Outta Here

We are out of here.  We move first thing in the morning.  I am met with great excitement and lots of reluctance.  :) and :(

I wanted to show you one of two last cards I made before officially packing up my craft room.  See you on the other side of the digital world once I am moved and the computer is all set up and going!

 And of course a peek at the inside . . .

Credits:  Pattern Paper - Digital Paper from Silent Night Collection by Connie Prince; Die Cuts, Stamps, Ink, and Ribbon - Papertrey Ink; Flowers - all sorts of places and finds

Thankful . . .

I am so very thankful for all that is going on in my life at the moment.  Highlights?  We sold our house!!  God is so faithful.  So, we are moving.  Like this next weekend into a temporary home until our house is finished.  Our new home will be done at the first of May in 2013.  I am designing both my craft room and my closet.  It isn't going well.  Why does a little thing like money always play a part?  Oh, and I was supposed to have them both designed by two weeks ago!!  My sister just lost her husband.  (ok, so not technically thankful for that, but it sure makes you thankful for those you do have!)  They are having a Celebration of Life next week because Thanksgiving was his absolute favorite thing.  They wanted to keep it sacred.  I am, however, thankful to celebrate the life that he did have here on this earth.  AND, last but certainly not least, my newborn (who probably isn't technically a newborn anymore but 6 months old) has begun to sleep almost all the way through the night.  YES!!!  One easy peasy feed between 4 and 5.  Yes!!!

I am still planning on showing you how the craft room is coming.  Endless possibilities + Overthinker = Very Difficult to Narrow Down to What I Want!  I have initial drawings from the cabinet maker.  I also have tons of sketches, etc.  I hope to get it all put together so you can see it go from empty space to "Craftopia"!!  I just made that up . . . utopia combined with crafts . . . craftopia!

Now to show you what I have been working on before the "now" craft room goes into boxes.

Credits - All Papertrey Ink unless noted:

Stamps - Pretty Peonies, Polka Dot Basics; Ink - Summer Sunrise, Canyon Clay, Harvest Gold, Winter Wisteria; Paper - Vintage Cream and Summer Sunrise, Flowers - Prima; Jewels - Dollar Store

It's My Life . . .

. . . and I love it.  I really do.  It is just that my life at the moment is . . . well . . . how can I put it . . . a lot.  But, look what I have made today!!

It felt sooooooooo good to get into my craft room and make a card.  It feels like it has been so long now.  It probably has been so long.  

Here is a closer look:

I was so excited at how this turned out.  I would like to give it to my sister for Thanksgiving.  She will LOVE it.

I also made a Veteran's Day card.  I have a family member that is in a nursing home.  He LOVES to get mail.  I thought this would totally make his day.  I cannot wait for him to open it up!

And I also made the inside to this one.

I am getting ready to start packing up my craft room.  Before I do, I WILL do some stamping.  I will do some stamping.  I am not completely sure when I will see them again.  So, I cannot wait to share all my creations before the big move.

Digital Scrapbooking - The Easy Way

I have shared more and more of my digital scrapbooking creations.  In fact, I really do virtually no paper scrapbook pages anymore.  So, I wanted to encourage all my paper crafters out there that you CAN do this.

I have a few loves in the crafting world . . . all things Papertrey Ink . . . all thing Shabby Princess!  These are two things that I buy without fail.  I just buy and buy and buy.  Papertrey Ink is a physical product company that has the MOST adorable things.  The entire team is amazing (yes, I met *stalked* them at CHA a couple of summers ago).  Shabby Princess is equally amazing in the digital world.  Her designs like Papertrey Ink are timeless, beautiful, and always look amazing.  And the SP team is equally amazing.  Although I only know them in a digital/online sense.  **I feel like I live half of the time in the real world and the other half in the matrix!!**

I was looking around a few months ago for something specific that I was needing for a digital book I was going to scrapbook.  I ran across something I found amazing!!  Pre-made elements . . . all the hard work done for you . . . I had been under a rock.  Where had this been all my life?  So, I ran over to the store that was carrying the digital genius products.  That is when I discovered Connie Prince Designs.  She has this amazing blog where she gives out freebies and showcases her amazing stuff.  Seriously, go check it out here:  http://scrapinfusions.blogspot.com.

