Inspired By...

Sometimes I know I want to create a layout on certain subject but I need a little inspiration on which direction that layout should take. Thanks to Jennifer McGuire's post featuring her 2009 Christmas card, I found the jumping off point I needed to create a layout about my Christmas tree. (You can see her fabulous card here: http://jennifermcguireink.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/12/merry-christmas.html). Here's my layout:

The layout showcases a family picture taken in front of our tree (something that we haven't gotten around to in the last few years) plus pictures of a few of my favorite or newest ornaments. I have 400+ ornaments so it was hard to choose which ornaments to choose, but the few I selected include the antique tree topper I received from my dear friend, Barbara; the newly acquired ball from Sequoia National Forest; the quilted ornament made lovingly by my niece, Jennifer; a bear decked out in headphones which reminds me of how Mark entered and exited a hotel the year he got an i-pod; Melissa's baby shoe which I spray painted gold thanks to a Martha Stewart tip; and the beehive ornament which replaced the honeybee ornament that shattered the year our tree fell. (Melissa's name means honeybee.)

To create the layout, i first cut out paper scraps with various size punches. I used a different pattern for each size punch so that I would know what punch to use when I ultimately swapped out the scrap for the photo. I created the ornaments from patterned paper and embellishments. Once the tree was completed, I filled in some of the paper with bling and rub-on stars.

I grounded the tree with the 2009 tree base that I cut using my Cricut and a line of journaling which reads: Our ornaments and the memories they hold make our tree perfect every year. The irony of this statement was that I didn't like this tree when we first brought it into the house. It really did become the perfect tree once the ornaments were on it!

Just a note for my scrappy friends: Kathy at The Daily Marker has some fabulous blog candy up for grabs. You can check out the offering and her fabulous creations at: http://thedailymarker.blogspot.com/2010/01/my-blog-candy-giveaway.html.

Supplies

Card stock: American Crafts

Patterned Paper and Stickers: Me and My Big Ideas (Noel)

Brad & Rub-ons: K Company (Christmas Cheer)

Bling: (Michael's)

Tools: Punches (Stampin' Up! assorted circles); Nestabilities (Classic Circles Small and Classic Scallop Circles Large); Cricut Cartridge (Graphically Speaking)

Pen: Stampin Up! (Always Artichoke)

Celebrate...and a Toot!

I have quick post tonight to share a card I made for my sister for her birthday. The inspiration for this card came from a Christmas card I received this year. I loved the idea so much, but I didn't want to wait for next year to make it so instead of a holiday sentiment, I used a birthday sentiment. Here it is:

To create the grove of trees, I inked my stamp up and stamped the image three times so that each image was lighter than the one before it. I did this step two times. To create the snow, I took the "leaf" image and stamped with Versa Mark ink and topped it with white, sparkly embossing powder. I also embossed the sentiment so that it sparkled too.

Now for the toot! My year is ending on a high note. Remember my "Money Doesn't Grow On Trees" card from this post which I created for the Hero Arts Cards That Give Challenge? (See this post: http://eterno-lyyours.blogspot.com/2009/12/money-doesnt-grow-on-trees.html. Well, I just found out today that I am the "fresh face" winner! You can see my card and all of the other winners on the Hero Arts blog. Here's a link: http://heroarts.com/blogs/club/2009/12/31/cards-that-give-challenge-winners/ . Well maybe money doesn't grow on trees but rubber stamps do! I can't wait to go on my Hero Arts spending spree!

Wishing all of you a happy and healthy 2010!

Supplies:

Card Stock: Stampin' Up! (Whisper White); American Crafts (red).

Stamps: Stampin' Up (Branching Out); Technique Tuesday (Everyday Words by Ali Edwards)

Ink: Ranger (Jet Black0; Versa Mark

Embossing Powder: Stampendous (Sterling Silver); Ranger (Bridal)

Ribbon: Celebrate It

Money Doesn't Grow On Trees!

Or does it?

I was inspired to create this card to hold or incorporate a gift (in this case, money) for a challenge over at the Hero Arts blog. You can go here (http://heroarts.com/blogs/club/2009/12/16/who-said-money-doesnt-grow-on-trees/) to read the original post and to get some great inspiration from Jennifer McGuire.

To create my card, I stamped the card base with VersaMark ink and then heat embossed with white embossing powder. After stamping the snowflakes and adding a little sparkle to the center of each with Stickles, I stamped the branch onto the blue diecut. I then folded my $20 bill in thirds and rolled it. I secured one end with a paper clip and the other with a piece of twine. Please note that no $20 bills were harmed in the making of this card. LOL! To finish off the card, I paper pieced the owls and affixed my wise "sweatered" friend on pop dots to add dimension.

