SummerSault Designs

Scrapbooking Groupon

2011-08-12T14:01:00.000-04:00

I know.... it's been forever, but my hands are full with these two cuties:

I WILL return to papercrafting once I get the hang of being a mommy to two. If I can just get my 2-month-old little man on a stable schedule.... we ARE getting there.

Anyway, just wanted to pop in and share this Groupon with you:
http://www.groupon.com/deals/websters-pages?utm_campaign=UserReferral&utm_medium=email&utm_source=uu4147757
It's for Webster's Pages merchandise. I think this is an awesome idea and hope other manufacturers start to do Groupons, too.

Get Sketchy #80

2011-03-25T06:00:00.000-04:00

This week Get Sketchy brings you another great sketch and another great sponsor.

Show us what you can do with this sketch and get a chance to win some digi images from Amber Ink. Their images are crisp and original. Be sure to take a look.

Sorry this is a quick post, but my world is quite crazy these days. I'll share more with you later.

Get Sketchy #79

2011-03-18T06:00:00.000-04:00

Here's this week's Get Sketchy sketch:

Love it, right? My fave part is how the center rectangle bleeds off to one side. I'll be using this sketch again.

I made this card for a friend of mine who recently received devastating news regarding her mother's health. She has told me a couple of times that she thinks encouraging others is my spiritual gift, so I certainly hope this encourages her.

The Get Sketchy sponsor this week is Pink Persimmon!!! And we spoiled GT Girls received a few adorable stamps to play with. They stamp like a dream!!! And made in the USA, so you can't beat that. Play along with sketch #79 and you could win some fabulous Pink Persimmon stamps, too.

Brace Face Beauty

2011-03-15T06:00:00.000-04:00

ScrapTiffany's challenge this week was to focus on one word: BEAUTY.

My oldest niece turned 13 a few months ago. I still can't believe it. And she recently got braces put on her teeth..... something she was not happy about. I know at her age, it's nearly impossible for her to really believe that her worth comes from God and not her physical beauty. Heck, it's hard for this 34-year-old to grasp some days, too. But, I'll keep reminding her (and myself) that she is "set apart." (Jeremiah 1:5)

I hope this card makes her smile bigger:

Get Sketchy #78

2011-03-11T07:00:00.000-05:00

This week, the Get Sketchy girls were fortunate to play with some digi images from Pure Innocence using this sketch:

Great sketch, right? Wait until you see the Pure Innocence image I used:

Isn't he irresistible? He's got me thinking of my little guy who is just about ready.... only 13 weeks to go.

You could win some cute digi images, too, if you play along at Get Sketchy.

Lil Champ

2011-03-01T00:01:00.000-05:00

SPORTS. Me? Not so much.
So when the ScrapTiffany challenge popped up with a sports theme, I was a bit clueless. My ideas kept going back to a trophy of some sort, so voila:

A trophy card! Probably the simplest card on the planet, but it makes me smile. I love all the messy glitter on it even though it ends up on my husband's uniform... oops. And it makes a great little boy's birthday card. (You know, I'm all about the boys these days. Just 3 months before my guy arrives.)

I found the trophy on the Everyday Paper Dolls Cricut cartridge and welded two of them together on my Gypsy. I already forgot where I got the font from... sorry.

What about you? Are you Sporty? What kinds of sports projects can you create? Post them at ScrapTiffany.

Get Sketchy #76

2011-02-25T10:16:00.000-05:00

Here's another great Get Sketchy sketch this week for you to try out.

Endless possibilities, right? And I design you probably wouldn't naturally come up with on your own. That's what I love about sketches. They get me thinking outside of the center of the card.

I just saw that Sherri Thompson from Momenta found my card at the Get Sketchy blog and is featuring it on the Momenta Facebook page!!! Eeeek!! The bunny rub-ons are Momenta and they were so easy to apply. I barely started rubbing and they were on there. Love that!

What can you create with this sketch? Link up your work here to win a prize.

Get Sketchy #75

2011-02-18T20:08:00.000-05:00

Loving this week's sketch at Get Sketchy! Pretty sure I'll be using it again, and without my own edits next time.

Here's what my head and hands came up with:

Lots of fussy-cutting on this one. I don't enjoy that process, but I LOVE the look which must be why I do it a lot. It's like getting patterned paper and embellishments in one sheet :)

You gotta hop over to the Get Sketchy blog to see what the other DT girls did. Wowza!! And play along while you're at it.

This also fits the CR84FN color challenge.

A Fabulous Friday Find

2011-02-18T00:01:00.000-05:00

It's my turn to share a Fabulous Friday Find over at ScrapTiffany.

I found this fabulous blog post that featured this talented lady, and I made this:

Click on over to ScrapTiffany to find out more.

This card was also made for the CR84FN color challenge using CPS sketch #205.

Get Sketchy #74

2011-02-11T14:59:00.000-05:00

Just a real quick post from me today. I've got a killer headache and need to clean the house for the arrival of some last minute overnight guests.

Love this week's sketch at Get Sketchy:

I made this card for my youngest, curly-topped niece. (All 3 of my nieces have tight curls.) She turns 3 at the end of this month.

Yellow and Gray

2011-02-01T11:40:00.000-05:00

I love gray! I've been wearing it a lot lately, and have been noticing it in the cutest little girl dresses, too. I was tempted to buy some adorable new yellow and gray dresses for this new baby I'm carrying, but we still have ALL my first daughter's clothes. PLUS, I went in for another sonogram and discovered that we are expecting a BOY!!! For five weeks, we thought it was a girl. We are still in a bit of shock, and it doesn't seem quite real yet; however, we are over-the-moon excited to meet our son. Eeeeeek!!! I'm having a son!!

So back to the yellow and gray..... that's the ScrapTiffany challenge!

I used a sketch in the Paper Crafts' Go-To Sketches special issue. (Can't wait for them to release a second one.) This paper is so beautiful to me; I wanted it to speak for itself, so no sentiment, unless you count the gromlet. (How many of YOU have your name on a gromlet? LOL)

I'm craving spring!!! This Florida girl has had enough of Virginia winters (it's only my second). Crafting with cheerful colors helps my winter blues, but wearing flip flops and capris would be even better :)

Pull out some yellow and gray supplies and see what you come up with. Email your project to ScrapTiffany.

Get Sketchy #72

2011-01-28T15:56:00.000-05:00

I stepped out of my comfort zone this week with the current Get Sketchy sketch.

My card did not turn out like my mind pictured it, but I don't hate it.

This week's sponsor is BMused Etsy shop with a cute belt buckle up for grabs, so you'll want to play along. Just use the above sketch and link you card up here.

I chose this card's color scheme from the Neutrals Color Challenge for Color Inspiration for Card Makers Week in the Moxie Fab World.

I've also entered it into the Tuesday Throwdown distressing challenge.

Get Sketchy #71

2011-01-21T22:54:00.000-05:00

I had a blast making this week's Get Sketchy card. We used the most adorable images from Pink Cat Studio. It was hard to choose which one to use!

Isn't he the cutest? Just like my husband.... so, this is his valentine's day card :)

I'm just so impressed with the quality of the Pink Cat Studio's images. They were so easy to use and ridiculously cute. Go see for yourself.

You know you could win some Pink Cat Studio images by making a card using this week's sketch:

Whatcha waitin' for?

From a LO to a Card

2011-01-15T14:47:00.000-05:00

There are so many designers out there who can make amazing cards AND scrapbook layouts. That's just unfair, people. I know that they are awfully similar and use the same products, but for some reason my LOs never look as good as (some of) my cards. Therefore, I am on the ScrapTiffany Design Team to make cards. However, my uber talented, fellow DT member, Bev, decided to give us a LO sketch for our challenge this week. That means DOUBLE the challenge for me because I've got to make it work for a card. Yay. Here's Bev's great sketch:

And here's what I came up with:

My simple style had to get rid of the rectangles, but you can tell that the sketch drove this card. Can't you? LOL. Oh, and the stitching would've looked even better with some colored thread, but I don't know how to put the bobbin back in. What am I going to do when the white thread runs out.

Are you up for the challenge? Show us what you got by linking your project in the comments section of this ScrapTiffany post. You'll be eligible for a $25 GC from Sierra Metal Designs.

GS 70

2011-01-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

Here's this week's Get Sketchy sketch:

This one's full of possibilities, so you have no excuse not to play along.

Keepin' it short and sweet today because I am busy crafting for submissions. My big goal of 2011 is to be published in a print magazine, and you can't get published if you don't submit.

GS 69

2011-01-07T00:01:00.001-05:00

Woo hoo! Get Sketchy is back from our break to survive the holidays, and I am ready!!!

Great sketch, huh? Here I am with all this excitement, yet I have a sympathy card to share with you. No need for it right now, praise God. The sentiment just fit nicely inside the journaling block.

I also created this card for the Gray is the New Black Challenge in the Moxie Fab World. When your mojo needs a kick in the pants, see what inspiration MFW has for you and pair it with a Get Sketchy sketch. Magic.

So come on, get crafting.

Scraplift a fellow DT member

2011-01-02T21:00:00.000-05:00

Yikes! I thought this was posted yesterday, but I must have goofed.

ScrapTiffany has started a new Design Team term with several new members. In order to get to know each other a bit, the challenge was to scraplift each other's work. As I was sifting through Renee's blog, I found this cute composition book that she altered.

