I made the team!!!

Here's the scenario....it's late evening, all the little kids are in bed.  My hubby gets a phone call that a beloved member (he's a Pastor) has gone into hospice care and it doesn't look like she has long to live.  So he scoots out the door to the nursing home.  I open up my email and see an email saying "You Made the Team."  Aaaaaaah!!!!  Totally a dream come true and and I am thrilled to to finally share!  I made the Imaginisce Team for 2014!!!

Becki Adams - USA

Angi Barrs -  USA

Marcia Dehn-Nix - USA

Stephanie Dang - USA

Lanette Erickson - USA

Tracy Gruber -  USA

Guiseppa Gubler - USA

Katrina Hunt -  USA

Kelly Holbrooke -  USA

Amanda Johnson - USA
Aimee Kidd - USA
Monique Liedtke - The Netherlands

Courtney Lee - USA

Suzanna Lee - USA

Christine Meyer -  USA

Lorrie Nunemaker - USA

Michelle Philipi - USA

Jodi Wilton - Canada

Sara Zenger - USA

I'm thrilled to be among such a talented group and several dear friends!

Using Up Holiday Leftovers - a Reverse Canvas

Thank goodness it is finally Friday!!!   Today I am sharing a project on the Ribbons Unlimited Blog! We're in the final haul before we head to the full blown excitement of the holidays and today I thought I'd share a canvas with you that I created using some holiday leftovers from last year!

As you have probably noticed, I like to use crafty items in different ways and today's project is no exception.  First of all I flipped over my canvas and created a reverse canvas.  Why? Because I wanted some wood to show that would coordinate with the wood on my embroidery hoop.  To create my border I used red satin ribbon (Double Face Satin Ribbon in Camellia Rose - 5/8") and laid it out so that it was right in the middle of the wood and white (leaving a little of each showing).  I wanted a little bit of pattern to things so I then topped it off striped washi tape.  My heart on my embroidery hoop is made up of tinsel garland that is attached to a big paper heart.  Once I glued all the garland on I simply trimmed off the excess around the edges and then added a pearl border. 

Supplies Used:

Washi Tape: Queen & Co

Ribbon: Ribbons Unlimited

Cardstock: American Crafts

Patterned Paper: Pebbles

Pearls: Want 2 Scrap

A One Picture Layout

Today I have a layout to show with you that is pretty out of the ordinary for me!  Very soft colors and only one photograph...but I felt like this photograph needed it's own layout!  Additionally there was no design team work (fun) involved with this one...it was purely from my own supplies and for no other reason than just wanting to scrap this picture!

I created this last week when I met up with some scrappy friends at an Archiver's in Chicagoland.  It was kind of fun to just work with the supplies that I had piled in and see what I came up with!  I just love this picture of Lucy and Cooper leaniung in to give her a smooch :)  I can't believe next week it will already be Thanksgiving!  Let the excitement and craziness of the holidays begin!

Supplies Used:

Patterned Paper: American Crafts, Teresa Collins

Wood: Studio Calico

Burlap: Little Yellow bicycle

Stickers: American Crafts, Heidi Swapp, Lily Bee

My Happy Boy: A Doodlebug Designs Layout

I'm on a boy layout roll!  Back today with another one to share with you of the littlest of the boys.  It is full of cheery Doodlebug goodies and all sorts of fun shapes!

Although you can't really tell, I took these pictures of Bo after he climbed into my suitcase that I was packing and started pulling stuff out of it.  He was being a total ham!

The Day to Day Collection was perfect for pulling in the cheerfulness I wanted to come through!  I also used some of Doodlebug's new pixies.  They are little, skinny, straw like pieces that come in a variety of colors and can easily be used for flags or cut up into smaller pieces and used for all sorts of embellishing.  I used mine as the top layer of my layout to create three different triangles.  I also used stickers from the collection, washi tape, and the "happy" from their happy birthday card sheets to embellish the entire layout.