Let me show you something I made that I was super happy with:

Now let me show you how easy it is to do this for yourself in a simple graphics program like Photoshop Elements.

I bet you didn't realize that all the hard work was done for me.  Amazing right??!!  I have this totally amazing layout that anyone . . . and I mean anyone . . . could totally do.  The best part . . . if you head over to her shop at Gingerscraps, you can get all the pieces for this layout for only $3.  AND you will have enough stuff to do lots more pages.  Paper scrapbooking doesn't hold a candle to the budget friendliness or the ease for the finished product.

Thanks for looking today.  I have a HUGE post that I am working on all about the big move . . . coming sooner than I would want.  And, I have started designing my new studio!!!!!!  I am hopefully going to have the time/energy to share all about that as well.

Thankful for Teachers

I am so thankful for great teachers that come to work each and every day to educate my sweet babies (ok, not so baby as my 3rd and 1st grader, but you understand).  We have some amazing teachers, and I wanted to do something for them this year before the official Christmas season kicks off.  So, I made all of them a goodie bag with a couple of gift cards and a piece of candy or two.  I hope they enjoy their Christmas a touch early this year.  I thought it would a way for them to enjoy their treats and use all the gift cards on all the great pre-Christmas sales.

So, what did I come up with?  Well, let me show you.

I made this little gift sack from a regular lunch sack.  I cut it down and dressed it all up in Thankful, Christmasy paper crafting goodness.  Both of my kids have 4 (Yes, you read correctly, FOUR) classroom teachers.  Not aids, certified teachers.  Then you throw in the amazing secretary (who is amazing by the way) and the PE teacher (who is my son's favorite PE teacher so far) and the music teacher . . . and I made 11 of these puppies.  I still need to get some more gift cards, but I have a little time before Thanksgiving (which is my goal to have these done and delivered).  Each teacher is getting a Sonic gift card.  Otherwise, we are somewhat tailoring it to the teacher as to what we get.  Fun!

Look at that amazing decoration.  It was so super easy and relatively quick.  As I cheated.  It is actually a digital image that I put together and then printed 11.  Yeah!!  I also made the tags with the names, printed them, and then punched them out with a 1.75 inch circle punch.  So, this project went a bit quicker than you would think.

Credits:  Brown Lunch Sack, White Tissue Paper: Target; Digital Papers and Word Art: Connie Prince (you can get the digital kit at GingerScraps); Black Gingham Ribbon and Scallop Circle Die Cut (Limitless Layers): Papertrey Ink; Red Ribbon: Hobby Lobby.

Thanks for stopping by.

Blast from the Past

So, I was going through some computer files (man I wish I had a single unified system but I changed each time I changed computers . . . bad idea) to look for some pictures for our Pastor Appreciation day. I ran across some of my older scrapbook pages.  I found this . . .

I was first of all impressed.  :)  But it struck me because this looks just like my 4 month old son . . . today.  This was my precious daughter at 8 months old.  And my son is playing in this as I type.

Thanks for joining me on my blast from the past.  I wish I could tell you where the digital elements from this layout came from.  Sadly, I cannot.  If I figure it out, I will update this post.

Thanks so Much

It is fast approaching that time of year when we pause to give thanks.  Autumn can be a great season and arguably my favorite of them all.  I have a quick and fun share for you today.  I made a hybrid card.   Like I said, being on my laptop is so much easier and more transportable with a little one.  So, I designed this on the go and was able to put it all together so quickly later.

Credits:  Digital Papers, frame, and butterfly from Shabby Princess, Font - Some Weatz, Envelope Liner Die, Vintage Cream Card Stock and Hawaiian Shores Ribbon - Papertrey Ink

I am still loving making complete cards.  (LeAnn's definition of complete = (outside + inside + envelope) designed)  Yes, pull out your 6th grade math skills.  You can do it!  :)  I love how the liner adds the perfect and sophisticated (yet totally easy) touch to the card.  And hold the phone, operator . . . long, heartfelt inside sentiments . . . LOVE!  I will definitely be doing this one again.

I found a new love . . . my favorite paper products, Papertrey Ink, paired with my favorite digital products, Shabby Princess.  Love!