An altered composition book would make a cute gift for my soon-to-be-13-year-old niece.

I hope she likes it!!!

Things have changed a little over at ScrapTiffany. The blog has a new look, there are new DT members, and there is a new challenge on the 1st and 15th of each month instead of every week. Why don't you give this first challenge of 2011 a try? Just hop around to the DT's blogs and scraplift a project. Then email Tiffany a photo of your work so she can feature it on a blog post.

All About Boys

2010-12-23T21:11:00.000-05:00

Last week, the ScrapTiffany girls showed their Girl Power. This week, it's All About Boys. A tough one for me since there are more girls in my life than boys. I have one brother and one sister who collectively gave me three nieces and only one nephew. Most of my cousins are girls. I have only two uncles and five aunts. I currently have one daughter and am expecting another daughter to arrive in June. That's right!! We are pregnant again and found out earlier this week that the bun that's been baking is a GIRL! You see, I know "girl," but it sure was fun creating for a boy this time.

I also made this with CPS sketch #198 in mind.
I'm posting this on a different computer than I'm used to, so I cannot really tell how the colors look in this photo. Sorry if it's wonky.

There's a new design team coming your way for ScrapTiffany next year. Stay tuned!!!

Oh no she didn't...

2010-12-16T20:55:00.000-05:00

Yes, I did! I pulled out the paper crimper for this layout. This week's ScrapTiffany challenge was simply titled "Girl Power." A crafter using her "old school" tools is quite powerful :) So is my daughter's stubbornness.

At my mom's house, we pulled out this walker for my youngest niece to use. Of course, Audrey wanted to take it for a spin, too. She took matters into her own hands since I wouldn't put her in it.

The label around my title was solid, and I cut the middle message out. And "stubborn" wasn't catching your eye, so I traced around each letter with a brown marker to give it some depth.

I pop-dotted the sassy circle and tucked some ribbon behind it to give it some flair.

I also made this layout for the My Mind's Eye challenge #18: "It's a __________ thing" The sketch is from their challenge, too. Everything is from their "quite contrary" line except for the brown cardstock and the ribbon.

Handmade Flowers

2010-12-10T14:32:00.000-05:00

Leave it to ScrapTiffany to challenge me so much that I get a backache... AGAIN!! The challenge? Make handmade flowers. I know, everybody's doing it....... except me.
So, I stole Jennifer Yates' handmade flower idea. I saw it here at Pebbles. She didn't leave any instructions, but I was certain it was so easy to recreate. Yeah right. I couldn't figure out how she got her loops to go in a circle. (Upon a second look at Jennifer's, I see that she attached her loops higher up. I attached mine at the end with ZOTS.)
I was beginning to like my half flower, especially when I had it positioned to bleed off the page, but I couldn't get the rest of the card's design to work with it. However, peeking out from some ribbon wasn't hideous, so I went with it.

This card was also made for the Card Creations: Favorite Occasions Week Birthday Challenge in the Moxie Fab World.

Do you make your own flowers? Are you a floral thief like me? Show your stuff over at ScrapTiffany.

GS 68

2010-12-10T14:17:00.000-05:00

This week's sketch had me stumped until I started pulling out some pretty papers.

I knew right away that I wanted the sentiment piece to be a pull-out tag of some sort that the recipient could use later.

I fussy-cut two butterflies from patterned paper, smeared some stickles on and rolled the wings with a pencil once they were dry. Then I layered them for dimension.

Here's the tag pulled out. The recipient can just add a name in white ink at the bottom and stick it on a gift.

This card was also made for the Card Creations: Favorite Occasions Week All Occasion Challenge in the Moxie Fab World.

So come on... Get Sketchy.

Published!!!!

2010-12-08T16:33:00.000-05:00

I've had another project published in an online magazine. This time it's with ScrapStreet magazine. The best thing about this online mag? It's FREE! Click on over right now. My project is on page 37, and here's a direct link to it. If you scroll to the bottom, you can go to other pages. Take a look around.

GS 67

2010-12-03T21:12:00.000-05:00

I'm finally back in the swing of things. Going away for 3 weeks and then being hit with Thanksgiving throws this girl off balance. Plus, there's some other stuff going on that I can't wait to share with you soon.

Here's this week's Get Sketchy sketch:

So many options, right? Well, I saw a caterpillar when I looked at the sketch. That made me think of a baby card, which made me think of our dear friends who will welcome their first baby at Christmas!!

Everything but the Kitchen Sink is hosting their last challenge this week: TEXTURE. In honor of such a great challenge site, I had to play along. I added a different texture for each segment of the caterpillar's body. Starting with the head, there's heat embossing, dry debossing, glitter, flocking, dry embossing, and a slick SRM sticker. FUN!!! I want to make another one with primary colors.

What do you see in this sketch? Get crafting and show us at Get Sketchy.

Food and Paper Crafting

2010-11-26T00:01:00.000-05:00

This week's ScrapTiffany challenge was titled Food/Recipes.... completely open to your interpretation. I like that! I whipped up a batch of Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies for my daughter's teachers and put them in thus cute bag.

Because it is the way I do most things, the cookies AND the bag were extra simple, but a unique enough presentation that her teachers were quite impressed.

Click here for the recipe for the cookies: (Sorry no picture. The cookies didn't hang around long enough to be photographed.)

Holy Crepe Paper

2010-11-19T00:00:00.001-05:00

Once again ScrapTiffany has a doozy of a challenge for you: Use crepe paper in a project! I already had some bright green crepe paper left over from a birthday party, so it made me think of Christmas wreaths.

This is a mini paper bag that I found in my stash. I made a glue circle on the bag, crunched the crepe paper like I was pleating it, then placed the top half of the paper onto the glue. Once the circle was completed, I folded the bottom half up to make the wreath look fuller. Next, I glued on a bow and used my i-rock for the sparkly holly. The sentiment is an SRM sticker.

Crepe paper is a very inexpensive product, so if you don't have any in the house, go out and get some. Then post your project in the comments section at ScrapTiffany. We can't wait to see what you can create.

GS65

2010-11-19T00:00:00.000-05:00

We're changing things up a little this week at Get Sketchy. Each designer was challenged to find some inspiration in her house for a card.

I used this wall hanging in my bedroom as my inspiration:

And here's the card that resulted from it:

Whatcha think?

What's in your house that gets you thinking creatively? Make a card and post it at Get Sketchy.

Did you notice?... and blog hop winner!

2010-11-16T22:40:00.000-05:00

Oh boy, what happened to my blog?!?!?! I guess the ScrapTiffany Holiday Blog Hop brought more visitors than my itty bitty blog could handle. Nice problem to have!! And I'm thrilled to have gained some new followers. Welcome Girls!!

I'm not sure how I feel about this new look, but it's better than photobucket logos, right?

I used random.org to chose a winner from the ScrapTiffany Holiday Blog Hop. It's Jen, who said:

I love this idea!! Super cute and looks pretty easy to make. I would love to make a pink one.. :)
I'm now your newest follower!! Yipee
I just love the sparkle... Stop by and visit me sometime at my blog..jennyscards.blogspot.com
hugs,jen
jenniferhogge07@yahoo.com

November 9, 2010 1:23 PM

Hey Jen, I need you to email me at we3braxtons at gmail dot com before the weekend gets here to claim your prize.

Sadly, I haven't gotten crafty in a month!!! I've actually been away from my home for 3 weeks and have had some roller coaster experiences. All in all, I'm just thrilled to be home and staying put for a while.... but just until Christmas.... ug!

I'll get crafting soon. That's the nice thing about being on Design Teams. They get you motivated to craft even when you just ain't feelin' it on your own.

GS 64

2010-11-12T00:01:00.000-05:00

I love the all-occasion card!! You can never have a stash too large. I think "smile" is the perfect word for the front of an all-occasion card because you can finish the sentiment on the inside. For instance, SMILE..... it's your birthday. Or, SMILE...... you did it! Or even, SMILE.... it can't get any worse.

What can you do with this sketch? Link up your card at Get Sketchy.

ScrapTiffany Holiday Blog Hop

2010-11-07T21:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the ScrapTiffany Holiday Blog Hop! If I'm your first stop, you'll want to click here to go to the beginning of the hop so you don't miss a thing. If you hopped here from Rebecca, then congratulations! You made it to the end!

For my Christmas project, I wanted to keep it simple and quick because the holidays are complicated and time-consuming enough. This sparkly little door hanger/tree ornament is a sweet little touch of festive decor.

I started with a die cut word from grunge board. I brushed on a thick coat of clean white paint, and immediately poured on two colors of glitter before the paint dried. Once it was dried, I punched a hole to thread this gorgeous Teresa Collins t-drop charm. Then, I adhered some ribbon to the back so it could hang from a doorknob or evergreen branch.

Nothing fancy or difficult, but certainly cute and extra sparkly hanging in your house at the holidays.

Now, for all your hopping efforts, I have a GIVEAWAY for one lucky U.S. resident. I'm not sure what all will be in the prize pack, but it will include a retired Stampin' Up stamp set and some Sassafrass Lass papers. Just leave a comment on this post by next Monday, the 15th. And spread the word!!!!

Hop back to the ScrapTiffany blog to end your journey.

GS 63

2010-11-05T00:01:00.001-04:00

When I saw this week's sketch, I immediately thought of the cute little flash cards from Sassafrass Lass. I ordered their mystery box and received two packs of them!