Supplies Used:

Patterned Paper: Doodlebug Design

Cardstock: Bazill

Pixies: Doodlebug Design

Stickers: Doodlebug Design

Letter Stickers: Bella Blvd

Wood: Studio Calico

Enamel Dots: Doodlebug Design

Washi Tape: Doodlebug Design

Bakers Twine: Doodlebug Design

Paper House Productions Printers Tray

When I saw this collection of stickers (and papers) that featured the hymn "All Things Bright and Beautiful," I knew I wanted to create a special one of a kind piece.  I sat on it for awhile, contemplating my plan.  I eventually decided a Printers Tray would be the way to go.  It would allow me to use the entire set of words as well as several of the other stickers. I have never made a Printers Tray before but this was a super fun project to create!!!

 First I filled in each compartment with one of the patterned papers.  I cut up doilies and added pieces of those in several (but not all) of the compartments.  I also punched some circles and used those in ones that didn't have doilies.  I laid out the word stickers in order so that they could be read in the proper order.  I then added cardstock and 3D animal stickers from the set to create little scenes in each compartment.  My kids love this creation because they like to identify all the animals :)

Supplies Used:

Patterned Paper: Paper House Productions

Stickers: Paper House Productions

Gems: Queen & Co.

Kachow

My middle son is the hilarious.  He makes us laugh constantly with the funny things he says and does and you can tell that oftentimes he is looking for a laugh.  I try to document as many of those funny stories  as I can and this layout is exactly that.

I used some patterned paper and die cuts from Elle's Studio.  I haven't ever used anything from them before - but really enjoyed this "Cameron" line.  The pictures are jsut various cute pictures of Cooper around the time that he did this funny thing.  I also added some Studio Calico Wood Veneer pieces and some enamel dots throughout.  This was a quick and simple one but does the important job of saving a memory for me!

Supplies Used:
Patterned Paper: Elle's Studio, Pebbles
Die Cuts: Elle's Studio
Letter Stickers: Jillibean Soup, American Crafts
Washi Tape: My Mind's Eye
Enamel Dots: My Minds Eye, Queen & Co.

9 Cute Months - a Paper House Productions Layout

I have been chipping away at the month by month layouts for Bo - I'm nearly halfway thru the first year!  I am obviously not working in order...just going with whatever I'm inspired to do at the time!

For month number nine, I decided to play with the Paper House Productions Little Man Paper Pix Pad.  This pad has a neat collection of patterned papers and papers with animated boy fun like rocket ships and soldiers!  For this layout I stuck with just the patterned pieces.  The stack that I had was 8 X 8 so I layered pieces of it behind the pictures.  I am loving natural elements like cork and burlap lately.  Today I used several cork elements.  One thing about these natural elements is that they can work great for a boy or a girl!  I also added some tags (those seem to be a regular for me these days too), buttons, and some washi tape to finish the whole thing off!

Supplies Used:

Letter Stickers: American Crafts

Buttons

Cork: Fancy Pants & Little Yellow Bicycle

Washi Tape: WRMK

Patterned Paper: Paper House Productions

Born to Be Wild: A Paper House Productions Layout

To say that I am enjoying my time as a design team member for Paper House Productions would be an understatement!  I love that they have such variety in the lines they produce ranging from classy to cutesy.  That fits my style so well!  My hubby is particularly fond of anything themed that I create and this recent one was a big favorite for him!

As soon as I saw this adorable jungle animal filled line, I knew I would have fun with it!  Who can resist a cute monkey or elephant!?!  Monkeys are one of my favorite animals and I have used the entire 3D sticker sheet of these...but they are out for magazine submissions.  Chances are you'll see some of them down the road (hopefully in a magazine...but if not here :)))  I used 3D Stickers, Cardstock Stickers, and Patterned Paper.  To help my design blend into the paper (without taking away from the paper or my pictures) I used a craft knife and cut the elephant ears so that I could slide my picture underneath it!  I also added some banners in coordinating (but plain) cardstock colors.  I outlined those with brown faux stitching to bring out some of the browns in the paper.  I also added some hemp twine to add a little more texture to the whole thing.  I simply wrapped that around in swirls and attached it with one of my favorite tools, the Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher.

