Family Time at Venice

Here's another layout that I completed this weekend at the CHA crop. I also thought that it went perfectly with Christa's challenge over at the TSF Online Crop, to dig into old summer stash. These papers are from MME's "Good Day Sunshine" line from last year. I also added chipboard from Studio G and Jenni Bowlin plus stickers from October Afternoon.

I love the far away photo of my inlaws at the beach and my DH looking at them. Priceless! They love the beach so much.

Thanks for looking!

Family

I had great fun at the CHA crop at TSF on Saturday and got a few layouts done. I also decided to participate in the TSF online crop to Chase Away the Winter Blues! Jayne has challenged us to use a stamp or postcard on a layout. So I dug out my stamp-shaped Cuttlebug die that had been gathering dust. I thought it would be cool to highlight the title with those shapes. I used MME's Wonderful Winter line.

This was my parents' first time at our place in Florida. They were very happy to escape winter last Christmas!

I also added a banner across the bottom and popped up some of the Christmas trees and snowmen. A neat contrast to the tropical photos!


Thanks Jayne for a fun challenge!

Forever With You

I had been meaning to post this Valentine's day card I made for my husband. And it just happens to go perfectly with the LRW theme this week~ Regan is asking us to use chipboard!

I painted and then two-step crackled a Maya Road chipboard key. Kinda cool. I die cut and then stamped my sentiment on some cork~ also kind of cool. I thought the cork and key were nice and "masculine." I got to use my new houndstooth Cuttlebug embossing folder and I even dusted off my sewing machine. The pp and little epoxy "with you" sticker are from Little Yellow Bicycle from deep in my wagon.

Thanks ladies for another great challenge!

C4C 124 Stripes and Polka Dots

Today I'd love to share this layout featuring a photo of Christmas Day 2010. I love the contrast between the MME "Wonderful Winter" papers and the tropical locale! The mini alpha stickers are Lily Bee and the rub on is from Making Memories. The heart bling brads are We R Memory Keepers and the ric rac is from my stash. I was inspired by a Studio Calico sketch.

Here's a detail shot. You can see I got to use my new Christmas tree Cuttlebug embossing folder too!

One of my new years resolutions is to play along more often with some of my favourite challenge blogs. Over at Crazy 4 Challenges, they are playing with stripes and polka dots this week! This goes perfectly.

Thanks for looking!

Anniversary Cards

And this is my final installment of this We R Memory Keepers "Love Struck" DT kit. I loved the little sentiment tags printed on one of the pages so thought it would be fun to make a few anniversary cards.

I painted and crackled the chipboard key. It is a bit hard to tell in the photo. And I added a heart doilie (love those!) and a mini clothespin with a little pink felt heart.

For this one I covered the large chipboard heart with pp, added the doilie, button and button twine, and another mini clothes pin with the blue felt flower.

Thank you for checking out my DT reveal. This was such a fun line to work with. And thank you especially to Joanne and Carolyn for this lovely DT kit and for the opportunity to be on the TSF Design Team.

Adore Banner

Here is the banner I made with my We R Memory Keepers "Love Struck" DT kit. I have been pretty crazy about banners lately and these colours were just so cheerful, I thought it would make a great addition to my craft room. I crimped the banner bases for some added texture. The letters are Basic Grey chipboard that I coloured with paints and Tattered Angels mists.

And here are some detail shots so you can see each letter.









Thanks for looking! I can't wait to hang this colourful banner on my craft room wall!
Stay tuned for the last installment of this DT reveal...I made a couple of anniversary cards.

Our Story

And here is the fourth layout I did with my We R Memory Keepers "Love Struck" DT kit. These are more photos of the various wineries we visited in the Barossa Valley in South Australia.

There were so many patterns to use here, so I decided to make a bit of a quilt block look and stitched around each one with wool for interest.

I also fussy cut some of the heart/branches and popped them up.



I am in love with my Dienamics dies right now, especially the butterflies and clouds. So I cut out some clouds out of the patterned paper as well as a butterfly out of some fabric. The Dienamics cut fabric so nicely with a shim or two of cs!


Thanks again for looking! Stay tuned for a banner tomorrow!!

Everyday is Valentines

Here's another layout made with We R Memory Keepers "Love Struck." I knew I wouldn't have any actual Valentines photos, but I wanted to use the letters in a banner. A popular saying around our house is "every day is like Valentines Day." This is a photo from our wine tour in the Barossa Valley in South Australia last summer. All the Shiraz I could drink? Now that was like Valentines for sure!

I added some eyelet trim, ric rac and wool for stitching. Also the chipboard letters are Fancy Pants and the alpha stickers are MLS.

I strung the banner with some of Dee's gorgeous seam binding. And I made an accordion flower and topped it with two of my mom's crochet flowers. And yes Avril, next time I see you I will bring you some!!

Thanks for looking! And stay tuned for another layout and a banner I made with this line!

Manly Beach

Here is another layout created with the We R Memory Keepers "Love Struck" line. I knew the bright colours would really go well with the big blue Aussie skies at Manly Beach. Clearly I tried to do a self-portrait, but my arms are not quite long enough! Love that photo though; so much fun.

I misted the Maya Road chipboard key and lock.

I thought it might look cool to create a border using the negatives of some Dienamics butterfly cutouts. I crimped the strip and popped it up over some of the patterned paper.

I still have lots of things to reveal with this DT package. Though I am very sad to report that this will be my last TSF DT work. Thanks ladies for a wonderful opportunity. It was a fun ride!

