Back Porch Memories - February Kit Reveal

See the full Kit Contents HERE at Back Porch Memories. I used the Medley Kit and loved it! Here are some of the things I was able to create using the kit.

LITTLE BIRDIE CARD SET (American Crafts Letterbox Products - All cards have little birdies on the inside to tie in the theme).

FROSTY OUR SNOWMAN (Fancy Pants Products)

LITTLE MISS SOPHIE (Basic Grey Origins Products)

BE YOU (American Crafts Products)

Thanks for looking and please do check out this kit club

I Am Such a Proud Mamma!

I left Julie, my sister to look after Will while I was out and this is what she did while I was gone! Here is her awesome blog http://www.vineimages.ca/blog/. Leave some love for her if you can. :)

Live Love Bloom

I just got these Prima flowers and they just add that pop to a page. I love the colours! I have not been stamping as much as I used to these days, but I thought I would pull out the Penny Black stamp (bottom right) and do a heat emboss resist technique. The ink is Adirondack Lettuce (one of my all-time favourite colours).

Enjoy SUPERBOWL weekend! Is anyone else excited to see the commercial ads?

Back Porch Memories - February Kits

This kit club, Back Porch Memories is pretty cool! They have 2 kits available every month, that are so completely different. Being the Guest Designer for February, I was lucky enough to work with the Medley kit, which has 3 different paper lines, that are also totally different. It allows you to create 3 - 2 page layouts that are all so unique. Here is a layout I made using the Basic Grey Origins papers, a clip, and that pop-up birdie. The frame is American Crafts Letterbox, and there is a rub-on there too from American Crafts. At $24 US per kit, it is such a great value! I am loving this kit club! Kits ship on the 15th of each month.

Happy Wednesday!

February Brings a New Kit

I have really enjoyed playing with these Jenni Bowlin papers to create some projects with Scrapbook Star's February kit. The 4x4 papers were cut down into 2x2 and I made my own patterned paper of sorts. The Valentine's Box below is quite sturdy considering it's made out of paper! It should hold some gingersnap cookies that I plan on making for my husband to bring to work.

Enjoy the rest of you Monday!

Soup.

I've had this cute stamp set (Comforting Hugs) from Cornish Heritage Farms for a while now, and just got to using it. Next time someone is feeling under the weather, they just might get this card. One of my goals this year, was to actually give my cards to family and friends when the occasion arose. So far, I have given out a few cards, so I need to keep it going.

Tip: If you have a glossy tag/sticker, stamp with Staz-on ink to ensure that it won't smudge.

Bird Watching

For Project 52 (a blog stemming from Bad Girls Kits), they have a challenge right now and I thought I would play along, because I happened to have a bird cage. Check out their blog and you'll see what I mean. My husband thought it was hideous, but my four year old, God bless her, loves it and wants it in her room. Yay! A place for my art!

Have a wonderful weekend and happy bird watching!

Lesley

A Quick Patchwork Card

I had scraps of coordinating Prima papers from a kit lying around, so I took my trusty square punch and made this quick card. I think I will do this more often to make quick cards for birthdays and thank yous. The stitches are rub-ons from Daisy d's, an older product, but I found them on sale last fall and LOVE them.

TIP: Use square scraps of coordinating papers (front and back) to make a quilted cards. Stitch with machine, use rub-ons, or hand draw.

Supplies:
Patterned Paper: Prima Marketing
Die Cut: Maya Road
Stamp: Cornish Heritage Farms
Rub-ons: Daisy d's
Cardstock: Bazzill

Cherish You Always

I used old stash on this layout, and older embellies. I have to make room for all the new CHA products being released! Companies that impressed me with new products: 7 Gypsies, Prima, Cosmo Cricket/Coredinations Cardstock, and Tattered Angels. I wish I could afford all that I know I will want, but I have to use what I have first.

Happy Monday!

What a Pain!

My daughter said she had an Owie the other day, and I thought of these stamps by Cornish Heritage Farms. I used good old and reliable Copic markers to colour them in, and then applied glossy accents to the bandages to make them look as real as possible. I tried to get that red cross symbol in the back for effect. :)

Tip: If you happen to get a smudge of ink on your nice white cardstock, take a white eraser to it to see if it will lift off. It worked for me on this project!

My First Layout of Will

For the crop tonight at Scrapbook Star (starts at 7PM), I have a challenge that goes along with our "Something New" theme. I used all my Scrapbook Star supplies to create William's first layout and I do like it. Compared to what Matthew's first layout looked like, this is pretty awesome in comparison. I certainly have come a long way in 3 years. I wonder what my hubby thought about my first scrapbook pages. I remember thinking that they were so good that I tried to sell some on Ebay. Insert laugh here. No one bought them, surprise surprise. :(

Anywho...hope you can join us tonight and this weekend for the on-line crop.