Have you been able to check out some of the Paper House Productions goodies that I have been using?  You can find them at their website but you can also find them at local scrapbook stores and several big box stores like Joanns, Michaels, and Hobby Lobby.  Even I, in the middle of rural farm country, have found them in several stores....check them out!  If you are looking for a specific topic, they are the best place to start...they cover sooooo much!

KLD Blog Hop Winner

Congrats to the winner of the Kiwi Lane Blog Hop giveaway! Melissa!

"I love this paper and your layout is awesome!!

Also, I am now following you on facebook....thanks for a chance at your giveaway!

November 1, 2013 at 9:38 PM"

Melissa, Shoot me an email at practicalscrappers@gmail.com and I will get that stuff sent off to you!

Christmas Brown Bag

It's a busy week for me on Design Team Blogs!  I love weeks like this because I get to share with you all the goodies I have been creating behind the scenes!  Today I have a gift bag that I made for CutCardStock. I've recently discovered the fun in decorating plain old gift bags.  Earlier in the year I shared with you a gift bag topper and today I am going to share a decorated brown bag.

I have a full set of instructions up at the CutCardStock blog - so if you are interested in all the details hop over there to grab them!

Supplies Used:

These goodies from CutCardStock

Chipboard: Teresa Collins

Flair: WeRMemory Keepers

Frayed Knot on a Layout

 I am up over at the Ribbons Unlimited Blog today.  I don't think I have ever shared a layout there...it's always cards and other projects...so I decided this month it needed to be a layout!  I used one of our beautiful Lyon French Wired Ribbons that is the perfect addition to fall projects.

I really love this ribbon (Sandstone) because of the golden hues that come out in it, making it a perfect match for some fall projects.  First, I used the ribbon as a border strip underneath my photos and then I tied a knot and topped one end of the border with it.  Then to bring out those golden hues, I frayed the ends of my knot.   It's a simple, quick, but striking way to add some different texture to your layout! 

Check out that hilarious picture of my two youngest boys...oy!  Crazy is the perfect way to describe things :)

Ribbons Unlimited Supplies Used:

Lyon French Wired Ribbon: Sandstone

Other supplies Used:

Patterned Paper: Echo Park

Stickers: Echo Park & Bella Blvd

Cork: Fancy Pants

Tip Time Tuesday: Kiwi Lane Designs & Teresa Collins

Have you caught the drift that I am really enjoying my time with Kiwi Lane?  Today I am up for the month with my Tip Time Tuesday...

Last winter I got to take a class with Teresa Collins at my local scrapbook store The Scrapbooking Studio. I was a huge fan of hers before that but meeting her in person and listening to how she works with and develops her products was totally inspiring. Suffice it to say that I was THRILLED to hear that we were going to be combining her products with Kiwi Lane’s templates this month!

I got to to work with her Christmas line and thus the first Christmas layout of the season was born. I love to cut things up and piece them back together—creating quilted style backgrounds or doing something unexpected with a big chunk of patterned paper just makes me happy. If you hopped with us over the weekend you caught me doing just that (if you didn’t you can see how I cut up my Abbie Road template here). So for my tip today I have the following to say: Cut things up and see where it takes you!

I used my Abbie Road templates and then cut them down to 5 1/4 inch pieces so that they formed perfect squares. I did this with two different patterns and then pieced them back together forming a grid of four squares. I used papers that were not overly heavy on pattern or color so that it wasn’t completely overwhelming. I also stuck with those two colors for most of my layout.

I also created my flower in the center and my circle using templates.