(Sorry I can't get this image any clearer, but go to the Get Sketchy blog to see it.)

All the supplies are from my Sassafrass Lass mystery box. Very cute stuff!! Definitely a good purchase.

GS 62

2010-10-29T00:01:00.001-04:00

Do you ever get stubborn in your papercrafting? You know, where you are bound and determined to use certain products not matter what? For this week's sketch, I got stuck on wanting to use flourishes and a big flower. I think it would have turned out better if I was more flexible and willing to change my plan.

And it was so hard to photograph that shining silver embossing.

Okay, enough complaining.

Here's the sketch, get craftin':

GS 61

2010-10-22T00:01:00.001-04:00

Check out this week's sketch:

So many possibilities right? Here's my creation:

It's a trifold card, and the ribbon is holding it closed. I adore this BoBunny Petal Pushers line. The best part of all is that I won these supplies from Kristen Swain's giveaway. She blew me away with the amount of stuff she sent to me...... so generous!

Well, off you go to Get Sketchy, so you can upload what you've done with this sketch. Can't wait to see!

GS 60

2010-10-15T21:11:00.001-04:00

For this week's Get Sketchy sketch, I used some of my winnings from Imaginisce: Apple Cider. So cute!!!

And it was my first time using the zigzag stitch!! I'm not afraid to sew on my projects anymore! And those orange gems were applied with the i-rock..... such a fun tool.

Here's the sketch girls!

This card also fits the Color Throwdown Challenge #114. You've got until Sunday to enter that challenge. Hop to it!

What is Scenery?

2010-10-15T21:04:00.000-04:00

This week's challenge at ScrapTiffany was to scrap your scenery photos. I don't take many pictures of scenery, so this challenge was hard for me until I remembered my husband's photos from his deployment to the UAE. They're of buildings. My husband wasn't confident that buildings can be considered scenery since they are not natural, but I searched a few places and found this definition of scenery: the general appearance of a place; features of a landscape. These buildings ARE the general appearance of Dubai, so work with me on this one :)

I included a little hidden journaling on the layout, too. The sketch is from My Mind's Eye Challenge #16 to use black.

Do you take a lot of scenery pictures? Scrap them and link your layout up at ScrapTiffany.

I'm Published

2010-10-03T22:18:00.001-04:00

I can't believe it! One of my cards is published in the current issue (#10) of Scrapbook News & Review. It's my very first publication, so I am over the moon about it. Woo hoo hoo!

GS #58

2010-10-01T14:57:00.000-04:00

Not to brag or anything, but I'm really proud of this card. You see, it's kind of shabby chic-ish and that style is my nemesis!!! I love the look of shabby chic so much, but I struggle to execute it well.

BUT, I think I rocked it just a wee bit this go-round.

Yea? Yea? I hand-stitched AND machine-stitched on a card for the first time EVER. Such a good feeling! However, I think I'll put my shabby chic shoes back in the closet for now. Don't wanna jinx it.

Oh, here's the Get Sketchy sketch I worked from:

The prize this week comes from Stamping Dragon Designs. Come on... get crafting.

Use Your Scraps and Make Moxie Fab Scallops

2010-10-01T00:05:00.000-04:00

We've all got 'em. And we all have the best intentions when we save them, but hardly ever use them. Challenge yourself to use your scraps, then post what you've done over at ScrapTiffany.
Here's what I did:

The very first giveaway I won when my addiction began two years ago was a Christmas pack of products from Me and My Big Ideas. I had some scrap paper left over from this collection (I made ornaments two years ago), so I punched out a bunch of circles and laid them out in an offset scallop pattern.
I got the idea to use scallops from the Offset Scallop Gallop Challenge in the Moxie Fab World.
I had ideas to add a Stickled star, some ribbon and other goo-foos, but in the end a simple rub-on made this a sharp, clean and graphic card.

Whatcha think? Am I Moxie Fab? I'm dying to be one of these days!

New Winner

2010-09-27T16:49:00.000-04:00

The first winner that random.org picked has not contacted me, so let's see if winner #2 ever comes back to my blog :)
The new winner is Angie!

Angie said...

Happy birthday! THose cupcakes look soooo good!

Alright Angie, the ball is in your court. Email me by the weekend please. You can find my email after you click on "view my complete profile" under my picture.

I'll leave you with a card I made with Jillibean Soup's Atomic Soup line.

Oh, and ScrapTiffany's challenge this week is to use your scraps. I'll show you my card on Friday!

Get Sketchy #57

2010-09-24T12:06:00.000-04:00

Does this sketch jump start your creative mind or what?!?!?!?! I saw this a few weeks back and couldn't wait until I could play with it. I thought I'd end up with the cutest, brightest polka dot card ever, but when I sat down to create, THIS is what my hands made:

It makes me smile!!

What can YOU do with this sketch? Link up your card at Get Sketchy because this week's prize is quite wonderful!!

A girl after Daddy's heart

2010-09-24T00:01:00.000-04:00

Four photos on one 12 x 12 layout. Can you do it? The gang at ScrapTiffany wants you to give it a try. You know, I don't like sharing my scrapbooking with you since it's kinda rough, but I do love a good challenge. Here's my take:

I used my rockin' i-rock tool to create the heart.... so fun and blingy. To give it a "finished" look, I channeled my inner Kathy from the Daily Marker and added some dots with a silver Sharpie. LOVE THIS LOOK!!! I'll be using it often from now on.

Come on... get scrappin'.

List of giveaways again

2010-09-20T17:03:00.001-04:00

ScrapTiffany challenges you to create a layout with 4 photos! Can you do it? I'm gonna get cracking on this challenge tonight. I'll show it to you Friday.

In the meantime, here are the giveaways I entered today:

GCD Studios

Simplicity all week

Moxie Fab World

Pink Paislee

American Crafts

wee memories hurry this one ends at midnight tonight EST

***I also bought a mystery box from sassafrass lass today.

** And I'm still waiting to hear from BridgetL, my birthday giveaway winner. Where are you?

GS #56

2010-09-19T22:04:00.000-04:00

When I saw Sketch #56 for Get Sketchy, I thought of a tuxedo. But then I thought, "What in the world could I do with a tuxedo card? I don't know anyone getting married soon." Then it hit me!!! My anniversary is in 3 weeks!! So, I made this "handsome" card for my groom of almost 8 years. Totally love that man!

Get your supplies out and try this sketch:

The prize is from Clip It Up! You'll want this, so hurry up and get your sketch on.

ScrapLift Challenge and Winner

2010-09-17T15:19:00.000-04:00

This week's challenge at ScrapTiffany was to lift someone else's project. I chose to copy Latisha Yoast's Halloween Elegance card in Card Style magazine ( a Paper Crafts Special issue).

I wanted to make my card a Halloween one, too, but I didn't have wide enough Halloweeny ribbon. So, I went for a girlie card instead.

I like it's simplicity, but I do think there needs to be a second layer under the ribbon like Latisha used, but I just couldn't figure out what to use there.

Have you seen a project that you would love to copy in your own way? Give the ScrapTiffany challenge a try.

I didn't forget to pick a winner from my Birthday Giveaway. Would you believe that random.org chose #1?!?!?!?! Congratulations BridgetL!!!

~BridgetL~ said...

Happy Birthday. Those cupcake would make anyone's day :)

SEPTEMBER 4, 2010 12:31 AM

Email me by next Friday to claim your prize. (Click on "view my profile" under my picture to see my email address.)

My Rockin' Big News

2010-09-10T13:01:00.000-04:00

I'm on the Get Sketchy Design Team!!
I love this challenge blog because every week they have the greatest sketches to get you motivated to create. And I just can't believe I'm a part of it all now. So stinkin' cool!
Here's this week's sketch:

And the sponsor this week is The Greeting Farm, so I got to use this adorable senorita to make my card.

It was my first time working with a digital image and it was soooo easy!!! I just opened the image in Word, resized it from the corner so it wouldn't stretch, and printed it on cardstock. Crazy easy.
I colored her with Prisma Color pencils using a technique that my BFF, Jennifer McGuire, taught me. Clearly, I need more practice. I don't really know how to shade.... I get the whole "pretend there's a light shining on the image," but unless I actually see that light, I don't know exactly which areas should be lighter or darker.

Now, head on over to Get Sketchy and create something wonderful!! And don't forget to enter my birthday giveaway here. You have until Monday!

No Patterned Paper

2010-09-10T00:00:00.001-04:00

What a challenge!! ScrapTiffany wants you to create with only cardstock and no patterned paper. This was tough for me. I love my pretty patterned paper. And without it, my brain could only conceive a manly card. Thank goodness my Daddy's birthday is coming up.... in November. I'm ready now.

Is it a challenge for you to leave the patterned paper on the shelf? Give the ScrapTiffany challenge a try.

Supplies: Impression Plate and ticket stamps from PTI; circle Dad stamp from Ali Edwards; all CS is Stampin' Up; versamark ink and staz-on brown; distress embossing powder in weathered wood

Blown Away by Imaginisce

2010-09-05T21:23:00.000-04:00

There have been tons of giveaways on the Imaginisce blog since before CHA (there's one big one going on now), and I was lucky enough to win twice. My prizes arrived Friday night and I was in shock over the amount of goodies in the box. Lori Allred of Imaginisce sent me three times as much product as I was expecting. Such a generous gift!!
I received lots of Cottage Christmas and Apple Cider, plus the i-rock tool and accessories. I'll show what I've been up to with the i-rock a little later.
I played with Cottage Christmas on Saturday.

