Are you sick of wedding stuff?? A Memory Box

Well bloggers, one more week to go until my friend's wedding and this is the gift I made for her bridal shower. She was so appreciative to receive it and called me later that night crying. I thought something was wrong until I heard "memory box" and "this is the most thoughtful gift....". She was so cute and emotional, and I think the reality of marriage is setting in. She has chosen a wonderful mate and I can't wait to give my Matron of Honour speech to tell them just how much I love them together.

For the Memory Box, I went to a cigar store in Yorkville in Toronto, and picked up a used cigar box for $2.00. Otherwise, they would just throw them out. She would appreciate this as she is an avid recycler! I covered it with paper that we used for some of her wedding invites, an embroidered "K" I found at Fabricland, and Prima Crystals. I also covered the sides with Bazzill Bling cardstock, Prima velvet ribbon, and a Melissa Frances keyhole.

For the inside items, I made an envelope for the many things brides do not want to forget such as, Our Wedding Vows, Our Favourite Photos, Marriage Documents, RSVP, Our Invitation, etc... I can still add more if she comes up with something else. I created the words in Photoshop and printed them directly on the envelopes.

I also made he a little trinket box for whatever will fit in it! I put a nice gift card inside for a lingerie store. ;)

Hope you can find some great tidbits from this and create a cherished gift for a friend.

Many blessings.

A Baby Shower for Jen!

Yesterday, I went to a lovely shower for my friend Jennifer, who is due with her baby one week before mine!

For some scrappy goodness, I found these envelopes on sale (4 x 9.5) and in a wonderful lime green, and used that as a starting point for my card. I also got Jen Burt's Bee's Baby Soap (which I highly recommend for a gentle soap for babies). Thinking of a new set I got from Cornish Heritage Farms, "Sweet Bee", the concept for this card all came together.

Supplies:

Stamps: Cornish Heritage Farms (Sweet Bee and Vintage Text Scrapblock)

Frame: Tattered Angels - LOVE THESE!

Adhesive: Glossy Accents

Lace Ribbon: K & Company

Ink: Ranger and Tsukineko

Paper: Basic Grey and Prism Simply Smooth

Dies: Spellbinders

Markers: Copic

Cheerio! Off to a BRIDAL SHOWER.....I'll have to post the memory box I made for my friend Vicky - very scrappy and very practical!

More Wedding Favours!

I have never made so many cards as I have in the last 2 months! I think the count is over 200! For nice and practical giveways for my friend's bridal shower, I made these cards, and will give them away in sets of 2 complete with envelopes! I sanded this cardstock paper from American Traditional Crafts that I picked up at Winners a year ago! I love using all my old stash to do fun projects like this.

Stamps: Cornish Heritage Farms (Key Elements and Sweet Bee, and Vintage Text Scrapblock, Script Essential Expressions)
Frames: Tattered Angels
Dies: Spellbinders

More Wedding Goodies!

I am hosting a shower next week for my friend Victoria, and I thought I would share these favours I made for the special occasion. Inside is a lovely quote and 3 magnets (2 lady bugs and a heart). I just LOVE how they turned out, and it was so easy to put together. The paper is from Graphic 45. One piece of paper covered 6 tins, inside and out.

Supplies:

Stamp: Cornish Heritage Farms (Wedding Centers)

Paper: Graphic 45

Flowers: Prima

Ink: Staz-on by Tsukineko

Brads: Making Memories

Have a great Monday! I'll have more favours to share with you tomorrow! Card sets!

Darkroom Door Cards

So last year, I found Darkroom Door, a cool rubber stamp and photo chip company in Australia, and I bought some stamps, and more recently, won some photochips to play with! Here is what I came up with. If you haven't seen this company before, go check them out, and shipping to Canada is REALLY reasonable and worth it.

Stamp used above: Venetian Vol 1 Collection by Darkroom Door

Stamps used above:

- Journey from Venetian Vol 1 by Darkroom Door

- Postcard stamps from "Key Elements" by Cornish Heritage Farms

Photochip:

-Prague Collection by Darkroom Door (Broken China Distress Ink applied to the B & W Photochip)

Creating My 2009 Album

This year is going to be a big year for our family, and I want to start creating annual albums to remember all the special things that happened. I'll get the kids to help me too!