4 months

School has started and life is starting to fall back into a routine.  This is glorious as I really needed this to help Noah get on track.  He is 4 months old today!!!  Can you believe it?  I am blessed.  God is so faithful.  Most of you know that we are building a house (which is coming along great).  Because of it, I have been moving things and cleaning at our current house.  My craft room is back to full functionality!!  Yeah!!!  I have been doing all sorts of fun stuff in there.  Cards . . . sewing . . . and I have set up my computer station so that now I can digital scrapbook easily too.  I hope to start blogging about all of my endeavors.  I am trying to think it through as I have so many things to share about sewing, cleaning, cooking . . . . I just want to make sure that I don't loose my focus.  Know what I mean?

I don't have a card to share today as I am on my laptop, so I thought I would show you what I did this morning.  This is a couple of pages from our recent vacation.  Thanks for looking!

Credits:  All of this came from the Captured Life series by Tracie Stroud.

Gratitude

Gratitude - that sums up my life.  I am so thankful for my life, my health, my savior, my husband, my kids, my mom, my sisters, my family, my home, my new home, my friends, my church . . . . I am so thankful.

As some of you are aware (mostly because I have been blogging about it), I am a digital scrapbooker.  It is a passion of mine almost as much as card making (and sometimes more than).

I love to make my own pattern papers.  It is so fun.  So rewarding.  So freeing.  I have been making my own patterns to coordinate well with the PTI colors lately.  This is one of my favorite color combos.  So, I am happy to share this card with you today.

Credits:  Dots Paper, Ribbon, Stamps (Pretty Peonies) - Papertrey Ink; Plaid Pattern Paper - SillyLeAnn Designs (that's me!!)

I thought it might be fun for me to share my plaid paper with you.  I hope this works and you enjoy.

Ok, I think I have it now.  Try THIS and see if you can download the plaid paper.  Thanks for stopping by today.

First Day of School

First day of school, first day of school.  Can you just hear Nemo chanting that (yes, I am a Disny Pixar junkie)?  I am a touch emotional today as the kiddos head back to school.  Growing up doesn't get easier as you get more grown up.  I am blessed beyond measure and appreciate my family.

Here is a card that I made using my very favorite cover plate die.  This card was so fun to make.  It just seemed to come together effortlessly.  Oh, how I wish they would all do that!

Credits:  Again, all papertey ink except the pattern papers which are from Basic Grey.

I am loving the coordinating envelope with the stamps and the lining.  Such fun touches!  Thanks for stopping by today!

A Year in the Life

I have shared a little hear and there about my digital scrapping. My blog has mainly been about my card making endeavors, but I would like to branch out from time to time. Today would be one of those days. I was applying for a blog team position with a digital scrapbook designer that I really like, and it hit me that I don't blog about my digital scrapbooking. I don't really know why except that I am, for the most part, a private person. It is like bearing my heart and my soul. But, I would like to share what divides my crafting time.

I had this idea a couple of weeks ago. I wanted to make a book for my mom about our family for each year. It is like a yearbook so to speak. She has 9 grandkids and 3 great-grandkids. So, she doesn't have room to put up that many photos. And face it, in this digital world, it seems counter-intuitive to print photos. Where do you put them once they are printed? How do you store them? If you do put them in traditional photo albums, how do you mark them for date, occasion, or faces. If you put the info on the back of the photo, you are forced with removing them from the album to find out any info. Ok, you get the point. So, I think making this for her will be genius. And, if I am already doing one, I can just print one more and give it to my mother-in-law. Brilliant! Or so I think. I'll let you know.

Here are my January, February, and March pages. Enjoy!

I used the 8.5 X 11 templates from Weeds and Wildflowers Everyday Life Series. The digital kits are from the Capture Life series by Tracie Stroud.

I would share my April, May, June, and July pages. But . . . they are not done. I will catch up eventually. Thanks for looking today at a small peek into my world - or at least the other side of my crafty world.

Thank You for Your Kindness

I am popping in today to do a real quick share.  This is another one of my cards that I made to attempt to use up some pattern paper that I have been hoarding for no good or particular reason.  :)  Pattern papers really do look better when they are used, don't they?

Credits:  Pattern Paper - Basic Grey; Ribbon and Stamp - Papertrey Ink; Embossing powder - White Filagree

Thanks for taking a peek today.  Happy crafting!

