MWM Amethyst #1 and Crop Challenges!!

I was actually able to scrap EVERYTHING for the www.scrapbooksteals.com Online Crop Challenge!! I love when the SS team has their Ustream chats, both online and video. It's just so much fun to see the ladies in all their glory, as well as be jealous of some of the lovely ladies that actually get to spend time in Utah with them!!

Challenge #1: Amethyst Mid Week Mojo Sketch #1
I  got Hipstamatic's additional app that takes photo booth photos called, IncrediBooth. Gotta love anything that creates amazing photographs!! Anyway, Kristy Lee over at SS created a wonderful sketch that included photo strips! So, I got to use them!! I created a collage in Picasa, and it was super easy. I added another cute Hipstamatic photo of Miss I, and used all of my lovely Amy Tangerine AC papers and embellies!!

AC Amy Tangerine papers and embellishments, Cosmo Cricket Alphas

Challenge #2: Keepin' it Real
This photograph looks super sweet, right? Can you tell that she's actually wearing my sweatshirt, and has of course passed out? Oh yeah, this is a wonderful day of no nap, throwing stuff all over the grandparents' house, and having a potty training accident, with no extra clothes. After throwing a huge fit, she passed out in the car and we refused to go home until she woke up. Gotta love two year olds, right?

Echo Park Little Girl, Fancy Pants chipboard from my Counterfeit Kit, AC kraft, chalk inks

Challenge #3: Scrap that Stash! 
My stash is located in my back laundry/extra/spare room. I tend however, to use the kitchen table for all creating though... And boy does it need some cleaning!!

COUNTERFEIT KIT CONTENTS: Sassafras Lass papers, Foldies, Paper Whimsies, AC Thickers, MME DeLovely paper, BG Curio paper

Challenge #4: Something Old, Something New
If you've noticed, I love my Sassafras Lass papers. Now that they are no longer creating product that isn't involved with Studio Calico... I've been super hoarding my stash. This paper set was purchased in 2005-06. I remember it, because it was during one of T's first business trips. Anyway... this layout had to include Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed and/or Something Blue. The old is the paper, as is the blue in the paper and letters, and the new is our new baby that will be born in June!

Sassafras Lass Hog Heaven papers and stickers, SL flowers and In a Stitch Blooms, and SL alphas

Challenge #5: Photo Challenge for the Online Chatters Only!!
This was from the online chat. I took separate photos and created a collage. We had to include the following:

1.     2 sheets of patterned papers for each ROYGBIV (14 total)

2.     17 buttons

3.     1 photo of ourselves

4.     chipboard or letter alphas that say “I love scrapbooksteals” or "I <3 SS"

5.     1 piece of chocolate

6.     pinwheel

7.     1 pair of decorative scissors

8.     and an adhesive runner

Project 100: 65/100

Cameo Giveaway!!

I don't do this often, but there is a great giveaway of a CAMEO over at Sherry K Designs!! What I wouldn't give to have one of those in my hot little hands!

Anyway, here is the link:

Good luck all!

Going Garnet!! (www.scrapbooksteals.com MWM's)

The past few months have been lacking in the scrappy arena. I think I had to find my stride again, and just buckle down and create once again. For the last ten weeks, I've been working on completing my Mid-Week Mojo's for ScrapbookSteal's weekly MWM contest. This jewel, Garnet!! And I've finished them all!! WOOT!

AND!! Garnet's #1, 7, 8 & 9 are all using February's Counterfeit Kit that I made!! Love that darn thing!

All sketches and information are linked to the title. And in order:

Garnet #1

Garnet #2

Garnet #3

Garnet #4

 

 Garnet #5

Garnet #6

Garnet #7

Garnet #8

 Garnet #9

Garnet #10

Project 100 update:  60/100

AUTHENTIQUE: A Genuine look at Denim

Genuine by Authentique is one of the newest lines by the fabulous company. It's full of denim goodness, and lovely patterns.

For the first card, "UR Genuine", I decided to to go completely denim with my creation. I used the "Genuine, through and through..." Details sticker as my label, and created belt hoops out of the True denim paper. They aren't even glued down!! Just folded, then stitched with one stitch on the top and bottom of each. Then I frayed all of the edges to give it a more worn look, then added a jeans-type embellishment to finish off the look.