I used Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist and a Tattered Angels album to create the front, butterfly wings, and to colour the ribbons/lace. Since I had no coordinating ribbon, I took a white strip and sprayed it with Lime Twist, Wild Currant, and Patina Glimmer Mists to match the album cover.

Cover Directions:

1. Sprayed with Lime Twist first, then hints of Patina (blue).
2. Took green Staz-on pad and pressed directly onto the cover to distress it.
3. Placed Glimmer Glass onto the front as a mask, and then Wild Currant isolated in the corner. Moved the Glass over slightly and glued down.
4. Stamped a 6x6 CHF Vintage Text stamp with same green ink.
5. Rubbed the edges with green ink.
6. Went around butterfly with green stickles by Ranger.
7. Stamped Explore (Darkroom Door - Venetian Vol 1).

You can see the Glimmer Mist on the ribbon/lace. What an easy and beautiful solution!
This is Glimmer Glass below, inked with Teal Blue Staz-on on the back, and a little on the front to distress it. I also stamped Vintage Text by CHF all over the cover, with Green Staz-on.

Only 4 more months left in 2009! Yikes, I better start using this to document the first 8. Time flies! Thanks for looking.

My Little Vintage Sophie

FINALLY! I scrapbooked! Lately, I have enjoyed shopping for items at my LSS, as I had to spend my earnings from an April garage sale. But buying and storing stuff is not ideal. I am so happy I scrapped for me today. I needed some time to myself and was thankful to get it tonight. I used my new CHF stamp (Vintage Text) to create the background for this layout and some Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist.

Supplies:

Cornish Heritage Farms Stamps:
-Vintage Text Scrapblock
-Ornamental Beauty - Rummage Bin (round quote)
-ATC Key Elements (key hole and Antique)

Chipboard: Heidi Swapp & Basic Grey
Spray: Tattered Angels Creme do Chocolat
Ink: Tsukineko
Photo Anchor: 7 Gypsies
Crochet Flower: Maya Road
Brads: Basic Grey and Kaiser
Dried Flower: Prima
Cardstock: Bazzill
Ledger Paper: Making Memories
Red Letter Rub-ons: Jenni Bowlin
Sticker Letters: American Crafts
Patterned Paper (Teddy): Graphic 45

Thanks for stopping by!

It's Been a LONG Time....

since I blogged! Well, I do have some excuses, one being that I just finished helping my friend Victoria make 112 wedding invitations and here they are!!! Mine came in the mail today. Each card is 6x6, and we designed it together. The inside was printed on Bazzill wedding paper, pearl (had to let the ink dry for 2 days!). The front paper is Basic Grey, and the K is printed onto distressed Basic Grey paper, then treated with Glossy Accents by Ranger. It looks embossed, and is a pretty cool idea (if I do say so myself)!

Many thanks for stopping by. I am off to put the kids to bed and I just might go myself!

Wedding Center Pieces - Homemade!

For my friend Lisa's wedding, we put together these photo frames (accordian style) with some Chatterbox embossed paper, cardstock and the use of LOTS of glue and Spellbinders Nestabilities. We made 13 in all, and it took us a while, but we were both happy in the end. They looked wonderful as center pieces and each contained 10 different pictures of the happily wedded couple and their daughter.

Here we are making them (that's Lisa):

Here is a close-up, you can see the frame and the picture is embedded in between the cardstock:

Here is the table list I put together, made with wrapping paper, cardstock, ribbon, buttons, and Prima flowers:

Here is the whole thing - PS - it was the floor and table that were slanted, not the board!

Here is a blurry shot of me and my hubby at the wedding:
Here are me and my girlfriends, all from high school! Fifteen years later and we still hang out - I love that:

Thanks for popping in!

Lisa's Scrap Shack Challenge #4

For our next challenge over at the Shack, we were asked to create a summer layout and I was just waiting for a perfect opportunity to showcase this moment where my son surprised me by getting up on a boogie board behind a speedboat with his friend Jonah.