A Very Happy Birthday

I love red.  It isn't my favorite color (that is reserved for the very special midnight blue), but gee wiz, I really love a crisp red.  I have really tossed around the idea of adding it to my new craft room.  I was already planning an aqua and white craft room.  Oh, how dreamy - a red, white, and aqua craft space!

I made this card for my sister-in-law (who had a birthday in April and I am ashamed to admit that I am just now blogging about it).  Her and I began card making together several years ago as a way to make extra money.  She sadly quit about 2 years later.  I couldn't give up card making for anything.  :)  So, it is always fun to give her one of my hand made cards.  Mostly because she ALWAYS rants and raves at how amazing it is.  I am more convinced she is impressed because she knows the heart and soul put into each handmade card more than she actually likes the card.  But either way, I love to see her run her fingers over all the layers, examine each and every stamped image, and sometimes ask a sincere (and impressed) how did you do that.  Don't you wish all your recipients would react like that?  :)

Credits:  It is basically all Papertrey Ink except the tag which is a chipboard tag from a set of Maya Road chipboard pieces.

I have always been an on again off again blogger.  But so many things are happening right now that I cannot decide what to blog about.  So, instead of fretting, I just need to start blogging.  I now have a 3 month old!!!  Time is flying by for sure.  We are in the process of building our dream home and by extension my dream craft room.  I have been doing way more digital scrapbooking than card making.  It is just easier to tote around the MacBook than to tote around the craft supplies.  We are gearing up to start back to school this next week.  Life . . . it is such a fun and beautiful thing.

Storing Paper Scraps

I am a bit OCD when it comes to organization and my craft room.  By far, I get the most readers for my organization post I did forever ago now.  I wanted to keep you updated with new things.  I have always had a HUGE problem with paper scraps.  Toss them?  Keep them?  If you do keep them, how will I find them to actually use them again.  I was so sick and tired of cutting into a piece of card stock only to find a day later I had like 4 small scraps that would have worked fine.

Enter my method for storing scraps.  I have using this system almost since I did my big organization post.  After I had all of the initial organization out of the way, I began to tackle the smaller (or larger in my case) problems that I couldn't find an easy solution for.

Let me show you.

This little cardboard magazine holder sits on the side of my desk right next to my stamps.  I use plastic sheet protectors to store scraps.  Each color of card stock has its own sheet protector.  I wasn't sure when I started if the sheet protectors would stay stood up over time.  But I can say after a year and a half, this is the photo I snapped of them the other day.  Still going great.

Here is a closer look so that you can really get a feel for how each color has its own "file".

I pulled it apart so that you could see that the scraps just fall to the bottom of the sheet protector waiting to be used.

Let me pull one out so that you can see how this is so useful to me.

This is my Summer Sunrise scraps.  I am diligent to place larger pieces to the back of the sheet protector and the smaller ones to the front.  It honestly takes about 2 or 3 seconds longer to quickly arrange your scrap as you slide it in.  I have also been using this system to keep my pattern papers with their respective color.  I wasn't sure if it would work out or they would require their own sheet protector.  However, I find it to work so well in my flow and set up.

What makes this system work so well is that I can see at a glance what scraps I have available.  If I need to cut a small butterfly, I can size it up before I reach in.  I can also see at a glance if I have a piece that would work for a card base or not.  It helps me to actually USE my scraps and keeps them under control.

I hope you can glean something from my system.  Isn't that what makes this so fun?  Take a bit of what I do, add it something else, mixed with your own thoughts and you can come up with an amazing solution that really works well for you.

SAF DIY

Done!!  This is my last badge to earn for the 2012 SAF (details found at Nichole Heady's blog).  I feel like balloons should drop from my crafting ceiling.  Or Nichole will show up at my door to give me a personal congratulations.  I am super pumped that I was able to play along.  I seriously have like zero follow through sometimes.

My son came in my craft room today asking me about the badges on my desk.  He wanted to know what they were for and if they were all that important to me (I secretly think he wanted them for his scout uniform, but who knows).  I paused and realized.  Yes, they are important to me.  I worked hard on each of my projects. I had fun in the process.