I don't like showing ya'll my scrapbook pages since they're usually a mess, but I had to show you how sweet Cottage Christmas is. My skills don't do it justice. With the exception of the tiny "Christmas Morning" sticker, everything on this page is from Cottage Christmas.

Imaginisce sent me much more than any girl should hoard, so I'm sharing it with YOU! Remember my birthday giveaway? I'm adding some new Imaginisce gorgeousness to the pile. You have until Sept. 13 to leave a comment on the birhday post.

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

2010-09-04T00:00:00.003-04:00

Today's my 34th birthday!! I'm spending most of the day with my scrapping girls, but my hubs is taking me to dinner tonight. Last night, we celebrated with our dear friends. We went to dinner and came back to our place for gourmet cupcakes and a card game. Guuuuuuuurl, lemme tell you 'bout these cupcakes. They're the best I ever had! (Leanne, if I'd have known about it when you were here, we would have certainly gone. You'd love them.) We received an assortment, so we quartered them so everyone could taste each kind.

Okay, so there WERE 12 cupcakes, but my husband got home early. The cupcakes were screaming at us and I didn't want them to wake the baby, so we split one. This little piece of heaven:

Best cupcake/cake ever!!! That's a light, not-too-sweet cream inside with chocolate mousse on top.

And the birthday gift from our friends that made me cry:

She had craft aprons embroidered with "SummerSault Designs" on them. Is that not the most thoughtful gift? She even put a ladybug button in the middle of the flower, just like on my blog banner. This amazing friend of mine is not a papercrafter, so it means even more that she would put so much thought into it. (She saw that Jennifer McGuire was wearing a craft apron in our picture, so that's how the idea started.)

I told my husband it would be hard for him to top that. He'll give me his present tomorrow night, so we'll see.

Okay, so I got an amazing gift and want to give one of you an amazing gift, too. I'm gonna do a little purge soon, so if you don't mind some partially used goodies, just leave a comment on this post. (I plan to make it a good-sized box, so only those in the U.S. can win. Sorry, but shipping gets pricey.) My little blog had its first birthday last week, too. Oops, I missed it.

I'd love it if you spread the word about my little giveaway. I'll get a picture up of the goods sometime on Sunday. Comments will close on Monday, September 13. The winner MUST email me to claim the prize, so make sure you come back (or follow/subscribe and never miss a post).

Oh My Mercy!

2010-09-03T13:50:00.000-04:00

I got the raddest news today!!! But I can't tell you yet. Not sure when I can, but it should be soon. LOL! I would have burst if I didn't say "something" on the blog today.
And tomorrow's my birthday, but I'll be giving one of you a gift. Watch for that tomorrow.
And the rest of the DT's vintage projects were revealed today at ScrapTiffany. Go check them out. Some of these girls KNOW how to do vintage. Gorgeous!

Here are the giveaways I entered today:

Scrapbook and Cards Today (if you win this, please tell me all about it when your prizes arrive.)

wee Memories*

Paper Crafts

All Scrapbook Steals*

Making Memories

Pink Cricut

Oh My Crafts!

Jillibean Soup

Coordinates Collection*

Bella Blvd.

As much as I wanna be, I'm just not...

2010-08-30T16:56:00.001-04:00

.... a vintage girl. I love the look of vintage and shabby chic cards, but I cannot get that style to work for me. However, getting out of your groove is what a challenge is all about. So, ScrapTiffany is asking us to do vintage this week. I came up with this: (brace yourself)

I think of Webster's Pages as being vintage looking, so I started there by using their papers and cameo (they call them Silhouettes). The "vintage" key is from Fiskars. I also think doilies fit in the vintage category, and was thrilled to use this beauty that I found in Amish country, PA. Don't worry, it was only 50 cents.

Betsy Veldman taught me how to make the precious little rosebuds from felt. I need more practice, but I'm getting there.

I used this sketch from Get Sketchy.

Should I let you in on a little secret? See, the first thing I did was make the card base. After laying different pieces in different places and moving them around a kajillion times, you get excited to finally glue them down for good, right? Note to self: Always check your card base.

Does vintage come easily to you? Then whip up a vintage card and post it on the ScrapTiffany blog. Is vintage a pain in the neck for you? Then buck up and give it a go anyway. Make sure to post the results (good or bad) to ScrapTiffany.

**My card won't be revealed at ScrapTiffany until Friday, but I needed to post it in time for the Get Sketchy challenge.**

Oh, my wildly talented friend, M-C, is giving away a cricut cartridge. Head over today. It ends really soon. And In My Mind's Eye has some goodies up for grabs, too.

My BFF

2010-08-29T22:19:00.000-04:00

Recognize her? Yup, that's Jennifer McGuire, my BFF! She was so sweet to come visit me and teach me tons of her coloring techniques and card making secrets. Granted, there were 39 other people there, too, and I had to pay to see her, and she doesn't really know we're BFFs, but still...

I was so star struck and giddy just to be in the same room as her. She liked my shirt!!! And said one of my projects was turning out "beautiful!"

I had the time of my life and learned so many new things that I cannot wait to try at home on my own. She is a fabulous teacher who does so many "extras" to really make the class even more fabulous. I'm telling you girls, if you have a chance to take a class from Jennifer McGuire, you NEED to do it. It's such a confidence and mojo booster to learn new things from someone who has mastered this hobby of ours.

Oh, and to top off this perfect morning, I met The Daily Marker, too. The rest of the world calls her Kathy. I had no idea she was local and giving classes nearby. I'll be learning from her soon, too. So exciting!! Shoot.... I should've gotten a picture with Kathy.

Hoping to practice my new skills tomorrow.

Orange You Glad I'm Back?

2010-08-26T09:49:00.000-04:00

It's been two weeks!! If you've missed me (or my lists of giveaways), I'm sorry. I just unintentionally took a break and so did my mojo. We did a little traveling and a lot of dancing! My 3-year-old daughter took two week-long dance classes... her first ever. I think I had as much fun watching as she did dancing.

But I'm back and excited to craft again. The challenge at ScrapTiffany this week was to work with orange. I don't know why so many people are scared of this edible color.

I also used the current Get Sketchy sketch.

Isn't it unique? Totally a fun sketch to play with. And I finally got to use the Maya Road birdies that came in my box when they did their warehouse sale last year. I love it when I use old supplies!!!

Maren over at Paper Crafts issued a challenge to try paper pleating. You know me, I love a challenge, so I gave it a try. I went with a loosely pleated look.

Alright girls, get out your orange and slice up something juicy. (Oh boy, that was bad!) Just don't forget to link it up in the comments section at ScrapTiffany. She loves to show off everyone's work.

ScrapTiffany Reveal

2010-08-13T10:21:00.000-04:00

Click on over to ScrapTiffany to see what the second half of the DT did with naked chipboard.
Here's the giveaways I entered this morning:

Scrapbook and Cards Today

Moxie Fab World

Bitten by the Bug 2

Scrapbookaholic

Jillibean Soup

Ponytail Possibilities

2010-08-10T09:12:00.000-04:00

I've got a quick, cute and easy tutorial over at ScrapTiffany today showing you how to make cute ponytails like this:

I'd love you forever if you went to check it out :)

Buck Naked

2010-08-09T16:32:00.000-04:00

The chipboard is. That's the challenge at ScrapTiffany this week: use your chipboard, but keep it naked. Talk about a challenge. Frankly, that naked chipboard is not easy on the eyes, but the design team really worked some magic with it. Check at the first half of the reveal here.

Now my card will not be revealed at ScrapTiffany until Friday, but I have to post it on my blog today because I want to enter into BoBunny's Card Challenge. Isn't this sketch so clean and perfect?

Here's my creation using all BoBunny Sophie papers:

Do you see the naked chipboard?

There it is!! These little flower chips are from Maya Road and I just wrapped brown baker's twine around them for some interest. Then I tucked them under the paper strip. And I couldn't forget a touch of Stickles on "Friends."

I really like the unexpected color combo in Sophie. It's mostly brown and pink and aqua with a pop of orange. Genius!

Feeling lucky? Here's the giveaways I entered recently. Get to it!!

Sonnet Designs

Laurel Seabrook

Creating Keepsakes

Prima

PaperCrafer's Corner

Create

Sketch It

2010-08-05T20:43:00.000-04:00

ScrapTiffany's challenge this week was to work from this sketch created by fellow DT member Rebecca.

I really wanted to use this sketch for a card, and by golly it kicked my batoonkus. I don't think any other card has taken me this long to create, but I'm so glad I challenged myself..... and even made it through fairly satisfied.

The card base is smaller than an A2 card, so the crazy amount of hang-off still fits an A2 envelope. My color choices and the use of birds came from the Embellish magazine challenge.

You'll have to trust me that the pink in my card is just as bright as this swatch. In photographing my card, I used my newly assembled light box for the first time. I am not happy with the results at all. They are turning out much too yellow. (Do you have a homemade light box you are happy with? What bulbs are you using?) I'm pretty sure it's the bulbs' fault.

Here are some awesome giveaways I came across this week:

Create (several)

Creative Critters Cricut Club

Sugardoodle

All Scrapbook Steals

Practicing Creativity

Laura Vegas

Coordinates Collections x2

Seabrook Designs

Sarah Mullanix

Ranger

Sweet Prayer

2010-07-31T14:53:00.000-04:00

Yikes! I had most of this typed out on Friday morning, but then life got busy and I never posted it. So sorry. Most of the giveaways at the bottom are still open. Good luck!