Most supplies are available at Lisa's Scrap Shack and links are provided. :) I am hoping that you are creating wonderful summer memories this year.

Boys of Summer:
We R Memory Keepers Papers (MVP)
Fancy Pants Papers (Whimsy) and Fancy Pants (Delight)

Staz-On Cotton White
Jillibean Soup Paper

Summer Gift Box:
Bo Bunny Papers - Calypso Collection
Jillibean Soup Paper
Felties by Sassafras Lass
Basic Grey Brads

I am back with some stamping!

I finally took out some new stamps and started playing yesterday. Julia Stainton was kind enough to share one of her new sets with me from Cornish Heritage Farms, called Ornamental Beauty and I couldn't stop at making one card, I had to make two! These are very classy stamps!

Stamps:
- floral stamp, love from Ornamental Beauty (Rummage Bin) by Cornish Heritage Farms

Other:
Prima Flower
Basic Grey Paper
Prism Cardstock
Copic Markers
Memento Ink

Stamps:
-flourish, round quote, and U from Ornamental Beauty (Rummage Bin) by Cornish Heritage Farms

Other:
Basic Grey Paper
Prism Cardstock
Copic Markers
Memento Ink

Man, I am TIRED. It has been three days now in the sun, doing various activities such as the Wave Pool and Mini-Putting, and tonight, I have volleyball. I think I need a nap.

See ya!

Silly Boys - FOR SURE!

What a bunch of silly boys. I think however, they might have been put up to it for the sake of the picture! My sister, the photographer likes to use lots of props and then gets her subjects to do CRAZY things. I think the craziest one I did was to get down to (next to) nothing for a pregnancy shot! NO ONE will ever see those pictures, but they were totally tasteful, only the belly really showing.

The layout above is the outcome of a challenge from The Scrapping Turtle in cute St. Jacob's Ontario. Every month, they have a Mystery Kit Challenge, where you buy a kit for $8.99 (guessing), and you have no idea what's in it. You have to use a bit of everything and upload it to the gallery. What a neat idea! I also happened to adore the contents of the kit.

Bye for now.

Vacation is Here!!!

That means more play time for me! We did have a busy Saturday with a ballet recital, gymnastics, playing in the sprinkler, filling our little pool in the back, and yet, I still had time to play too. I still have to clean up my mess, but for now, I would love to share what I made over the last couple of days and today with my goodie box from Lisa's Scrap Shack.

Grocery List Clipboard:
I love this project! I used Bo Bunny papers, and lots of glue, and sealed it with 3 coats of spray sealer. In real life, it has a shiny gloss to it. If my husband thinks it's an OK idea, I think I'll hook this on a nail in the kitchen.

Supplies available at Lisa's Scrap Shack
Bo Bunny Patterned Papers - Calypso
Fiskars Punch - Treading Water
Red Cardstock
Dew Drop Inks

Other:
Spray Sealer
Ribbons
Dymo Label Maker
Clipboard (Dollarama)

Card and Gift Card Box:

I am calling this my Baby Animals Duo, card and gift card box. I had a lot of fun with this one. I took a used gift box and just covered it with the new Imaginisce papers - Wild Thing. I think I will do more of these little sets, it does help use up scraps! Waste not want not. :)

Supplies Available at Lisa's Scrap Shack

Imaginisce Papers - Wild Things

Cardstock

Ink - Tsukineko

Other:

Sentiment Stamps from Cornish Heritage Farms (Kim Hughes Collection)

Twill & Trim

Box

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Lisa's Scrap Shack Challenge #3

We celebrated Father's Day this year with my Dad and my husband, along with my celebrating my sister's year long educational leave to Australia. She leaves today for teacher's college!

The challenge for Lisa's was to create a Father's Day page with an focus on stamping. I pulled out my Cherry Arte Impressions Calendar to make the calendar, the criss cross stitches (made with an x, and the line to create a little frame in the bottom corner. The DADS was stamped with an older Making Memories foam stamp set that was one of my first scrapbooking purchases! EVER!

I adore these new Jillibean Soup papers! What fun! Most of the colourful cut outs are Jillibean Soup. I pulled out my Distress Inks for this one too.