I learned a lot of new crafting techniques and more importantly learned a few things about me.  For instance, I work SO much better under pressure.  I do better when there is a set plan laid out in front of me.  I know what I need to do so I can just get to work.  No guess work.  I learned that I should really take a little more "me" time here and there.  (I currently take none.  Seriously.  I am a mess!!)  And most importantly, I learned that despite my short comings, my exhaustion, and the feeling like I could disappear tomorrow and no one would notice because I am just the cook, maid, and nanny - my family loves me and appreciates me.   Although I don't get to see a lot of the fruits of my labors right now, they really do value me as mom in this family.  (But it sure would be nice to get a "thanks mom" here and there)

Wow.  It is over with this post.  Just like that.  Gone.  As fast as it came.  Goodbye Stamp-a-Faire festivities.  I will hopefully see you next year.

Oh, and here is my DIY card.  :)  I used Betsy's medallion technique.  Have I mentioned how much I adore Betsy?  I totally do.

Thanks again for the comments, support, and visits.  It tickles me to pieces to be a part of such a fun community.

SAF Rainbow Badge

I finished.  I finished.  My Rainbow Badge is officially earned!!  I was letting the tie dyed background dry last night.  So, here is my finished project.

YES!!!  I am so happy.  Thanks for stopping by to see all my projects and things.  The sweet comments  put a smile on my face.  Thank you.

SAF Farewell

I am sad to see the day come to an end.   It was such a fun day - full of inspiration.  I didn't quite finish everything yet.  But, I will do my best to get in gear and finish before the Monday deadline.

Here is a look at what I was able to accomplish today.

I officially earned 5 of the 7 badges today.  You can see that I have started the Rainbow Badge or Tie-Die Techniques.  I am still letting it dry.  Otherwise, I still have the Homemade Embellishments left.  I haven't even watched the videos or read the blog post for it yet. :)

All in all, I am proud of myself for all of the accomplishments.  Oh how I wish I could talk my husband into an all day craft day more often.  It was fun and SO VERY needed today.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope to finish up and get around to everyone else's blogs and things.

Farewell . . . it is lights out.

SAF Correspondence Badge

Woo-Hoo!  I earned another badge!  I made a set of quick and easy cards.  I used inspiration from Jessica Witty.  However, it all went wrong when I got to making the packaging.  I don't know if I didn't get a large glassine bag.  Or I made my cards too large.  But they simply would not fit the way she did hers.  I was sad as it was so super cute.  I adapted and moved forward.  I still put the cards and envelopes in a bag and used a hybrid of the way Betsy closed hers.  It all worked out in the end.

Here is a look at the set of notecards.

I stamped each of the cards the exact same way.  I only varied the sentiment and ribbon color.

Here is a look at them all packaged up.

Thanks for looking.   The comments have meant so much to me today.  Thank you again!!

SAF Friendship Badge

I am impressed at the paper beads.  They have an interesting look.  I am so glad I was able to participate in this challenge.  I decided to branch out and try something.  I made my own paper to make my own color scheme.

I took some regular computer paper.  I then cut it to size.  I stamped a variety of backgrounds to match the theme of the bracelet - Red, White, and Blue.  I'm not sure if it is the Olympics coming up.  Or maybe it was because we just celebrated the 4th of July.  But, I have been drawn to that color scheme for a couple of months now.  

Here are the papers that I stamped.

Here is a closeup.

I die cut them with the PTI bead dies just like you would with their bead paper.  I used the same technique just with my own paper.  This is what came from it.

I am really excited about this bracelet.  I am planning on gifting it to my sister-in-law tonight.  They love July 4th and all things American.  I hope she likes it and can use it.

I also made the traditional PTI Bead Paper bracelet.  It turned out very elegant in my opinion.  At least my 5 year old daughter thinks it is Bee-you-ti-Ful!!!  :)

This was another great challenge.  Thanks to the PTI team for such an inspiring day.  I am going out for a while with my amazing husband - just the two of us!!  I will hopefully be back later tonight to finish up some more projects.  Until then . . . 

How I Watch the Papertrey Ink Videos

I am back from my lunch break.  I watched a few more videos while I ate.  It occurred to me that I should share how I watch the tutorials that are posted.




I hope this may help someone.  I know I love this option.  It is so helpful to see some of the techniques on the big screen.

I am ready to get back to work.  Friendship bracelet . . . your mine!