Scrapbook Star Supplies:

Cardstock: Bazzill

PP: Teresa Collins (double sided, used both sides to make the heart)

Journal Notes: Rose Moka, Jenni Bowlin

Kraft Die Cut: Maya Road

Letter Stickers: Rose Moka

Chipboard Buttons: Jenni Bowlin

Brads: Making Memories

Other: Shimmerz Spritz (Eucalyptus)

Back Porch Memories - Guest Designer for February

Last month, I entered Back Porch Memories (a kit club) Guest Designer contest based on a sketch from Becky Fleck. My layout was chosen and I am the guest designer for February. I am thrilled to pieces. You can enter for March - details are right here. Contest closes Feb 10th.

So, below is my winning entry, a layout of my sister Julie and her family. My favourite product right now, which you will see on most of my recent projects, is Maya Road's velvet ric rac ribbon. So many colours and so much soft texture. If you read below, you can see examples of how I dyed the cream colour ribbon to suit my projects.

TIP: See those orange numbers by Pink Paislee??? They were too bright initially, so I took some brown fluid chalk ink and rubbed it on top. It really toned down the bright orange. You can apply ink to any chipboard letters as long as the ink is darker than the letters. It should make a difference.

Happy scrapping!

PS: Scrapbook Star is having an on-line crop this weekend with prizes drawn randomly for people who complete challenges.

A Mother's Day Tag

Here is a Monday Mother's Day tag using some stamps from Cornish Heritage Farms. I designed the postcard stamp a while back now, as part of The Rummage Bin line. All the other supplies were on my desk, just waiting to be used. I love it when I am cleaning and happen upon elements that work nicely together.

TIP: Have a light coloured button? You can write little words on it with a permanent ink pen. See my Mother button as an example.

See you soon bloggers!

CPS Sketch #149 - My Take

Dad's birthday is coming up SOON, and I will have him over for dinner and give him this card that came together in minutes - thanks to CPS's simple sketch this week. What a great place for inspiration!

TIP: If you have chipboard that just isn't the right colour, apply a Copic marker over top to get the colour you want. The scalloped chipboard behind January was light brown and glittered. I applied a black Copic marker to make it nice and dark, so it would really pop.

Supplies:
Date - Elle's Studio (ETSY)
Paper - KaiserCraft, BoBunny
Cardstock - Kraft by Bazzill
Ink - Tsukineko
Stamp - Cornish Heritage Farms (Kim Hughes Collection - Silhouette Blooms)
Die Cut - Maya Road
Ribbon - American Crafts

More Sneak Peeks for February's Kit

This is it - this is all I will show of Scrapbook Star's February 2010 Kit. It will be a popular kit, trust me. I have already made 2 layouts, 1 altered item, and 2 cards. The papers and embellishments work so well together, that it makes it easy to put it all together.

These kits will go on sale on or about February 1, 2010.

Mhuaaa!

SUMMERTIME

Tired of winter? Of all that snow and wind chill of -30? I know I am. How about a summery card to cheer you up?

TIP: Don't have that perfect sentiment in stamps? No worries, simply print half of your sentiment with whatever font you like, and stamp the rest!

Supplies:
- Stamps by Cornish Heritage Farms (Kim Hughes Scripty Words, and Comforting Hugs)

- Doodlebug Sugar Coated Brads

- Stewart Superior Ink

- Copic Markers

-Spellbinders Nestabilities

-Coredinations, Prism Cardstock

Scrapbook Star's February Sneak Peek

Scrapbook Star has put together a REALLY lovely kit for February and I just happen to have some sneaks, one of which I'll share today. This kit could be used for those Valentine's layouts, but it totally versatile and can be used for all pages. HINT: There are no hearts and I like to bowl. :)

Stay tuned!

A Sister in Australia

I never before had a reason to make an "I Miss You" card until now. My sister is studying in Australia and will be gone for one whole year. It's much too expensive to come home even once. I had a bunch of supplies on my desk and these papers seemed to hit it off, so I married them to this card! Stamps are Cornish Heritage Farms. See that velvet ribbon - it used to be cream coloured. ;)

TIP: BUY cream velvet ribbon from Maya Road and spray it with Shimmerz Spritz or Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists to get the colour you want. I'm not sure I need to buy ribbon again!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Bazzill (Kraft)
Paper: Bo Bunny, KaiserCraft
Spray: Shimmerz Spritz, and Tattered Angels
Ribbon: Maya Road
Ink: Tsukineko, Ranger
Stamps: Cornish Heritage Farms
Brads: Making Memories
Die Cut Journal: 7 Gypsies

Happy New Year! Welcome 2010.

I am hopeful that this will be a year of personal growth and maturity. I am also hopeful that I will reach some scrappy goals. I have a few:

• Scrapbook more boy pages - I don't want my son to get a complex, (now I have 2 sons).
• Scrapbook more of my husband.
• Make sure someone takes pictures of me and scrap myself.
• Push myself in the arts (canvas, albums, paint, altered art, etc...).
• Make cards and actually give them to people!!!
• Create 100+ projects this year and keep track!
• Keep a clean scrap room.
• Use what I have, in other words, CONTROL the buying.