My project using black and white photos was revealed over at ScrapTiffany today. Did you play along with the challenge yet? Send your project with B&W photos to Tiffany by tomorrow.

In case you can't see it very well, my daughter snuck a lollipop in her mouth during our lunchtime blessing. Hence, "sweet prayer." Clever, eh?

Here's the giveaways I entered today. Hop to it girls. There's some great prizes up for grabs.

Moxie Fab World

Scrap Master's Paradise

Paper Crafts

Tattered Angels

Red Oak Lines x2

Imaginisce x2

Scrapbook and Cards Today

Creating Keepsakes

B & W photos

2010-07-26T08:48:00.000-04:00

The new challenge this week from ScrapTiffany is to scrap some black and white photos. My LO won't be revealed until Friday, but here's a little sneaky poo. So, get started on putting your B&W photos in a layout and then share it with us over at ScrapTiffany.

Brads & Eyelets

2010-07-23T15:27:00.000-04:00

This week's ScrapTiffany challenge was to use brads and eyelets!! This is another reason I love challenges so much: they make me use long-forgotten embellishments. I mean, eyelets???? My former dining room table still has dents from hammering in eyelets without a mat.

Since I was challenged to use the brads and eyelets, I wanted to make them a main part of the card. I remembered some Halloween brads that I've had for years, and quickly got excited about using them up.
Here's the result:

Don't you love it when you use product that's just been sitting in your scrap area for too long? I'm also entering it into the Moxie Fab World's Fun and Cute Style Challenge. You've got until Aug. 2 to get YOUR entry in.

Here's the giveaways I've entered today. It's your turn.

Bella Blvd.

Creating from the Heart

Maya Road

Making Memories

Scrapbook and Cards Today

Miss Fancy Pants

Maya Road

Pink Paislee

Scrapbook Trends

Bo Bunny

Jillibean Soup

Colorbok

Imaginisce

h*b

2010-07-12T15:43:00.001-04:00

My big brother just had a birthday. I like to tease him that he's awfully close to 40. I can do this because I'm four years younger than him. Here's the card I made for him:

I got the sketch from Practicing Creativity. Clean and crisp. There are several more sketches to choose from for this challenge. You should take a look.

This card also fits the Card Style Clean and Graphic Challenge over at the Moxie Fab World. There's a whole week of challenges over there. Check it out.

And here's two giveaways I found today:

Cosmo Cricket

Paper Crafts Mag

Monochromatic

2010-07-12T00:00:00.001-04:00

This week the girls at ScrapTiffany are challenging you to make a project using just one color. I love this because I got to sift through all my patterned paper looking for yummy pieces in the same color. Look at what I found:

I love it...... deeply. And the best part is I made it in literally 10 minutes. I had chosen the paper I wanted to use ahead of time. Then I came across sketch #174 at CPS, so I knew that was my starting point. And I was thrilled to finally use the overpriced Sparklers from Webster's Pages that I adore. Who am I kidding? They are so worth it! And I was even more thrilled to use this doily that I scrounged from a restaurant MONTHS ago. Don't you just love it when you are able to use your found, free items?

Click on over to ScrapTiffany to see what the other girls have done with one color. (Remember, half the team's projects will be revealed today; the other half on Friday. So you might not see mine there yet.) And you should play, too.

MFW Tuesday Trigger

2010-07-11T16:22:00.001-04:00

I thought the current Tuesday Trigger over at Moxie Fab World was very exciting, and I had to play along with the challenge.

Inspiring, right? This image made me think of doodling in a notebook, so I started to think of the line art images I have in my stamp collection. I found some great chunky flowers from Bella Blvd. Here's what came to be:

At first, I was upset that I couldn't get a crisp image from these stamps. but then I saw how it started to take on a hand-drawn feel.... like doodling in a notebook. Just what I was going for!!!

Friday Freebies

2010-07-09T21:34:00.000-04:00

The other half of the Design Team projects from ScrapTiffany were posted today. I'd love it if you'd stop by and share your thoughts.

Friday is almost over, but I can't let it pass by without letting you in on the giveaways I've entered today. Good Luck!!
Scrapbook and Cards Today

Tim Holtz

PaperCrafts Connection

Moxie Fab World

Red Oak Lines

Paper Life (read carefully for a second chance to win)

Scrapbook Trends

Making Memories

My Mind's Eye

SRM Stickers

ME

2010-07-05T00:00:00.002-04:00

The first challenge for the new ScrapTiffany Design Team is to scrap a layout about yourself. This was tough for me since I don't usually scrap for public viewing, and the subject of all my scrapping is my daughter..... never me. But I'm glad I took on the challenge. It made me think about what I would want you to know about me. The list grew too long, and I started thinking about what I would want said of me in someone's head (or when I leave the room. Ha ha!). What it all boils down to is this:

I won't hate it if you say, "You are amazingly beautiful," but I'd rather you think, "That girl loves Jesus." I hope it's obvious to everyone I meet.

The colors are a reflection of me, too. I love color. All the paper is Cosmo Cricket DeLovely. I added some Stickles and gems because I can't resist a little bling.

What do you want said of you? Take the ScrapTiffany challenge and scrap it. You won't regret it.

And there's a generous giveaway over at The Daily Marker. See?

Woo hoo! It's Friday

2010-07-02T22:30:00.000-04:00

And it's a good one. I found tons of giveaways for you sweet folks. Take some time and leave sweet comments to enter. Good luck!
Scrapbook & Cards Today

Paper Crafts Connection

Tim Holtz (he doesn't tell you when he's doing a giveaway. He just picks comments randomly. I have a feeling he is in a giving mood, so leave a comment there.)

Scrap Attack Scrapbooking

Creating Keepsakes

Practicing Creativity

Fisk-a-teers

The Stamping Boutique

Jillibean Soup

Bella Blvd.

Red Oak Lines

Thursday Treats

2010-07-01T22:03:00.000-04:00

I'm sorry I've been missing lately. We've had a "plethera" of visitors who are keeping us fully entertained which means no time for crafting. I did get some computer time tonight, and here are a few giveaways I came across:

Through Emily's Eyes

All Scrapbook Steals

Write. Click. Scrapbook

Friday Freebies

2010-06-25T09:47:00.001-04:00

It's a slow day for giveaways, but these are the ones I've entered today:
ScrapTiffany (you have until Sunday night to leave your comment.)

Pamela's World of Scrap

Paper Crafts Connection

Dawn McVey

Scrapbook and Cards Today

Scrapbook Trends

I heart DAD

2010-06-23T21:39:00.000-04:00

I made this shirt by ironing on some heat transfer paper to the back of fabric and then cutting the fabric letters out with the Cricut Expression. I also made some for the other kids who were visiting us. We toured around D.C. and the t-shirts were a huge hit.

It was funny when people thought all three kids belonged to one Dad. Only the middle one is mine.

Giveaway Lessons

2010-06-23T21:04:00.000-04:00

So it's no secret that I am a giveaway addict. I enter tons of blog giveaways and win at least once every month. Today, I hijacked the ScrapTiffany blog to share with you some secrets about entering blog giveaways. Hop on over to check it out. I even give you a chance to practice your giveaway entering skills, if you know what I mean.

My Little Space

2010-06-14T00:00:00.000-04:00

The challenge over at ScrapTiffany this week is to scrap your space. I'm sitting out this week because I have so much going on. Six dear friends are coming to visit on Friday. Right after they leave, my parents arrive. And right after they leave, my husband's parents arrive. Sooooo much to do. Oh, did I mention I'm taking a little road trip with some friends, so all my preparations need to be done by bedtime tomorrow. I can do this!!!! But I couldn't squeeze in time to do the challenge. But I did take some pictures of my crafting space.

We are a military family, so we move around a lot and never know what size our home will be. In our last house, I had an entire room just for my crafts. <> The closet alone was awesome. Now, I'm in a huge basement, but I have to share it with my husband's office and my daughter's playhouse and jumpy castle. I decided to get one of these Original Scrapboxes so I could always have plenty of storage and work space even if I had to put it in the guest room.

I LOVE IT! Yea, the desktop is a little small, but I can't complain because just about everything I need is within arm's reach.

I have been a little crafty in the midst of all the cleaning and minor home improvements. I sewed curtains!!! Four of our 6 guests will be sleeping in the basement, and I thought they might appreciate not giving the neighbors a show.

Aren't they cute? I made three of them. I am crazy proud of myself because I had to google how to thread the machine (my MIL gave it to me)... bobbin and all. I am not experienced in sewing at all, but this project was so fulfilling. Now that the machine is threaded, I can sew on my cards. LOL!!! Finally!

Do you have some time? Where do you craft? Join the gang at ScrapTiffany and scrap your space.

Friday Freebies

2010-06-11T22:34:00.000-04:00

Here's some giveaways for you! Good luck.

Scrapbook & Cards Today

Moxie Fab World

Obsessed with Scrapbooking (tons of giveaways this week, so read carefully to find the others)

Creating Keepsakes

PaperTrey Ink (It's release time, so a huge giveaway each day.)

Scrapbook Trends

Bella Blvd.

