbles Felt Heart Embellie

American Crafts Thickers

LePlume Black Pen

White Cardstock