Paper Issues: Pinspire Me Monday

Today I have a layout up over on the Paper Issues blog. I found a really fun pin that I was inspired by and am inviting others to share what they create as well.

This is the awesome pin I found courtesy of Better Home and Gardens

There were so many things I liked about this image. I decided to focus more on the strips of pattern and overall color scheme.

I used items largely from the Maggie Holmes Open Book collection, 

as well as some Studio Calico paper from my stash. 

If you are looking for some awesome paper products and need a good store to shop at. Look no further, I know of a great store, and I even have a coupon code for you to use as well! Head on over to the Paper Issues Shop and if you use code "TONI" at checkout you will receive 20% off your entire order.

Project Life 2014: Week 32

Happy Tuesday Y'all! I have a pocket page style layout to share with you today using some of my favorite bits and pieces from the Crate Paper Notes and Things collection. I have linked this layout up over at the current link party over at Paper Issues.  If you love giveaways, Whiskers Graphics has graciously donated a prize pack for our winner. All you have to do is to link up anything paper related to our "Anything Goes," link party. This can be a new or old product. I would love to see what you create.

I am loving this line and all of the fun pops of lavender, greens, yellows, and grays. Such a fun line to work with and one that I keep reaching for again and again. I really enjoyed working with these goodies, especially the journaling cards from Crate Paper Notes and Things. They include kraft, colors, gold foil, and even some hand-stitched elements (like the stitched butterfly card below.)
I incorporated the Gold Foil Thickers from Shimelle's line and the gold scalloped glitter tape from Pebbles. I really am loving how these three lines play off of one another. I mean you can't go wrong with gold, am I right?

The last time we checked in, I was working on getting everything caught up in my Project Life album. I was missing six weeks, and guess what I am still missing six weeks, a different six weeks, but still six weeks. Sigh.

Weeks to Catch Up On for Project Life

(items crossed off and highlighted were completed the past two weeks.)

• Week 28, July 7-13
• Week 29/ 30, July 14-27
• Week 31, July 28-August 3
• Week 32, August 4-10  (will be featured on the Paper Issues blog next month)
• Week 33, August 11-17
• Week 34, August 18-24
• Week 35, August 25-31
• Week 36, September 1-7
• Week 37, September 8-14 
• Week 38, September 15-21

I am not beating myself up about this, I had a busy month around here and even launched a new business. Regardless, I know I can finish this by October 1st. That is the goal. I am editing and printing some more pictures tonight. I plan on completing four more weeks before the end of this weekend. Wish me luck!

If you are looking for some fun gold bits and pieces or anything else paper related. Don't forget to use the code "TONI" in the Paper Issues Shop and save 20% off your entire order.

xoxox

Toni

A Pocket Layout using Crate Paper's Boys Rule Collection

Earlier this month we had kind of a big thing happen in our family. Our oldest turned fourteen and we went out and celebrated a few days before his party. We went to an Entertainment Park and had all kinds of fun with three, yes three, teenage boys. I think Go Carts were my personal favorite, and the boys liked Laser Tag the most!

I love Crate Paper's Boys Rule line and truth be told I have been kind of hoarding it, and waiting for just the right pictures. I pulled it out earlier this week and told myself that I was not allowed to hoard it any longer. I made a 9 x 12 inch pocket page insert for our Project Life album by trimming down one of my page protectors. I plan on adding some more photos of Elliot later this month on the opposite side. He is getting ready to go to his first semi-formal dance, the Eighth Grade Dance to be specific. Only a few more weeks and he will officially be a high school student. Sigh.

This layout is full of my favorite things: Journaling cards, wood veneer, small embellishments, stickers, pretty patterned paper, and some great photos. My favorite combination.  I added in a see through pocket and hand-stitched it closed, since my sewing machine has been put to rest. It finally stopped working. :-(  I also used a piece of vellum for a sorta see-through element with the blue star vellum from the Crate Paper collection. I bought three pieces of this, because even though I only use vellum in smaller amounts, I would be so sad if I ever ran out. I am a huge star fan (if you could not tell already.)

Let's talk paper collections today. Anyone else hoarding a paper collection? Are you planning on using it soon? Or are you someone that can just use it up right away? I am getting much better at that, but still find about 10% off my stash I have a really hard time using. Anyone else loving Boys Rule or any other collections? What about stars? I mean seriously, can you ever get tired of stars???