I am starting off on the right track as you can see here:

A scrappy page that kills 2 birds with 1 stone (scrapping my son and husband). Mark was so happy to come downstairs and see this project on my table.

Supplies:
Cardstock: Bazzill
Paper: Graphic 45, Making Memories
Spray: Shimmerz
Ribbon and Sheer Postage: Maya Road
Ink: Tsukineko
Dies: Spellbinders Nestabilities
Sticker Letters and Button: Doodlebug Inc
Chipboard Letters: Pink Paislee
Sticker Letters: Basic Grey
Journal Dies: 7 Gypsies
Felt: Prima
Other: Dymo Label Maker, Inkessentials White Pens

Many blessings to you and yours for 2010!!!

Almost 2010! Wow.

It's almost the end of the year, and I can count on one hand how many layouts I created in 2009. Shame on me. Being pregnant and working full-time though is my excuse. At the end of the day, I had little energy left to play with paper. HOWEVER } times are a changing and I am getting back into the swing of things. I will be designing for Scrapbook Star, which will be a big help in keeping me motivated to keep chugging along and creating.

Here is a layout that I did for Prima's monthly sketch contest. There are SO many amazing entries, I can tell you now that I will not be winning, but nevertheless, it's great to have some inspiration from Prima. :)

Bye for now.

It's Layout Time

This is my lovely sister Julie, isn't she beautiful! I am guessing her husband took this photo during the summer and this paper from Prima was perfect for scrapping it. I used some coordinating Copic markers to colour in the paper and the circle on the top, trying to tie the layout together. I am working on another layout, using a similar colour scheme, it's just such a nice combination, in my humble opinion.

Supplies:
Prima Paper, Felt, and Flowers
American Crafts Letters
Glitz Designs Gems
Copic Markers
Bazzill Cardstock

For the Teachers....

This year for the teachers, I handed out cookies of course! I was in the dollar store looking for containers, which were all $1.00 a piece or more, when I came across lunch bags. I thought to myself - "self - this would make great packaging and is SO stinkin' inexpensive!". So I bought a pack of 50 for $1.00 and stamped on them to dress them up for Christmas. I used a Cornish Heritage Farms 6x6 stamp (Writing Paper) which is awesomely sized for this type of project. I used it for the card too!

Card Supplies:
-7 Gypsies Gaffer Tape
-Bazzill Cardstock
-CHF Stamps
-Gelatins Sentiment Stamp
-Basic Grey Paper
-Stampin' Up! Dazzling Diamonds

Cookie Bag Supplies:
-CHF Stamps
-7 Gypsies Gaffer Tape
-Dazzling Diamonds (Stampin' Up!)

I will have more Christmas cards to show for the next few days! Till then, enjoy your shopping and paper crafting!

Christmas Packaging for Baked Goods

I adore Christmas, and I spend some time each holiday baking a mass amount of cookies. This year, I got together with 2 ladies and we probably made about 1000 cookies, if not more! I have so many to give away. These little packages above were put together for 15 stockings that our church was putting together for women coming home from the prison system.

The stamps are Kim Hughes - from Cornish Heritage Farms, and coloured with Copic Markers. The Merry Christmas was printed in advance of stamping. These packages are SO easy, you essentially make/decorate place cards (4x6 sheet folded), and staple them to the bag.

Don't ya just love this season!

Baby Cards - Christmas Cards - and Scrapbook Star

As I sit here typing, I have a 19 day old in a sling, as he refuses to be put down, unless he's sleeping. This is so unlike my other 2 babies, who were so content to be anywhere. First things first, here is our Baby Announcement cards that I just put in the mail yesterday. I made them before Will was born, but waited to get nice pictures done by Julie at Vine Images (my sister photographer in Burlington). The die cuts are Quickutz, and the fonts are printed.

Now comes all the Thank You cards. I really tried to keep it simple, and I found that using an embossed image that I could sand, gave a nice effect and looked pretty cool. :) Again, the sentiment is printed.

And now for this year's Christmas cards - I made about 40 of these, and they came together quite quickly. One night, watching TV, I used my Spellbinders to cut out all the circles. The stamps are Gel-a-tins ornaments and the sentiment is a Kim Hughes stamp by Cornish Heritage Farms. To save time, I bought pre-folded cards of all different colours, by DCWV. I found them at HomeSense for 7.99. I would do this again in a heart beat.

And for some great news - I made the design team for Scrapbook Star, an on-line shop and retail store in Montreal, Quebec, starting in January 2010. I am very exciting to be creating again on a design team - and they have monthly kits too! Being pregnant while working full-time drained me of all creativity, but now I'm pumped to get started again!

And now - time to attend to the little one.

He Finally Made It!

Here is the newest addition to our family. Eleven days late and worth the wait!

Will is by far, the chubbiest Langdon baby, beating out his siblings by a whole pound! I guess that's what an extra 11 days will do for you in utero. Everyone is happy, healthy and tired, but we are all in love with our little blessing.

Take care....