Prima

Necklace Tutorial and a WINNER

2010-06-08T09:15:00.000-04:00

I have a tutorial over at ScrapTiffany showing you how to make this necklace:

Click on over and check it out.

The random number generator says my Blog Hop winner is #3!! That's you TR, and this is what you've won:

Email me at we3braxtons at gmail dot com by Friday to claim your prize.
Thank you to everyone who left comments during the blog hop and became followers. I am so grateful.

FAMILY

2010-06-07T00:00:00.003-04:00

ScrapTiffany challenged us to make a family-themed project this week. I made this fun card for my Daddy. He loves ice cream!! In fact, he can eat a half gallon of ice cream in 2 sittings. That's a quarter gallon of ice cream at a time. It's so funny to see his ice cream bowl... I wish I had a picture. His bowl is of average size and then there's this huge mound of ice cream that still has the sharp corner from the ice cream box in its shape. Hilarious! Now you'll understand the inside of the card.

I cut 3 separate strands of this rope stuff (what is it called?), knotted them to the loop and loosely braided them. I like the look.

Hey, don't forget my giveaway from the ScrapTiffany Blog Hop is still open through tonight. I'll announce the winner tomorrow, so make sure you check back to see if it's you.

Now head on over to ScrapTiffany to see what the other designers have made, and join us on this "family" challenge. This card also fits the "Just for Dad" challenge at Shabby Tea Room.

ScrapTiffany Blog Hop

2010-06-05T07:53:00.000-04:00

This is so exciting!! It's my first Blog Hop ever!!! If you didn't start at the beginning of the ScrapTiffany Blog Hop, click on over to HERE right now, so you don't miss any of the great projects and giveaways we have in store for you.

If you are new to my blog, I am thrilled to have you stop by. My blog mainly features the cards I make for all those awesome challenges in blogland. I love how a challenge gets me creating something I might not come up with on my own. My wish is to get YOU creating for challenges, too. You'll never regret it.

I also LOVE to share with you the giveaways I find (and enter). You might want to consider becoming a follower (wink, wink) so you won't miss out on my next post linking you to the giveaways. Speaking of giveaways, I have one of my very own for one lucky commenter. Keep reading.....

This ScrapTiffany Blog Hop is all about recycled projects. I chose to turn a used pressed powder compact into a brag "book." That's right, one of these:

(I can't take credit for this idea because I saw it on a blog somewhere.... and I'm so sorry I cannot give proper credit.)

To get started, I popped out the remaining powder with a butter knife, then I washed the entire compact. Next, I went ahead and decorated the outside with some rub-ons and patterned paper.

I used my Gypsy to weld 6 circles together. I cut them at 2 1/8 inches on my Cricut so they would be smaller than the inside of the compact. I then folded them like an accordion.

After choosing 6 photos, I just printed them out as a contact sheet. (I use a iPhoto and this is a printing option. If you don't have a Mac, just print your photos smaller than your circles.)

Now get out your tiniest embellishments. Rub-ons, bling and brads work great. After my strip of photos were attached to the circles and embellished, I put a ton of glue dots on the back of the last circle and adhered it to the compact.

Fold it all up and snap closed.

Now on to the giveaway. I haven't finished putting it all together, but it'll be great. And if you don't see yourself using some of it, give it away on your blog. There is no shame in re-gifting.... sometimes. To enter, just leave a comment about your worst re-gift. I have a certain family member who is notorious for the bad re-gift, so my stories would be endless. I'll close this giveaway on Monday night and announce the winner on Tuesday. You must check back here to see if you've won. Hey, if you become a follower and put my blog on your google reader, you won't have to remember because you'll be stopping by anyway :) How perfect!!

I really am so glad you stopped by. Now hop on over to April's blog.

Patterned Paper Palooza

2010-05-31T08:41:00.000-04:00

This week, ScrapTiffany is challenging you to use 3 patterned papers in one project. FUN! Like most papercrafters, I am head-over-heels in love with patterned paper..... all of it. In fact, I've always loved paper and stationery of all kinds. When my husband and I went to Wal-Mart for the first time as husband and wife (before I was a papercrafter), he was baffled as to why I insisted on buying a pack of composition books in assorted colors and patterns. You understand, don't you?
This wasn't a hard challenge for me because I'm not afraid to throw a bunch of patterns together. But did you know that there are rules for this? I was reading CK's newest special issue, "tips & tricks," and they give you 12 strategies to use that gorgeous patterned paper. One of them is the gallon, quart, pint rule. The gist of this rule is to use each pattern half as much as the bigger piece. I think I kinda did that in this card.

See, the orange piece is at least half the size of the blue piece; and the stripes are half the size of the orange piece. I actually used 4 patterned papers. The flower was fussy cut from a full sheet.

The sketch came from BoBunny's card challenge.

Come on! Pull out at least 3 of your favorite papers and get to craftin'. Make sure you post it here.

Supplies: PP is BoBunny Flower Child and Sophie; flourishes are MAMBI; sticker is SRM; glitter is Martha Stewart; Ranger Stickles; corner rounder punch

Song Inspiration

2010-05-24T09:08:00.001-04:00

The gang at ScrapTiffany challenges you to create a project inspired by a song. I chose "You Got It All" by The Jets. I think this will make a great Father's Day card for my hubs from me. He really does have it all... such a great Daddy.

I really love these metal tokens from Tim Holtz, and they worked perfectly for this sketch from Paper Crafts Mag.

I also wanted to try Tim Holtz's masks for the first time. How easy and fun these are to work with! The metal swirlies are from Stampin' Up!

And the "ties" and sentiment are cut from the yellow pages of the phone book. That's right! Jessica Witty from Paper Crafts Mag challenged us to use the yellow pages in our paper crafting. It's not being used otherwise with all the technology we have.

What song inspires you? Make a card or layout and post it over at ScrapTiffany. Or try the PaperCrafts sketch and challenge. Just get crafting and SHARE it.

And Holy Mackanoley.... check out this awesome giveaway.

Friday means Freebies

2010-05-21T15:11:00.000-04:00

There's a ton of goodies out there..... you've just gotta leave a comment. Good luck!

Scrapbook and Cards Today has 6 prizes. Those odds aren't too bad.

Here's a pretty giveaway from GCD Studios.

Not paper craft related, but a super cute pendant giveaway at Make it and Love it.

Moxie Fab World is at it again.

Cricut cart giveaway at Courtney Lane Designs.

Another cart up for grabs from Obsessed with Scrapbooking.

My Pink Stamper has a couple giveaways, so make sure you scroll down to her second post after leaving a comment on the first post. And I think there will be more throughout the day.

Creating Keepsakes is giving away a gorgeous kit.

Freebie Friday over at Paper Crafts mag.

A cute kit up for grabs from Scrapbook Trends.

Pebbles Inc wants to give away some of there newest line.

Jillibean Soup's mystery giveaway is here.

Do not adjust your monitors

2010-05-17T09:37:00.001-04:00

Your eyes do not deceive you. This IS the newest Cosmo Cricket line called DeLovely. It is their brightest, whitest line ever; and it's stunning. I am crazy in love with it... especially the yellow and turquoise. How in the world did little ole me get this line when the scrapbook stores are just now getting it? I won it from Cosmo Cricket. (You have been entering the giveaways I tell you about, right?)

I made this card for this week's Glitter and Bling challenge at ScrapTiffany. I kinda felt like I should've used more shine somewhere for this challenge, but the awesome papers turned out bold enough.

To get the glitter strip, I cut a strip of Tacky Tape and punched it with a Fiskars border punch. I first tried a different company's border punch, but it didn't give a clean cut. I was impressed that the Fiskars punch could do it when the other brand could not. Kudos to Fiskars! (Oh, and are you a Fiskateer? Go here and sign up. They've got a sweet gift for you.) I peeled the top layer off first to apply the glitter because I did not want the glitter to get stuck between each paper strip. Then, I applied the glitter strip to the card.

The sentiment is a sticker from SRM Stickers. (I won those, too.)

Oh, this card also fits the sketch from Everything But The Kitchen Sink.

Hope you like it!! And come play along with the ScrapTiffany Challenge.

Now, some giveaways:

Here's a really amazing giveaway. You'll want to win this "big" one.... and it's not much of a long "shot."

Cosmo Cricket has an Ella Publishing giveaway.

Elle's Studio has a nice prize.

A moxie fab prize over at Moxie Fab World.

Patchwork Pages has a Basic Grey giveaway.

Just Rite Stamps wants to give away their newest release.

More Chances at Free Goodies

2010-05-12T21:07:00.000-04:00

Jennifer Macguire has the newest special issue from Creating Keepsakes to give away.

Cath from Moxie Fab World has a mystery treat for one commenter.

Joy of Obsessed with Scrapbooking is celebrating 1 million hits on her blog. Big prizes over there.... a Gypsy is just one of them.

Want the Give a Hoot Cricut cartridge? Stop by My Pink Stamper and leave a comment.

Fiskars wants to hear what you think will be the next big trend. One commenter will get some wild scissors. And if you aren't a Fiskateer, you'll want to sign up to become one. Trust me!!!

Prima has a gorgeous giveaway for one lucky duck. See:

Creating Keepsakes has a couple Crop-a-diles and a Creatopia to give away. Just answer a few questions here.

Copy Cat

2010-05-10T07:44:00.000-04:00

This week's challenge at ScrapTiffany is to copy someone else's project. The cuter term is Scraplifting, and it's a huge honor to be scraplifted (if you give proper credit to the original designer).