Design Team Reveal

I know it has been a couple of months since I have had any TSF design team work to show you! So I am really happy to reveal some projects I created with this package of product featuring We R Memory Keepers "Love Struck" line. I also received some Maya Road chipboard elements and polka dot ribbon.

I knew this line would work perfectly with photos of our trip to Australia last summer. What's the connection you ask? Well, I LOVE Australia and of course I love the guy who planned this trip for me and the dear dear friend we went to visit.

Charlotte and I have been friends for 20 years, since our grad school days. This is the second time we visited her Down Under. When I saw the chipboard element "Friends Forever," I knew it would work perfectly on a page featuring such a special friend. And, in one of those twists of fate, today is Char's birthday!! These are photos from our afternoon at Manly beach.

I covered one of the chipboard hearts with pp, and added one of my mom's beautiful crochet flowers.

A little cluster with a banner and a cloud seemed perfect here.




And I fussy cut out some of the floral elements and added them along the bottom.



I've got lots more to show you so please stay tuned.

Happy Birthday Char and thanks for a wonderful trip!!

Dress Form Pin Cushion

Happy Monday! I have a very special project to show you today. And no, I DID NOT make it.

My very talented friend Avril posted a fabulous project a few months back, a dress form pin cushion. You can see her simply gorgeous sample and tutorial here.

My mom is such a wonderful sewer and loves all sorts of things like this. So when I showed her Avril's blog post, she offered to make one for me! And here it is...


I just love it and can't wait to put it in a special spot in my craft room!

Thanks Avril for the special inspiration. And thanks mom for always making me such beautiful things!!

Valentine Blog Hop!

Are you in the mood for some scrappy love? Are you craving design inspiration for your Valentine's Day projects? What better way to 'feel the love' than to spend some time with your friends at Two Scrapbook Friends and be inspired in the process!

You will begin the hop at the Two Scrapbook Friends' Blog and travel from blog to blog leaving a comment on each one. If you comment on each blog, you will qualify to be in a draw for a special prize from Two Scrapbook Friends! Also, you will find a RED HIGHLIGHTED word on each blog which will make a phrase at the end of the Blog Hop! Once you have completed the hop to all our designers' blogs, leave a comment on the Two Scrapbook Friends' blog and email the phrase to us and we will enter your name for a second chance to win!

The hop will remain open from February 10th to February 13th at midnight (EST). Winners will be announced on February 14th in the Two Scrapbook Friends' blog. So, be sure to stop back at the Two Scrapbook Friends' blog and check to see if you are the winner of a fabulous prize from Two Scrapbook Friends.

So remember, in order to be entered to win:
1. Leave a comment on all the blogs as you go and then come back to the Two Scrapbook Friends' blog and leave a final comment there.
2. To have a second chance to win, keep track of the HIGHLIGHTED WORDS from each blog and email the phrase to 2friends@execulink.com. Put "Blog Contest" in your subject line.
3. Check back at the Two Scrapbook Friends' blog on February 14th to see if you are the winner. (Winners will not be contacted personally.)

Here are the featured blogs in our Valentine's Blog Hop:

Carolyn

Christa

Jayne

Joanne

Sharlene

Sharon (ME)

Shelby

I decided this year to make some Valentines! I haven't made those in years. Several of my friends have little girls, so I thought they would love to receive their very own Valentines in the mail. And of course I made one for my niece.

I used the We R Memory Keepers "Love Struck" line. So much fun! And I coloured a few Penny Black images.

Thanks for stopping by to check out my Valentine Day Blog Hop post! I hope you liked my Valentine cards.

And I hope Niamh, Abigail, Jennifer and Kylie enjoy them too!

Your special word for the Blog Hop is...

IS

Good luck and enjoy the rest of the hop!

Our Flying Adventure-- Twine Challlenge

It's time for another Crafty Challenge over at TSF!

Do you love twine as much as I do? My challenge for you this week is to show us all the great ways to use twine on a layout, card or other crafty project.

Here's a layout of our flight from Fort Myers to Key West in Florida last Christmas. Look how tiny that plane is! It was kind of scary, but my hubby, who got to sit next to the pilot, thought it was fascinating.

I tied some Doodlebug baker's twine around one of my photos. Plus I dug in my beading stash for some hemp cord and tied it around one of my title letters.

These papers are from Basic Grey. The bling is Doodlebug and Basic Grey and the mini alpha stickers are My Little Shoebox. I used several Tattered Angels mists on my layout too. My girlfriend Tina gave me all these products for my birthday and I was so happy to get to work with them!

Here are some detail shots.







Remember to check out the forum for all our challenges and post your projects there and in the gallery for everyone to admire.

I hope you can play along and I can't wait to see all the twine on your projects!

My First Sketch

Over at TSF we are now creating our own sketches! Kind of scary. This is what I came up with.

It is my very very first attempt at making my own sketch. It is hand drawn, but you still get the idea!

Here is my layout using my sketch as inspiration. These photos are from our wine tour in South Australia. I tore some edges for interest, added a Dienamics doilie, along with some Prima and BoBunny flowers. The papers are Scenic Route, 7 Gypsies and Echo Park. And the title is American Crafts vinyl Thickers.

Here you can see some details. Isn't that sign funny?? I guess they must have problems with the tourists driving on the "wrong" side of the road.



Thanks for checking out my first sketch! The TSF blog and forum have more details on how to join in on this challenge!