I have linked this layout over at Paper Issues for their current "Mix Tape" challenge. You can find that HERE.

I will be back later this week with a layout to share. I hope to see you back here then. Until next time....

Happy Scrappin'

xoxox

Toni

Layouts using Crate Paper's Bundled Up Collection

I know I have been absent from Blogland lately, and boy have I missed you guys. I ended up getting really sick with a  cold/ flu right after Christmas and am finally starting to feel like my old self. I am so thankful for good doctors, strong antibiotics, and a very helpful husband and kids that helped keep the ol' home-front running while I was laying down and basically doing nothing for over two weeks straight. Now that I am feeling better, I spent the first part of this week just getting the house re-organized, cleaned, and catching up on everything that went to the wayside since Christmas. It's not all done yet, but it's getting there. I am still super tired though, and keep taking naps. It is so frustrating because I have so much stuff I want to do, but I am thankful that I am getting better, and trying to be patient with myself.  I am looking forward to a quiet crafty weekend and week ahead.

Today I have two layouts to share with you that I made using some items from my stash as well as the Crate Paper Bundled Up collection. I think this is my favorite winter collection of all time. I am so in love with it seriously! I just love the color scheme, the vintage drawings, and all of the awesome accessories. I paired this collection with lots of gold glitter embossing powder, wood veneer, and neutral colors. I hope you like what I created!

Simply Wonderful:

Snowmen:

I will be back next week with all kinds of scrappy goodness. I will be blogging Monday-Friday and sure hope to see you here. I hope you have all been happy and healthy. Let's talk.…what have you been creating lately? Are things getting back to normal around your house with the holidays over? How are you liking 2014 so far?

Happy Scrappin'

xoxox

Toni

Christmas Cards Using Crate Paper, Basic Grey, Webster's Pages, and Stamps by Ali Edwards

Today I am sharing my Christmas cards with all of you. These are very quick cards to put together, and the end result turned out very cute and unique. I hope this little tutorial might help some of you that still want to make homemade Christmas cards. This technique could also easily be applied to any kind of card really.

Being completely honest, I felt a lot of pressure this year with regards to putting together my Christmas cards. December had already begun, and my cards were not made yet. Normally I have the cards finished before December, so I felt like I needed to downgrade my emboss-everything on the cards plan and come up with something much simpler. Keep it simple should be my new model, because I seriously LOVE these quick and adorable cards.

To save some time and money, I decided that I would only use things I already had. I started by pulling together some supplies, mostly 6 x 6 Christmas paper pads, assorted buttons and small embellishments that coordinate, a stamp set, and also my veneer star stash and gold embossing powder. I had already decided to use Kraft cardstock and envelopes this year so I got those ready as well.

Basic Grey 25th and Pine

Alison Kreft It's Christmas for Webster's Pages

Crate Paper Bundled Up

 Crate Paper Sleigh Ride

Ali Edward's "Twinkle On" stamp set, sold through Technique Tuesday

I also used gold embossing powder on some of my wood veneer. *Make sure you have a lint roller nearby. This is my go-to tool for quick glitter or embossing powder clean up.*

1. I started with a basic A2 card trimmed down to 5 1/2" x 4 1/4 inches made out of Kraft cardstock. 
2. I then cut my 6 x 6 papers down to 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" and adhered them to the card front. *I only adhered the bottom half, so that I could add the embellishment and sentiment before the whole thing was glued down permanently.*
3. I cut out vellum into 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" and tore those freehand on all four sides. 
4. After all of the vellum was torn, I stamped one of two sentiments onto the vellum "Keep Calm and Twinkle On" or "Keep Calm and Be Merry" using Black StayzOn ink.
   
   
   
5. I gave the images all a chance to dry (probably an hour or so.) I didn't want to accidentally smear these adorable sentiments and risk having to redo them all.
6. I then began attaching the sentiment to the front of the cards along with a small embellishment using a staple. This worked very well to keep both the embellishment and the stamped vellum attached to the patterned paper.
   
   
   
7. Next you have to glue the top part of the patterned paper to the card front. *Make sure everything is adhered very well.*
   
   
   
8. Fill out the inside of your card to the lucky recipient
9. The last step is to address your card, put the card in the envelope (and family photo or Christmas letter if you are including one,) and of course you should embellish the back of your envelope. I like to use stamps and washi tape.