I would LOVE to be scraplifted or cardlifted one day :)

Anyway, I'm sitting this challenge out because I am on my way back home to VA today. I've been visiting my family in FL for the past week.

I've already checked out what the other DT members did. Wow!!! Head on over and play along.

Some weekend freebies

2010-05-08T17:14:00.000-04:00

Here are the giveaways I've found recently:

Scrapbook and Cards Today has a Stampin' Up! gift certificate to give away. NICE!

My friend M-C has a Cricut cartridge she wants to share.

Jennifer McGuire is giving away a Copics Cubbie.

My Pink Stamper has a cart giveaway just for her FB fans. Go here to enter.

Here's a chance to win a blue Expression from Hallmark Ladybugs.

You'll have to get out your May/June issue of Paper Crafts to enter this giveaway.

Ali Edwards has a few giveaways. Enter today because comments will be closed Sunday evening.

All Scrapbbok Steals big huge May giveaway is up. Entires accepted through Monday, so hurry.

A blog hop from A Muse Stamps: there are prizes at every stop, so it'll be worth your time.

Take Two

2010-05-03T08:41:00.001-04:00

I had so much fun with this week's ScrapTiffany challenge. We were challenged to redo an old project, so I dug up this beauty from 2003. It honestly is one of my first 5 cards I've ever made.

VersaMark ink was my current obsession. I don't think patterned paper existed, at least I didn't know about it. I did not own any ribbon, so this crepe paper thing came from a wreath I made for my first house. Oh, and Crystal Effects was the hottest product out. I used it to give the little leaves a glossy dimension. And what do you think of my distressing? The torn paper look was my "go-to" technique. Oh, the memories!!

So, on to my re-do:

I just love the invention of gorgeous patterned paper..... and fancy ribbon..... and distressing tools.... and distress inks... and distress stickles!!!!! I love this hobby!! I did use one old school product: CHALK! I chalked in the leaves because markers would have been too bold. I like the result and will probably use my chalks again soon.

You've got to try this challenge. It was such a blast. And don't forget about the DT Call or ScrapTiffany.

Start your week off right

2010-04-26T16:17:00.000-04:00

Saturday is National Scrapbook Day, so there will be tons of giveaways.... and some are starting today and going throughout the week. Here's some links to get you started. Good luck.
There is a cool giveaway over at sei for a beautiful storage shelf from CSN Stores. CSN Stores has everything from speaker stands to home decor to cookware!

Scrapbook Trends blog is having giveaways every day this week.

Megan Klauer has a ton of paper she wants to send to a new home.

American Crafts and Pebbles are teaming up for a week of giveaways. Leave a comment at both blogs.

Prima has a cute giveaway, too.

Sassafrass Lass has some yummies for one lucky commenter.

My fave

2010-04-26T08:41:00.000-04:00

This week's challenge over at ScrapTiffany is to create with product from your favorite manufacturer. Currently (yes, it does change often), my favorite is My Mind's Eye. Their paper is always beautiful and their Lush line is pure genius. For this card, I used papers from their Home collection. I just love those greens.

I knocked out a bunch of challenges with this one card. It's monochromatic for the caardvarks challenge; the sketch is from Hand Stamped Sentiments; and it uses a flower stamp from JustRite Stamps to fit their Mother's Day challenge. Whew.

DT Call

2010-04-24T21:20:00.000-04:00

Ever dreamed of being on a Design Team? Here's your chance. ScrapTiffany is looking for a new team.

All I can say is that this experience has allowed me to grow in this hobby. It has challenged me to do my best and try new things. You've got to give it a shot, too.

Here's all the info from Tiffany:

I am looking for a few good scrappers to be part of the next, ScrapTiffany Design Team! The ScrapTiffany Blog has Weekly Challenges that DT members will participate in.

There are several positions up for grabs and I welcome applications from everyone, International scrappers too!

This will be a 6 month position, to start on July 1, and runs through December 31, 2010.

***All DT Submissions must be in by Midnight, (Pacific Standard Time) Sunday June 13th, 2010. The Design Team will be notified via e-mail by June 18th.

If you've never been on a design team before, that's OK! Just take the plunge, dive right in and submit your application. I'm looking for Scrappers as well as Card Makers with a variety of interests, styles and personalities. It may be you!

E-mail the following information to Tiffany@ScrapTiffany.com with Design Team Call in the subject line.

1.    Name, Address and Photo of yourself. I want to get to know each person as I am looking at their applications and galleries.
2.   A little information about you, who you are, and how long you have been scrapping.
3.   Are you a part of any online communities? (2peas, etc.) If so, please list those websites, as       well as your username.
4.    Do you have a Blog? If so, please give the address.
5.    Do you currently Design for anyone? Who? Any past Design Teams?
6.    Include Good Quality Photos of the following:
    ~4 Layouts
    ~1 Altered Project

***If you are a Card Maker, please submit 5 Cards.

*These projects do not need to be new, but they should show your current Style.

If you are selected to be a part of ScrapTiffany's Design Team, your responsibilities include:

~Joining in on the Weekly Challenges, One Layout, Altered Project or Card per week, due every Sunday afternoon.

~Actively promote ScrapTiffany on your blog and any other websites where rules allow.

~Participate in weekly Blog activities, such as Tutorials, Blog Posts or Sketch ideas.

~Take well photographed pictures of your layouts, as well as closer images of details when possible.

~ As a ScrapTiffany Design team member you will receive 50% off any kits or products at ScrapTiffany.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm looking for all types of Scrapbooking Styles, so everyone is welcome to apply! Most of our Designers were First Time DT Members with ScrapTiffany, but have since joined one or more other Design Teams.

Good Luck!! E-mail me with any questions, Tiffany@ScrapTiffany.com

Have you started....

2010-04-24T20:29:00.001-04:00

... making your Mother's Day cards yet? You've got a week, so hop to it. I used some challenges to get me in the Mom's Day card making mood. This one's for my Mom-in-law.

I used the sketch at Everything But The Kitchen Sink.

At first glance, I had no clue what to do with this sketch, but it was so fun once I got started. Although that big gold rub-on gave me a fit. It's originally the size of the card front, so I needed to trim it down (and curve it, but that's a whole other nightmare). Well, running the sides through my trimmer caused parts of the rub-on to rub off onto its backing. Grrrrr. With lots of tiny movements, I pieced it back together. However, when NOT cutting them down, these Jenni Bowlin rub-ons are perfection. This card also fits the Hero Arts challenge: Mother's Day.

Just call me Jolee

2010-04-24T15:58:00.000-04:00

.... you know, as in Jolee's Boutique Stickers?

You see, I made those lollipops myself!! I twisted up some black and white polka dot tissue paper and wound it in a tight circle, then glued it on paper. I cut that out, attached a real lollipop stick to the back and covered it with cellophane. Here's the inside and a pink lollipop:

The story behind the photo: My daughter won the lollipop from our library, so I let her eat it on the way home. She was still sucking on it when I brought her lunch to the table. I asked her to put the lollipop down so we could pray. I peeked during the prayer (because it's just so cute to see squinted eyes and chubby hands folded in prayer) and saw that she had picked the lollipop back up, but was still praying away. One of my top kajillion favorite Mommy moments.

Why a speech bubble? It's the sketch challenge over at Moxie Fab World.

I love Cath's challenges. They push me to create something I NEVER would on my own. So fun. You've got to try it.

Making Memories Jewelry

2010-04-21T18:22:00.000-04:00

Have you heard about Making Memories new create-your-own jewelry line?

They're giving some away every day this week over on Facebook. Just go to the Making Memories Jewelry page, become a fan and leave a comment under where they tell you to.
I won today for leaving a comment yesterday!! It's that easy, kids!

A ScrapTiffany Sketch

2010-04-19T15:15:00.000-04:00

This week at ScrapTiffany, the challenge is to use this sketch:

This was my first time creating a LO from a sketch. Shocking, I know. Me.... a card sketch addict. It came as no surprise that I loved working on a LO with a sketch as my guide. It really does make the process quicker. It also helped that I had the entire Basic Grey Origins line to use. Yep.... the entire line. I won it from Get Sketchy. All I had to do was leave a comment. I tell you about these giveaways....... have you been entering? You are missing out.

Back on topic: I had thoughts to turn this into a card sketch because that's what I was "hired" to do on this DT. But Tiffany said I could do LOs too, so hopefully it doesn't totally suck in comparison to the scrapbooking DT members. See for yourself.

My photography skills with LOs are still pretty terrible. In person, there is much more detail and texture. That's my Puddin' Head about a year ago. The funny thing is that now she is such a clean freak with food. She wipes her mouth and hands with a napkin throughout the meal because one good clean-up after she's finished is not soon enough.

Why don't you give this sketch a try and post your LO over at ScrapTiffany.

Now for some giveaways!!!! You are going to enter, right?

Daily Marker

In My Mind's Eye hurry! ends 4/22

Paper Crafts Connection

Ali Edwards HUGE! Tons of winners. Don't miss out... I beg you.

SEI only until 5pm MST

Teresa Collins go back on Wed. for another chance. Winner announced Fri.

Prima is giving away this:

Is that enough for you? Good luck! And please leave me a comment any time you win. I'd love to celebrate with you.