Oh and look at that cute caterpillar feltie from Sassafras Lass! Those felties are so sweet!


Supplies from Lisa's Scrap Shack:

Cherry Arte Stamp Set
Bo Bunny Paper -Calypso Cut Out Sheet
Jillibean Soup Papers - Cream of Mushroom (Morel Kraft, Shittake), Minestrone (Olive Oil)
Sassafrass Lass Felties

Lisa's Wedding and My Deer

My friend Lisa got married this past weekend and this was my favourite photo, a moment during the wedding where there was something funny happening. I can't remember what, but Lisa couldn't help flashing us all her gorgeous smile. She was a BEAUTIFUL bride. That person beside her is her wonderful husband Sam. Congrats guys!



And now for some paper crafts. Below is a card I made while at the Crop for the Cure earlier this June. I picked up the deer Snag' Em stamp by Imaginisce at Lisa's Scrap Shack.

Supplies:

Paper: Prima

Stamp: Imaginisce

Markers: Copic

Ribbon: American Crafts

Ink: Memento Ink by Tsukineko

Flowers: Prima

Brads: Making Memories

Sticker: Basic Grey

Dies: Spellbinders

Lisa's Scrap Shack Challenge #2

Good morning folks!

Lisa from Lisa's Scrap Shack handed us girls on the design team a new challenge and here it is!

Challenge 2 : Its all in the color: Create a Monochromatic project.

Seems like an easy project, but this one was so hard for me! I found it very hard to stick to one colour scheme. You may notice I cheated a tiny little bit by adding some patterned paper that has a dab of pink in it. Forgive me - I couldn't help myself.

Supplies from Lisa's:

Flowers: Petaloo Box Blends - Blue and Teal (green flowers)

Paper: We R Memory Keepers - Tiffany's

Paper: Prima (Mommy & Me)

Paper: Fancy Pants (Whimsy)

Rub-ons: We R Memory Keepers - Rub On’s - Tiffany’s Color

Dream My Little One....

I just adore this image by Sugar Nellie, she is just so sweet and reminds me of my little girl. With stamped images, we are so lucky that we can change up the colour to suit our card, the patterned paper, and the mood. My little girl below is dreaming. :)

Copic Markers can be found at Lisa's Scrap Shack, $3.99 for the Ciao and $5.99 for the sketch.

TIP: To get that nice surrounding shadow, use a Copic 000 marker (very light shade) and then go over the edges with the blender pen. It will eat away at the light colour and make the shadow varied.

Supplies:

Paper and Brads: Basic Grey
Markers: Copic
Ribbon: Misc.
Dies: Spellbinders (Lisa's Scrap Shack)

Angel Anya

It has been a while since I last posted, but I have an excuse! I was in sunny Los Angeles...but mainly for work. I was able to visit Hollywood and Universal Studios which was pretty cool. If I ever went back to California, I would probably go to San Francisco and then drive south. :) Downtown LA is really lacking in personality, but the metro system is awesome, so easy to get around, and for a $1.25 one way!!! Love that.

Back to cards and colouring and all that fun stuff. Here is a card I made for fun, just to use this cute stamp from the Greeting Farm (Angel Anya). Isn't she adorable! I drew the cloud myself - I know - I'm such a talented illustrator!
Have a great day!

Making Some Vintage Style Jewelry

Here is a little bit of what I've been up to. I went on a bead kick a while back and I had the urge to pull out the tools and "fix" a necklace I had made before and wasn't happy with. It is so EASY to make your own jewelry! It always looked so hard, but it's really not. Some of the stuff I've made I would not wear, but I would actually wear this one.

Beads and Chain: Blue Moon Beads

Happy Mother's Day

Today, I woke up to a wonderful homemade breakfast care of my special husband and children. But this is quite usual, as my hubby likes to take care of us in this way. I am one lucky woman.

To all the other mothers out there, Happy Mother's Day!

I am sharing a layout I created about me! What a surprise....I don't think I've ever really done this or done it well. First off, I have a hard time finding an image of myself....I am the camera person in my house, so there are plenty of images of everyone else, none of me. This picture was taken last year at ScrapFest during a class with Jenn Star.