 I ended up with 56 cards in total. Most have a veneer embellishment adhered to the front, but I also used buttons and chipboard pieces that I had left over from these collections.

*For the buttons and chipboard pieces, I first tied twine through them and adhered them onto the front of the card using glue dots.*

I really like how all of the cards are similar, yet each is unique and special. In fact, every single card is different.  I could not pick a favorite and might have taken 10 pictures of the finished cards. I decided on two different group shots to post for you, and just placed cards in front that were in different color combinations.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I loved having you here at life, scrapbook, repeat. I hope this tutorial will be helpful to you. I will be back tomorrow with December Daily Part 6: December 10th and 11th. I hope to see you then. In the meantime, do you have all of your cards finished and mailed? Did you make homemade cards this year, or purchase cards? Are you doing an online greeting instead of just forgoing the whole tradition? I would love to hear your thoughts….to card or not to card?

Happy Thursday and Happy Scrappin'

xoxox

Toni

December Daily 2013: Part 1, Cover and the first few pages

Today I have some of my December Daily album to share with you. I ended up actually starting on November 29th (the day after Thanksgiving.) We bought our tree that day and also began holiday decorating. That is such a big part of Christmas, and it really helps put us in the Christmas spirit, so it seemed silly not to include it.

The Cover

 I blogged about how I made this cover earlier in the week, you can find that post HERE.

First Pages

This is  a transparency with an embellishment grouping glued to the 

center. I used Zing Gold Metallic embossing powder on the wood

veneer "Joy" sentiment.

I wanted this ornament photo to peek out from behind

back of transparency and first page

I just love these ornaments so much!

Friday, November 29th

Highlights-bought our Christmas tree, started decorating for the holidays,

 we watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. 
*"Oh Christmas Tree" printable from In a Creative Bubble, Holly Jolly #2 set

Saturday, November 30th

Highlights-decorating the tree, playing around with camera functions, 
Isabelle played my saxophone, went on a hike with her 
friends, and we made milkshakes. 
*"Deck the Halls" digital brush from Ali Edwards Messy Little Christmas set. 
*"Happy Holiday" printable from In a Creative Bubble Holly Jolly #2 set

I will be linking all of my December Daily posts over at Ali Edwards blog. You an find out more about December Daily HERE. If you have any questions about any of the techniques or products above, please do not hesitate to ask, I am always happy to help.

I am off to a field trip today with my daughter's fourth grade class. It should be fun, I am so thankful that I can go to these kinds of things for the kids. I am really hoping to get some great photos. I will be back tomorrow with week 48 of Project Life to share.  Still can't believe the year is almost up. Only 4 weeks left to go.

xoxox

Toni

December Daily Organization: Part 2: Album Cover and the Cutest Christmas Collection Ever!!!

It's Christmas Tiiiiiiiimmmmmeeeee!

Hello friends and to those of you new to this blog, welcome, thank you for being here. If you cannot tell, I am just a little excited that we are now officially into the Christmas Season. It is incredibly chilly in the normally warm North Carolina, and I have broken out my warm sweaters, wool socks, and flannel pajama bottoms. Despite the cold and impending winter, I love Christmas and have been holed up in my studio staying warm, drinking hot cocoa, listening to holiday music, and having all kinds of fun with pretty paper.

In my last December Daily post I showed you how I was organizing all of my December crafting supplies. You can find that post HERE. I have really been utilizing these scrapbooking goodies the last month for layouts, cards, making an extensive mini book for a Christmas gift, and some work in my 2012 December Daily album. I have a lot of December goodness to share with you next month. Now that I have wrapped up quite a few of those projects, I am going to show you my December Daily album cover and the supplies I gathered specifically for this project. I have quite a few Christmas scrapbooking supplies, they are a serious weakness of mine and even though I already had more than enough, I found a paper collection this year that just pulled at my heart strings so much so, that I designed the entire color scheme around it.

Selecting Products for December Daily:

Crate Paper's Bundled Up Collection is just so gorgeous. I saw it at Archiver's and just stared and stared and stared. The colors and adorable paper just called to me and I knew I had picked my color scheme for this year.

 These are the supplies I ended up ordering through Two Peas in a Bucket, as well as a few 12 x 12 papers.