It was fun creating this card, and I really think that the belt loops are what makes this so special. I'm imagining a similar card with a jeans type pocket as a gift card holder!!

The last card was created using the Dependable paper from the Genuine collection, with a backing of True. I created a folder flower, so that both sides showed, added a stitched button and a fantastic sentiment. Totally simple, but very effective. When the flower was completed, I inked the edges to mirror the yellow tones in the paper. And of course, frayed the edges of the background paper.

The whole line is really special, and the friendship themes are just adorable.

This was totally outside of my "normal" paper choices, and I really couldn't be happier with the results.

AUTHENTIQUE PAPER: A Genuine Snow Day

Hello Authentique fans! Heather here, with a layout incorporating both the Genuine Collection, and some of my favorite Free Bird Collection "B" sides.

A few weeks ago, the Northwest had a pretty large scale snow and ice storm. Overnight, seven inches of snow fell. Probably not a lot for most places in the US, but in our neck of the woods, the snow and ice pretty much shut down cities. The beginning however, did make for some pretty cute photos of my little girl.

I knew when I saw the Genuine Collection, I wanted to incorporate some of the papers with these photos. I loved how the Friendship paper had snowflake-like stitching.

I backed all of the photos with Natural from the Genuine Collection. I also added a phrase from the Genuine Elements, as well as some of the Genuine Tiny Type (also on the Elements sheet).

The Free Bird papers helped to make the perfect snowflakes. I looked through the whole collection, and settled on solids from Fair-Weather, Endless, and Comfort. And one large background snowflake using Genuine's True. 

 Adding a little bling helped to make the snowflakes stand out against the background paper.

And one final Genuine Details sticker to set off one of the miniature photos.

While I do love paper collections by themselves, don't be afraid to mix and match! And if you need some fantastic color additions, check out the various solids that all grace the back of those Free Bird papers! They really are fun to add to your favorite Authentique collections.

Supplies Used: 

Genuine Collection: Friendship, Natural, True, Elements, Details

Free Bird Nest Collections:  Fair-Weather FBS120, Endless FBS115, Comfort FBS107

Additional Supplies: American Crafts Thickers, Teresa Collins Bling, Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink

Found on Pinterest: Valentine's Crayon Cards

While my own little family isn't too big on Valentine's Day, I know that little kiddos love it. It's an excuse to give and receive candy treats. Being in education, I also know how VDay can stir up a lot of sugar induced crazy. And, I love my childcare providers and want to at least temper the insanity without adding to it. So when I saw this lovely how-to on Pinterest, I knew that I wanted to do these instead of store-bought Valentine's.

From start to finish, These babies took only about 1.5 hours. That included unwrapping and breaking the crayons (these took about 40 Crayola crayons), stuffing the silicone heart pan, melting them and letting them harden. While they were melting and then hardening, I went to work on the card bases.

A simple 2 1/8" circle punch, some reddish cardstock and a white Signo pen created the card back, and an AC pop dot stuck those babies on there. I tried to use regular Glue Dots, but the crayons were a little concave on the back. The pop dot glue actually made them stick to the circles.

I think these were my favorite ones. They remind me of some of my favorite Mark Rothko paintings. MMM... Modern art!!

Anyway, these were super simple, and look SO much cuter than anything with a logo on them. Plus, except for the cost of the pan, if you have cardstock and crayons lying around, they are super cheap!

Project 100 update:  52/100

Counterfeit Kit Challenge: Gift #1

I haven't gotten to craft as much as I usually like to lately. We've had some illness floating around our house for a few weeks... and it's not been too much fun. Thankfully, we are all on the mend, which means that I get to spend my free time crafting and not doing extra chores!! WOOHOO!

For this project, I used my Counterfeit Kit to create a little gift for my sweet friend Karen. I covered one of my Moleskine notebooks with some sweet Basic Grey paper, an oh-so-cute doily, a few Sassafras stickers, Fancy Pants chipboard, and tied it all together with some twine, AC washi tape, Tiny Type and a cute bling.

I know this is an iPhone pic... But oh well. It will have to do today! In this case, I wanted Karen to have her gift right after I made it.

Totally loving the Counterfeit Kit Challenge!! I'm using up my stash of supplies!!