These cards were a big hit on Christmas Day!

I have to say that this is the first time I have used Hero Arts acrylic stamps and I am now a huge fan! They inked up just as well as rubber stamps and they didn't require and conditioning. Like Technique Tuesday stamps, they are a high quality stamp made right here in the U.S.A.!

Supplies

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! (Kraft, Brocade Blue, Whisper White)

Stamps: Hero Arts (Designer Woodgrain, Owl Christmas)

Ink: Ranger (Jet Black); Stampin' Up! (Whisper White, Handsome Hunter); Technique Tuesday (Lava); VersaMark.

Markers: Stampin' UP! (Chocolate Brown, So Saffron)

Embossing Powder: American Crafts Zing (White)

Misc: Distress Stickles (Rock Candy); Bling (Recollections)

Tools: Cuttlebug, Spellbinders Nestabilities (Labels 1)

Brace Yourself

I think I may have mentioned that I am not a chronological scrapper. I scrap whatever inspires me at the moment. Sometimes it's new pictures, sometimes it's old pictures, sometimes it's the paper or embellishments that inspire me. Well, when Mark had his braces put on 16 months ago, I knew that I wanted to capture that moment a scrap page.I even bought the brace smile embellishment in preparation for the page. Mark was reluctant to have me take his picture at first and I thought, "There goes my scrapbook page." Thankfully, his curiosity won out and I got my pictures after all. I finally got around to working on the layout at the beginning of the summer and now, in celebration of his braces coming off (two months early!!!), I'm sharing the page. (Don't know what it is about cream backgrounds, but I had trouble photographing it).Here it is:

The journaling, which is a continuation of the title, reads "...for wires, rubber bands and monthly visits to Dr. Widman's office."

Here's a close-up. The background paper is actually a tone-on-tone paper from Basic Grey's Boxer collection

I added the priceless tag to a bar code that I cut using my Cricut and the Graphically Speaking cartridge. Finding the "60 watt smile" embellishment in Michael's when they had all of the K&Company embellishments on clearance this summer was just a bonus!

Supplies:
Patterned Paper, rub-ons, cardboard stickers: Basic Grey (Boxer).

Die-cut: Cricut (Lyrical Letters; Graphically Speaking).

Embellishments: K&Company adhesive chipboard (Wild Saffron); Colorbok Woven labels (Inspiration); Jolee's Dimensional Stickers (Braces); Making Memories brads

Ink: Color Box Chalk (Creamy Brown).

Punch: Stampin' Up! (Photo Corners).

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have a quick post to share with you tonight as I wait for my Apple Crumb Cake to finish baking in the oven. Last weekend, I felt crafty but with my scraproom literally spread out on the dining room table as Sal worked to finish up our office renovation, I just didn't have the space to scrapbook. So, inspired by a challenge over on the Hero Arts blog, I created Thanksgiving place cards out of scraps and trimmings. So glad I did because I haven't had a spare moment since. Here is my place card:

I cut out and embossed the basic shape using my Cuttlebug and the largest shape from Nestabilities' Label 1. (My arm got quite a workout since we will be 12 for Thanksgiving dinner. LOL!) Next, I stamped the wood grain image and used distress ink to fill in the background. On the rust scrap, I used stamped the Dots & Flowers backgroundwith Versamark ink, sprinkled with clear embossing powder and heat embossed before punching out the flower shape. I punched out the leaves as well as the scallops on the stripe paper, assembled and added to the main place card with pop dots. I can't wait to see how they look on my table!

Hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving.

Supplies: Card stock: Stampin' Up!. Patterned Paper: Memory Makers (Autumn Splendor). Stamps: Hero Arts (Designer Woodgrain; Dots & Flowers). Ink: Stampin' Up!; Tim Holtz Distress Ink. Punches: Stampin' Up! (Scallop); Martha Stewart (leaf); EK Success (flower). Diecut: Spellbinders (Nestabilities Labels 1); Button and twine from stash.

Once in a Century!

So what were you doing on July 8, 2009 at 10:11 a.m.? While reading various blogs this past summer, I saw a lot of scrappers preparing pages for this once-in-a-lifetime moment and decided to join in the fun. After all, what better way was there for me to tell the story of what Mark and Melissa did this past summer. So I took pictures (well actually I had Mark and Melissa reenact the moment) but sadly didn't get to the layout for a while. Finally, here's my layout called "07-08-09 @ 10:11":

First, can I just say that having a title with all numbers is a great way to use up some of your sticker stash. LOL!