For my layout I used the following templates:

• Abbie Road 2A
• Abbie Road 2B
• Nature 5T
• Tiny Shapes

Cherish the Little Things: Imaginisce Card

I've had some fun playing Imaginisce lately and thought I'd share a card that I created using their line!

Tips:  See that tree sticker and the "cherish the little things" banner...once upon a time they were two separate stickers!  I cut the banner up in order to make it fit onto the tree.  The cloud is also a border sticker that is flat on the bottom, I cut it and put it together to make it into one cloud shape.  Stickers are even more fun when you can use them differently than the original intent :)

Supplies Used:

Stickers: Imaginisce

Patterned Paper: Imaginisce

Wood: Studio Calico

Staples: Tim Holtz

White Pen: Uniball Signo

Last Class at The Scrapbooking Studio in Bloomington

I'm sad to say that this will be the last of my classes at this store.  The store will be closing it's doors at the end of the year :(.  If you haven't already signed up, make sure to give them a call and get signed up early this week.  And if you can't make it for the whole time but you are one of my regular attendees, I'd still love to have you pop by and say goodbye!

Kiwi Lane Designs Blog Hop

Welcome to the November Kiwi Lane Designs Blog Hop! If' this is your first stop, you should head back to the Kiwi Lane Blog so you can make your way thru the whole hop! I am thrilled to be participating this month with some of my fellow Kiwi Lane fans to share scrapbooking inspiration using their fabulous designer templates!  I've got giveaways to share...but first let's get down to why you're here...to check out a fun Kiwi Lane project!

When I saw the new "Cut & Paste" line from My Minds Eye, I knew I had to have this portion of it.  the color combination is stunning and it works perfectly for boy themed pages but also has some feminine pieces to it also.  Paired with Kiwi Lane it made for such a fun layout!  I used the Abbie Road border set to create my blue border.  After cutting it out, I cut it down into 1/2" stripcs until I got close to the top.  I then laid those out at the bottom and slid my pictures into it.  I also added some circles I cut from the Tiny Shapes Accessory Set.  I also added an arrow from the Nature Accessory Set as an accent in my title.    

Do you love giveaways?  Here's your chance at two different ones:
Kiwi Lane is going to pick a fan from ONE of the participating blogs (including the Kiwi Lane blog), to receive a $25 gift certificate to the Kiwi Lane Shop.  Just make sure to leave a comment at each blog along the way!  The winner will be announced on the Kiwi Lane blog on Thursday, November 7th. 

Secondly as a thank you for visiting my blog today I have a roll of Doodlebug Designs Washi Tape and a Kiwi Lane Designs Sweetheart set for one of my readers.

You can enter by doing any or all of the following: become a follower here, become a fan on my facebook page, or become an email subscriber to this blog.  Leave me a comment telling me which you did and I will announce a winner on Thursday, November 7th!

In Case you Get Lost, Here's the Lineup for the Hop today:
Kiwi Lane http://kiwilane.com/here/blog/
Cristine Redmond http://onescrappynovice.blogspot.com
Joy Nielsen www.threadsnscraps.com
Van Nguyen http://likethecar.blogspot.com
Minousha Bari  http://preservedscraps.blogspot.com
Lissa Mitchell http://mightycrafty.blogspot.com
Arin Flynn http://apieceoflifespie.com
Kerri Smith http://www.crafttimeandcupcakes.com/ 
Christine Meyer http://scrappingwithchristine.blogspot.com *******You Are Here*******
Christina Steel www.tinasscrapcrap.blogspot.com ****Go Here Next******

Thanks so much for stopping in today - head on over to see Christina Steel next!

Halloween Brown Bag

I have been enjoying all the little gift bag inspiration that I have been seeing on Pinterest lately!  From burlap to canvas to brown bags.  I thought I'd try my hand at creating a brown bag that was Halloween themed!