Project 100 update:  30/100

Counterfeit Kit Challenge: February 2012 Kit

I'm going to do the Counterfeit Kit Challenge again. Last time, I made my kit SOOOO big, that I didn't use hardly any of it. Or at least, that's how it felt. This time, I tried to scale down the paper selection so that it was a little more manageable. I used the Valentine's themed Kit "You+Me" as the basis of my inspiration. Anyway, here are the elements!!

PAPER
Teresa Collins: Travel Ledger-Travel Words
Echo Park: Little Boy-Borders
Sassafras Lass: Sweetly Smitten-Heartfelt
Crate Paper: Portrait Collection-Accent Cuts
Basic Grey: Curio-Cotton (B)
American Crafts: The Classics-Canterbury Tales & kraft
My Little Shoebox-Farmer's Market-Cherries Jubilee (B)
Sassafras Lass: Paper Crush-Pitter Patter
Sassafras Lass: Paper Crush-Sweet Smooches (B)
My Minds Eye: Be-Loved-Lovely Loops
My Minds Eye: Be-Loved-Affectionate Flowers
My Minds Eye: Alphabet Soup-Sunny Stripes
My Minds Eye: Be-Loved-Passionate Paisley
My Minds Eye: Be-Loved-Dearest Dots
My Minds Eye: Lush-Pink Large Polka Dots
My Minds Eye: Alphabet Soup-Little Princess (B)
My Minds Eye: Be-Loved-Sweet Hearts (cut piece)
EMBELLISHMENTS
Sassafras Lass Foldies
Cosmo Cricket Ready-Set-Chip: Togetherness
Sassafras Lass stickers, Paper Whimsies, In-a-Stitch Blooms, Vintage Brooch
MME Lush Rhinestones, Buttons, Bohemia Ribbon
American Crafts Mementos, Bits, Buttons
Teresa Collins Bling
Fancy Pants Chipboard Shapes
Wilton doilies
Prima mini flowers
Twinery twine
AMuse wooden circle
ALPHABETS
AC Thickers: Hardcover (teal, kraft) & Sweet (red)
Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type (clear red & red)
Scenic Route kraft

Here are some details of the kit. I really wanted to include some various kraft elements, both in paper and in the embellishments in order to really follow the kraft in the original kit. I did want to add a few more colors and embellishments than the original kit had however. It seemed light on those elements. 

 

I also included a lot of teals and red. My kit has more teals than the original one, but I own a TON of those colors. I also wanted this to not look only like a Valentine's kit, so wanted the brights to be a part of the kit.

 

Every kit needs the perfect embellishments. I included some that could be Valentine's (Bits), and a lot that could just be great additions to any scrapbook kit.

 

Some of these embellishments have been sitting around my craft area for quite awhile. I may as well use them, and not just save them for later. And those doilies are just too fun. Bling too!

And because I know that this is a holiday month, I am planning on making a couple of small gifts.
EXTRAS
Cosmo Cricket Blackboard mini book
Moleskine ruled notebooks
Kraft bags

I really like the multipurpose nature of this kit. I know that I will be making some Valentine's and birthday cards with this, as well as a few gifts for people. Super excited to get started!!


If you want to get started on your Counterfeit Kit Challenge go to this link and check out the kits for this month!!

A Little Uncommon Treat from ScrapbookSteals.com

Hello all!! It's Heather here, and I have a cute little Valentine's project using Authentique. Currently, ScrapbookSteals.com has Uncommon as their deal of the day!! Better get this fast, as it is going quick! 

So, my little project is a cute treat holder, and a wonderful little Valentine's card for a special someone. 

For the candy holder, just create a tube of paper, and use your ATG gun (my FAVORITE!!) to close the paper into the tube. Crimp one side, and staple or stitch with your favorite tine (Twinery, again from ScrapbookSteals.com!!)

Fill the end of the tube with your treats, and crimp the opposite end the opposite way. Again, staple or stitch together.

The card is pretty easy too. It just looks a lot more difficult than it really is!

I just cut out a heart (you could also use a punch or machine) from my cover paper. Then I ATG'd a piece of clear plastic (you can use whatever is around... This is actually wrapper from some embellishments). Glue around the heart, over the plastic, place your punched shapes, and lastly place the background color. Then, just glue the whole thing onto your card base. Decorate and you're done.

I hope that you enjoyed my little projects today. I also hope that you really snag the great deals that ScrapbookSteals.com has!! Every day at 9 am MST.

Project 100 update:  29/100