This layout also came out of a challenge given to the Lisa's Scrap Shack Team.

CHALLENGE:

Design a project that represents you. Use colors and patterns that express your personality and express you best.

I hope that what you see in this layout can give you some insight into who I am, not only by the journaling, but the messy, layered, distressed elements presented. My favourite colours are throughout, blue, chocolate brown and pink.

SUPPLIES FROM LISA'S SCRAP SHACK:

Paper: Bo-Bunny - Love Shack - Funky

Paper: Fancy Pants - Delight - Thoughtful

Paper: WRMK - Tiffany's

Flowers: Petaloo Box Blends - Blue and Teal (brown flowers)

Flowers: Prima - Artful Collage - Raphael

Rub-ons: WRMK - Rub On’s - Tiffany’s Color

Markers: Copic

Bye for now. :)

Hello....My First Stamping Bella

At ScrapFest this year, I was so happy to find some Stamping Bella stamps that I have been admiring for some time. Here is my first Stamping Bella card! It is called Happy Neighborhood. I pulled out my Copics to make it all nice and colourful. :)

Supplies:

Stamps - Stamping Bella (Happy Neighborhood), Sentiment from Cornish Heritage Farms (hello - Kim Hughes)

Markers - Copic

Corner Rounder Punch

From Lisa's Scrap Shack:

Paper - Fancy Pants (Delight Collection)

Rub-ons - WRMK (Tiffany's)

Well...I am off to attend to Mom duties. Have a wonderful beginning to the week.

A Box Came This Week....

....from Lisa's Scrap Shack. This time, there were extra goodies for me to play with c/o Lisa which was exciting. I played with this adorable Prima Marketing Inc. paper to make a quick and easy card for a friend.

Imagine, a card using only one little stamp! How easy! This paper lends itself well to a card that creates a cute scene just by cutting a strip.

Supplies from Lisa's Scrap Shack:

Paper: Prima Marketing (My Mommy and Me), WRMK (Blue)

The card below also came together quite nicely by using a rub-on ice cream cone for the main focus. And it looks so yummy! I went around the edges with a light blue Copic marker, then again with the blender pen to make the edges softer.Supplies from Lisa's Scrap Shack:

Paper: WRMK (Tiffany)
Rub-ons: Imaginisce (Summer Lovin)
Markers: Copic
Cardstock: Core'dinations Whitewash

Hope everyone enjoyed their Saturday!

More Playing with New Stuff!

Last weekend, my friend Jen and I drove to Kitchener for ScrapFest and there were so many great vendors there! I picked up some stamps from companies like The Greeting Farm, Stamping Bella, and Unity Stamp Co. The first image I wanted to stamp was this darling angel from The Greeting Farm. I just adore it! She was coloured with Copic markers and placed through the good old Cuttlebug with my Spellbinders dies.

I was also playing around with my Black Magic Core'dinations cardstock and Scor-Pal to make this triangle box and distressed flower for the top. I used a sanding block and some tearing to get at the colour core. This product is so unique!

Thanks for stopping by!

Trying New Products...

I have been working on this canvas for 2 weeks now - coming back to it, thinking about it, wondering what to add to it, what to take away. The inspiration came from my Tattered Angels shimmer mist and a brick stamp from Prima. I first designed the backdrop by spraying it with Seafoam shimmer mist and then applied the stamp with Espresso Adirondack ink. I know I wanted to use my new Prima paper and flower ensemble, and my new birdcage stamp from Basic Grey. The rest was undetermined.

What I discovered in this journey:

1. I love the Ranger acrylic paint dabbers! I used POOL colour to paint my canvas sides and to add some variation to the edges of the canvas and to the brick pattern. I also used it on the clip, on my chipboard #2, on the torn paper edges, and a little on the grungeboard flourish.
2. I like my new Basic Grey stamps (bird cages)! Although I applied Ranger Glossy Accents and it warped my paper, but in the end, I was able to bend it back in shape and pop up with foam.
3. Flower soft is versatile. It adds so much texture and can be used anywhere! I used cream coloured flower soft under a few flourishes.
4. I love Seafoam Tattered Angels Shimmer Mist and I want to spray everything!