Scraplifting is NOT a Crime

2010-04-12T08:19:00.000-04:00

ScrapTiffany's challenge this week is to lift a technique. I saw this video by reneejul1 (sorry, I don't know her real name) over on youtube. She shows a cool technique that I hadn't seen before: to ink your embossing folder before running it through your Cuttlebug. Reneejul1 inked the whole image, so the embossed part would stay white. I thought it would be neat to ink the debossed side of the images. And then I thought about inking just one little part of the folder for a bigger impact.

I think the sentiment "You know it's Time to Fly" is just perfect with this one little bird popping off the page in red. It's deep.... lol.

Okay, confession time. I inked the little bird before running it through the Cuttlebug, but it wasn't enough color or coverage for me. I filled it in with a marker and put some distress Stickles on top.

Try this technique out.... and then submit it to the ScrapTiffany challenge.

My very first Gypsy cut

2010-04-09T13:45:00.000-04:00

Yes, my husband gave me a Gypsy for Christmas and I immediately uploaded all my cartridges, but that was about it. It wasn't as user friendly as I hoped, and I hadn't taken the time to sit and read or watch how to use it. I was forced to last night.
My daughter's school is celebrating their teachers next week and I had volunteered to do a banner to be put up in the teachers' lounge before they arrive on Monday. That means it needed to be brought to school today, so I wouldn't have to go their early on a day my daughter doesn't even attend school.... plus, my in-laws are in town. All this meant I had to squeeze something out last night.
Thankfully, I already had this flip-flop garland that I made for my dear friend's 40th birthday party a couple weekends ago.

I was shocked to find that none of my 25 cartridges had a single flip flop image.... so I hand-cut these babies. Since I had this and a bunch of other beach decor, the parent committee decided the teachers' lounge will have a beach theme next week :) LOL...... but I still need a banner or sign.
<> Cut the message out on my Cricut and glue it on this garland.
But each word will have to be one piece.
The Gypsy can weld the letters together to make one whole word.
But you don't know how to use your Gypsy.
You have no other option besides starting from scratch.
(I get out my Gypsy.)

And it was easy!! And I couldn't stop giggling at how cool it was turning out. I love my Gypsy and can't wait to learn more about her :) She needs a name, too.

Sorry for the crappy picture, but it was late, I just wanted to be done, and I was behind it standing on the bar in the basement in order to get it all in the frame.

I totally dig it!!

Hey There, Cupcake

2010-04-05T10:28:00.000-04:00

This week's challenge over at ScrapTiffany is all about CUPCAKES!! And it brought with it a little drama for me. I was excited to use my Sweet Treats cartridge that I got on Black Friday, but hadn't used yet. It has lots of cupcakes!! Well, none of the cupcake cuts would work. Grrr! I looked onto the Cricut forum to see if anyone else had this problem and sure enough.. tons did. It just took a quick phone call to Cricut, and they are sending a replacement to me. Thankfully, Doodlecharms has a cupcake on it, too.

My color inspiration came from the Happy Birthday ribbon. I've had this ribbon forever and really wanted to use it. The sketch is from Paper Crafts Go-To Sketch Challenge #1. I chose Teri's sketch, but I flipped it upside down. Fun.

So what are you waiting for? You can do the ScrapTiffany Cupcake Challenge!!! And I heard there's a prize this week, too, so what have you got to lose? Good luck!

Happy Easter

2010-04-03T16:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Easter Everyone!
I love chocolate bunnies and colored eggs and new dresses and good food. It's all so much fun! But the real reason I am smiling and overflowing with joy is because Jesus is ALIVE! He is more powerful than the death my sin (and yours, too) required, and I can't help but celebrate. He makes all things new and is the Giver of second chances (ok, so I've used way more than that.... but He's still loving me!!). I can't explain how much I hope for you to know this joy, too.

And since Easter bunnies are still fun......

Here's a close-up so you can see that the bunny is flocked. So cute!

Okay, so you still can't really tell. Just trust me... it's cute. I cut him out from Doodlecharms (Cricut cart).

I worked from the current sketch over at CPS.

This card also fits the color challenge (and the requirement to use stitching) from Embellish Magazine and Everything But The Kitchen Sink's challenge to use string. Challenge #31 over at Cricutters Anonymous was to make an Easter project with your Cricut. Done.

I scrap, too

2010-03-30T16:21:00.001-04:00

I want to start posting more of my layouts. I've noticed that since entering into card challenges, I've made my LOs simpler and quicker to finish. I don't necessarily want that, so I'm challenging myself to share more of my scrappings. Click on the photo to see the details.

(And I gotta get better at photographing LOs. They don't stand on their own like cards do.)

The first thing you should know is that I refuse to create a LO with one photo. It just seems like such a waste to me unless you're gonna frame it and hang it on your wall. That makes sense. Yes, the one photo LOs look cleaner and are more publishable, but they're just not practical when you've got a kajillion photos of this cutie-patootie.

Anyhoo..... this is one sheet of patterned paper (DCWV). I cut around the "overlapping" pieces with an exacto knife and tucked the photos underneath. So in love with that look. I also added a few gem brads to give the LO some dimension and more shine.

Whatcha think? Are you a one-photo scrapper? I love you anyway.

Then and Now

2010-03-29T10:05:00.000-04:00

The challenge this week over at ScrapTiffany is Then and Now. Since I'm not that great of a scrapbooker, this was gonna be a tough one for me to do as a card. But, I just so happened to be finishing up a book of birthday wishes for my dear friend, Cindy and I thought, "This could fit the challenge." Cindy just turned 40 and we threw her a surprise party last night. I asked her friends and family to send me messages of birthday wishes for Cindy; I typed them up and scrapped them in a cute book. How does it fit the Then and Now challenge? Well, the messages shared great memories from her family and friends from decades ago and some memories from newer friends. It works..... right?

This was my very first mini album (of sorts) and I loved loved loved making it. It was so easy because it was only 6x6, but the best part was that I was using up supplies left and right..... some old, some new, some won, some purchased. It was an incredible feeling.

Here is every page of it. After I sent some pictures of the mini-album to ScrapTiffany, I was thinking that I should give Cindy and her message writers some privacy. So please forgive the blurry centers of each photo. I wasn't sure how else to keep her messages from being seen. Hope you like what you see anyway. If you do, would you mind taking an extra minute to leave a comment. I'd love you forever.

Copics Giveaway

2010-03-23T15:31:00.000-04:00

Here's a really fab giveaway with some Copics glitter markers and delicious embellishments. Give it a try. You've got nothing to lose except 5 minutes of your time TOPS.
Epiphany Art Gallery

Feeling Lucky?

2010-03-17T20:23:00.000-04:00

Here's some giveaways for all you leprechauns out there.

Making Memories has a big green goodie box for somebody. Ends at midnight so hurry hurry.

Bo Bunny has some fun stuff up for grabs, but it ends soon. Hurry.

Make and Love It has an awesome camera strap to give away. Love these things!

Creating Keepsakes wants to give away that highly desired Luck Me collection from LYB.

My Mind's Eye has two cool books to share.

Just found this blog today, Patchwork Pages. Cute giveaway.

LUCKY

2010-03-15T11:52:00.001-04:00

The challenge this week over at ScrapTiffany is LUCK. Lots of great projects from the DT. Check them out and then play long yourself. You'll be glad you did.
My BF from HS is having a birthday this week, so I thought she'd love this card.

(Sorry for the poor photos. It's been cloudy and rainy here all weekend.)

That shamrock was made using one of my most favorite supplies: Tacky Tape. You've probably seen or own strips of the tacky tape, but did you know it comes in sheets? Send a sheet through your Cricut and now you have a custom die cut that's sticky on both sides. Stick one side to your card and put flock, glitter or beads on the other side. Love it!!

When I use glitter on the tacky tape, I like to use 2 or 3 colors together to give a gradient effect. It looks really cool in person.

This card also fits the Corrosive Challenge #55, the Just Buggin Challenge and the Raise the Bar Challenge.

Another Top 5!!

2010-03-09T14:41:00.000-05:00

Another one of my cards made the Top 5 over at Get Sketchy!! I'm thrilled because there were 45 entries in this challenge. Woo hoo!

Yellow and Black...

2010-03-08T21:23:00.000-05:00

... that's the challenge over at ScrapTiffany today. Should be easy enough, right? So, why don't you play along? You've got all week to leave a link to your card in the comments over at ScrapTiffany. You've got nothing to lose and a whole bunch of sweet comments to gain.

I made this card for my sister (obviously). We call each other Duh. Long story. But I do have to tell you how awesome she is. She's a strong, independent woman who has fought through enough crap and still manages to smell pretty nice. When we're together, we always have a blast and can't stop laughing. Even though we are pretty different, we are still so much alike. And I crave spending time with my Duh.

Supplies: card base (Hero Arts); patterned paper (Tinkering Ink); rub-ons and ribbon (Cosmo Cricket); bling (GCD Studios)

Giveaways:

Kelli Crowe

Moxie Fab World

Courtney Lane Designs

Paper Crafts Mag

All Scrapbook Steals

A New Scrapbox!

2010-03-07T12:15:00.000-05:00

They're doing it again!!! The Original Scrapbox company has a new piece and they're giving one away for free. It's called The Office Box; isn't it cute?

And to top off this amazing prize, they are celebrating the release of Rachelle J. Christensen's suspense novel,Wrong Number, with a chance to win an autographed copy! Here's the trailer for it.

Want your chance to win one? Start here.