I used some Halloween stamps from Momenta to create this.  The spider border is created by stamping one after another.  I then also stamped the sentiment and then folded it, along with an orange banner, over the top of the bag and then secured it with a black wood clothespin.  Finished the whole thing off with some great washi tape.  I'm excited to try some more of these in other themes....love how quickly you can jazz up a simple brown bag!

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Momenta

Patterned Paper: Momenta

Cardstock: American Crafts

Washi Tape: My Minds Eye
Color Mist: Heidi Swapp

Embellishing a Paper Clip with Ribbon

I am up on the Ribbons Unlimited blog today!  I am always on the lookout for ways to use ribbon in new ways on my cards.  I was recently playing around with paper clips and came up with a simple and different way to incorporate ribbon!

Paperclips are trendy and easy to find...so why not find a way to incorporate them on a card!  I simply tied a knot at the top of mine and slid it over a ribbon strip on my card.  Think of the possibilities on this - you could do anything from cute to elegant depending on your ribbon choice and make use of it on layouts, tags, cards and more.  

Ribbons Unlimited Supplies Used:

White Organdy Ribbon

Other Supplies Used:

Patterned Paper: American Crafts, Momenta

Enamel Dots: My Minds eye

Stickers: American Crafts, Jillibean Soup

Imaginisce "Childhood" Layout

Every time I looked at these pictures that song "You're My Sweetheart" kept coming to my mind.  So I felt it only appropriate to create a layout with a big, significant title that brought attention to the photos.  The Imaginisce line "Childhood" was perfect for documenting these pictures!

My son and this little girl have managed to find each other as best buds.  She bosses him around like no one else and gets away with it and pretty much every day he asks to go to her house!  It is a must document relationship!

Tips:  To create my title I used a variety of fonts and colors - I think that makes it a little more interesting.  Some of it is a Silhouette Cameo cut and the rest is various thickers. Because of my big title, I embellished minimally adding stickers and such from this same "Childhood" line.

Supplies Used:

Patterned Paper: Imaginisce

Stickers; Imaginisce & American Crafts

White Pen: Uniball Signo

Happy Haunting Halloween Lantern

Popping in to share my last creation with "Happy Haunting" by My Mind's Eye!  Thanks to some help from my Silhouette Cameo, I created a little Halloween lantern!  They had several choices available and I opted for the spider web one.  Not to creepy and not too cute, just right :)

I added some glittery paper behind the webs on the lower parts but not the top part so that if I want to actually use a candle (seems like a battery powered tea light would be the smart option here) I can still have it shine thru!

Chipboard sentiment and shapes were perfect to decorate each side.  I also added some fun brads to the top creases - that bat shape and brad just had to be used!  I also used some black pom pom trim that I have been hoarding for awhile now.  My ribbon and trim piles are getting a little insane....need to start purging those and getting them organized.

Hope you have enjoyed all the fun projects with this line.  It is available at The Scrapbooking Studio!

Supplies Used:

Cardstock: American Crafts

Patterned Paper: My Minds Eye

Chipboard: My Minds Eye

Brads: My Minds Eye

Twine: The Twinery

"Happy Harvest" by Doodlebug Design Layout

I picked up some of the Doodlebug Design "Happy Harvest" collection and have been itching to play with it, but had to find the time to do so!  This week it happened and here's what I created:

 

Isn't this a fun collection???  It has all the bright colors that I love mixed in with some solid fall colors.  

Tips:  I created my background heart using a Kiwi Lane template (Chestnut Drive) and layering it - then trimming around to bring out the heart shape.  It needed an extra punch to bring out the layers so out came one of my standards...doodling with my white pen!

I also used the lines from the template to give life to my title.  I am REALLY enjoying these templates and using them in different ways to bring some unique life to my projects!

Supplies Used:

Patterned Paper: Doodlebug Design

Stickers: Doodlebug Design & American Crafts

Decorative Tape: Queen & Co.

Staples: Tim Holtz