 

I am also mixing in some already owned supplies in this color scheme, but I will share those in more detail another day. With the pink, green, aqua, mint, and gold color scheme in mind, and some ribbon and yarn from my stash, I came up with this cover.

Putting the Album Together

Ribbon and Yarn

• This was a fairly simple cover. I started with some yarn from my stash that I wrapped around and around the album, going around the inside. I then tied it off really tight on the inside of the album and trimmed the ends. Next, I wrapped the gold ribbon around once and tied it off and trimmed the ends into a "V." The last fabric items I included was a bit of red polka dot ribbon left over from last Christmas. This was also wrapped around the album, tied off on the front, and I trimmed these ends with a slight diagonal cut. 

Title Grouping

• I started with a pinked circle die cut from Studio Calico's 2012 December Daily Kit. I hot glued this down to the album, being careful not to burn my fingers.
• I then cut a piece of text paper from the Bundled Up 6 x 6 paper pad into a banner shape on one end. I added the "2013" Red Notebook Thickers on top and very carefully hand stitched a line running across these elements. This further reinforces the thickets and will ensure that they don't fall off over time. 
• Next I layered the "Merry Christmas" die cut form the Bundled Up Ephemera Pack on top of the pinked circle. This was hot glued down.
• the last step was to hot glue the 2013 banner cluster on top of both the pinked circle and the Merry Christmas label.

I really like how this turned out and am super excited to start working on my pages. I have already been taking some photos for December Daily and think I am going to start my album on November 29th this year. We purchased our tree today and are doing more decorating tomorrow, so I am just going with it and having so much fun, soaking it all in. Christmas is my families favorite holiday, and it is just so magical around here. 

I hope you found some inspiration from this post. I have been reading so many great December Daily posts lately and thought I would share these links below.

December Daily Organization using items already on hand.

• Geralyn Sy:  Supplies and Organization

December Daily Cover and Base Page Ideas can be found…

• Jennifer Chapin she shows the building of her kit and a video of supplies she chose
• Nicole Reeves December Daily cover and base pages
• Melissa Stinson: Base pages part one for Journal Your Christmas

Journal Your Christmas Information and Sign-Up

• Found HERE at Shimelle.com

Completed December Daily Albums

• Jennifer Chapin December Daily 2012
• Geralyn Sy December Daily 2012 HERE and HERE and HERE

Have a wonderful rest of the weekend friends and fellow crafters, I will be back next week with the start of my December Daily album, Project Life, and lots more holiday-related goodness. How is your holiday crafting coming along? Anyone already send out Christmas cards? I am still making them, but I did get a family photo today so I am calling it a win and going with it. Until next time...

xoxox

Toni

Layout Share: "Love This Moment"

I have a layout to share with you today based on some silly photos of my son. I mean if you happen to see a Christmas tree fully decorated in October, it deserves a photo shoot right? My son Elliot and I found this super funny and so he started posing in front of it. A piece of advice for mothers of boys, anytime a teenage boy is willing to have his photograph taken, you must stop what you are doing immediately and start taking photos. It only lasts for a minute, so you must begin quickly.

I created this layout using items from the Studio Calico Antiquary Scrapbook Kit, the Studio Calico Magical Candy Stripe Vellum and Atlantic glittered stars, and the new Crate Paper Bundled Up Collection. I really enjoyed pairing these scrappy supplies together and am super happy with the end result.

I hope y' all have a Happy, happy Tuesday. I will be back later this week with some ideas for December Daily Organization. I sure hope to see you then.

Happy Scrappin'

xoxox

Toni

Layout Share: Celebrate Today & We (heart) you Noelle

Today I am sharing layouts 4 and 5 using the May Studio Calico kit Planetarium. You can find my previous three layouts using this kit HERE, HERE, and HERE. These were made using remaining pieces of my kit, including; Elle's Studio, Crate Paper, American Crafts, and Studio Calico items. I also used my star punch, a hand-cut heart, and of course misting.

Celebrate Today

We (heart) You Noelle:

This layout uses the serendipity stamp set by Elle's Studio as

well as the You and Me Lovely Stripe Paper

Thank you for stopping by today, I appreciate you being here. I will be back next week with some more layouts, two more weeks of Project Life, an art project for my studio, Scrapbook Organization Thursday, and a glimpse into my altered book for Studio Calico's Happy Little Moments Class.

Have a great weekend y'all and Happy Scrappin'

xoxox

Toni