Here are some details about the layout. I knew that I wanted to journal on this layout but I didn't want a strong journaling block so instead, I used the Jenni Bowlin tickets. The journaling reads: "It only happens once each century. Melissa was at field hockey camp & Mark was training for East Meadow High Cross Country."

I added texture to the layout by running the blue medallion paper through my Cuttlebug using a Swiss Dot embossing folder. I then lightly sanded the paper to make the dots pop. I used the Pink Paislee arrow sticker and added a Making Memories tiny alpha "w" to mark that this date happened on a Wednesday. I then added more tiny alphas to the top of the arrow to create my "Where Were You?" subtitle.

I added doodled rub-ons and some lines with a white gel pen to add a little touch of whimsy.

My visual triangle was completed by the "LIVE" Bingo card. I was thrilled that numbers 7 through 11 were on the card so I highlighted them with a stamp as if I was playing Bingo!

Melissa pointed out to me that I could do another layout like this next year on August 9th at 11:12 a.m. I just might do that!

Supplies

Patterned Paper: Pink Paislee (Captivating); Basic Grey (Recess)

Stamps: Technique Tuesday (Rounds Medium) -- back used to stamp Bingo card

Ink: Stampin' Up!; White Signo pen

Chipboard: Basic Grey (Offbeat)

Stickers: Pink Paislee (Captivating and Enchanting); Making Memories (Chloe's Closet Tiny Alphas)

Embellishements: Pink Paislee flower; Jenni Bowlin tickets and Bingo card;

Rub-ons: K&Company (Urban Rhapsody)

Tools: Cuttlebug (Swiss Dot embossing folder)

Discover

My computer crashed. Yes, we saw the dreaded blue screen that signifies the death of all things Dell. And, although Sal has been able to perform CPR in the past, this time our hard drive could not be saved. For me, being without the Internet is almost as bad as being without chocolate or reality tv. But, I'm finally back, typing on a new keyboard and seeing the world on a wide-screen monitor.

Since you've had to wait for nearly a month for a post, I thought I would start with one of my favorite new layouts. Did you ever have a day where everything just went right? Well that's how I felt about creating this layout. It didn't hurt to have adorable pictures of my grandnephew for the subject. And, a recently organized scrap space (which was necessitated by excessive shopping at CKC) meant that so many embellishments found their way to the page instead of staying hidden in a bag for months until the glue on this layout had dried and I could declare, "This would have been perfect, if I just had remembered that I bought it!" LOL! Anyway, here is my layout.

I am so proud of myself for using five (you can count them!) different patterned papers and on this layout. (for those of you who are counting, the green dot is actually part a stripe on the ruler paper.) Talk about using up my stash!

Okay. Let me walk you through the layout. I featured papers and embellishments from the Chloe's Closet line from Making Memories which I had scored on clearance at Michael's this summer. I inked the edges of the papers on my main photo block. I made my own custom die-cut piece by tracing the scalloped edge of another piece of patterned paper which didn't match my layout onto the blue grid paper. I then added a subhead using tiny alphas.

Next, I cut out my title using my Cricut. For extra texture, I "pleated" my ribbon using staples to hold down the first fold and glue dots to hold down the top one.

I wanted to to emphasize Thomas' age (5 months) with the ruler paper. After a few trials and a little help from a friend, I punched the number five out of the paper, glued it on a button and affixed that to the center of my flower. My adoration of the Martha Stewart butterfly punch continues, but I wanted to change it up a bit. I had some floss left on my craft table from another project so I wrapped that around the butterfly to form the body and antennae. Oh, and one more thing for you to notice: I used my Janome Sew Mini on a layout for the first time. I love the extra texture the stitches give to the layout!

To finish up my visual triangle, I added a cluster of flowers and and chipboard buttons, the date, a stick pin with beads and, for a touch of whimsy, the acetate frog.

Supplies: Cardstock: American Crafts; Patterned Paper, buttons, flowers, stickers: Making Memories (Chloe's Closet); Punches: Stampin Up! Circle and Scallop; Chipboard: K&Company (Wild Saffron); Acetate frog: Colorbok (Friendly Forest); Paper Pin: Around the Block; Ink: Colorbox chalk ink; misc beads from stash.