Expecting . . .

. . . no, not me! But I did make a fun pregnancy card I wanted to share with you.

Credits: Papers by MME; Prima Flowers; Queen and Co Brads; Michael's $1 stamps













I have been so spurratic in posting. It seems just as everything dies down and I get back to posting that things pick up again. We have more orders to fullfill soon, so I will be crafting in the background once more. However, I will try to update my blog regularly. (notice I didn't say daily)

Next Page Complete

I finished up page 11. This is the second page of a two page spread continued from yesterday. I thought I would get it posted so that they would stay together. See May 14th post for credits.

Year-by-Year

I am really trying to catch up on my kids year-by-year books. The idea is that for every year of their life, I would create a professionally printed and bound book highlighting their year. These books are only 20 pages long but trust me more work than meets the eye. I try to hit highlights only and use less than 50 pictures for an entire year. Also, because these are meant to be coherant books and not just scrap books, I keep theme and colors consistent throughout. I haven't worked on these since before my daughter was born. So, hopefully, you will get to see several pages coming through soon. :) That would mean that I am making progress.

I finished page 10 this morning. Page 11 is predominately done but needs some touch ups. The papers are from the P4D BCA 2.0 release about 2 years ago. I will have to do some digging to remember the exact artists. The alpha is from that kit too by Meredith Fenwick. The flowers are from the Digital Diva Design May 2007 monthly mega kit - "May Morning" (I changed the colors). The ribbon is mine.

Note: This would be Oct 2005. (Yes, I know a tad behind)

Graduation - Quick and Easy

We are going to a graduation for the daughter of some dear friends. I, of couse, procrastinated until the last minute and needed a card. I didn't want just any old card. This is for a very special girl. So, I at least wanted something fresh. While I was running errands this morning, I ran into Michael's to see if any new $1 stamps were in (they were not of course). They had the most adorable "Me & My Big Ideas" stamp clearanced for only $3. You can see the sweet graduate on the card. As soon as the kids hit their beds for the afternoon, I quickly put this together.


I hope you enjoy this!

Credits: Embossed the black textured CS with my Cuttlebug, the Congratulations is a $1 wooden Michael's stamp, the graduate is Me & My Big Ideas, I colored the graduate with water color pencils and blended.







I about went crazy when I realized I didn't have a single envelope anywhere!!! So, I quickly pulled out something I bought on clearance ages ago. It is a Fiskars envelope template that you use with the Shape Cutter. I was stunned and amazed . . . that was THE BEST envelope template I have ever used. I wanted to show you how crisp and precise the envelope turned out.

Isn't that amazing!!! Well, I thought so at least. I highly recommend using it!

Wedding Cards

I needed to get some wedding cards made. So, here is a sample of just one of the eight designs. I hope you enjoy.

Credits: Wedding Dress - I made; Embossing - Cuttlebug; I was given the "Bride & Groom" stamp and immediately unmounted it without a thought so I have no idea; Swirl Stamps - Autumn Leaves

Thanks for looking!

More Favorites - Favorite Things

I made this page of some of my favorites that weren't necessarily objects. Again this is an 8x8 two page spread. If you look closely at the layout, you will see how my brown papers turn at the brad to reveal my journaling. I would have to say that this is one of my favorite pages that I have ever made. I really liked how the colors turned out. I am totally addicted to paper scrapping all over again. :)

Credits: Multiple Colors of Generic and Textured CS; Patterned Paper - MME; Grossgrain Ribbon; Brown Flowers - Bazil; Small Blue Flowers - Prima; White "Travel" Letters - Paper Studio; Brads - Paper Studio; Stamps - Autumn Leaves (swirls), Paper Studio (family), Studio G (happiness line) and My Sentiments Exactly (Favorite Things Title)


Here is a close up of the hidden journaling:
















Thanks for looking - I hope you enjoy!!!

Extreme Blog Makeover

I haven't been happy with the look of my blog since I began it almost a year ago. I guess it is just one of those things that I could never get quite right. I would spend countless hours tweaking, designing, thinking, moving . . . to no avail. I finally took an approach that I use when I craft. So, I am not 100% happy about it, I am about 90% pleased overall. I realized that I needed to use colors that make me happy and a style that appeals to me instead of trying to "be" a certain type of blog. I think this convey's who I am about more so than any other style I have used thus far.

I can't help but feel that I need to post a picture each time I post. So, here is the first page in my daughter's year one book. Each year of my children's lives, I create a book showcasing that year featuring only them (well mostly). I have it professionally printed and bound into a book. It is a fun project that I try to keep up with. I am WAY behind at the moment. So, expect that I will be working on their books.

Credits: All the papers are mine. The swirl overlay is from Shabby Princess. The font is Albermarle.

Yes, here she is only a few hours old. I think this is the most precious picture I have of her.

My Favorites - Paper Scrapbook Page

I have been working real hard - on the side - to make a "book" of my favorites. It has been so fun to actually paper scrap again. Here is one of the two page spreads. It is made at 8x8. You have to look hard to see the hidden white tags behind each photo with the journaling behind the object.

Enjoy!

Credits: Pattern Paper - MME; Ribbons - Basic Grey; Stamps - Paper Studio; Flowers - MM; other misc items

Okay - I actually Paper Scrapbooked

It has been a really long time since I brought out my paper scrapbooking things. Not that they are all that different from my card making things. :) It was so much fun! I am in a circle journal swap that I somewhat regret doing. I just didn't realize how slow paper scrapping went because I haven't done it in so long. So, I had to get back into the swing of things. I had the inspiration to keep going after my CJ's. I made a two page baby boy spread. I really enjoyed these pages. I hope you enjoy them too.

I used CS for the frame and mats. The background is MME. The stamps are Technique Tuesday and Autumn Leaves. The flowers are Bazil and Prima. The titles are "Red Tag Sale" from my Cuttlebug.

I used my swirls all over this one. I love how it turned out. I hope that you can tell that the large "thing" on the left is a big frame for 2-4x6 photos. The left page has room for 2-3x3 photos, 1-3x5, and 1-6x4 photo. The photos can slide under the baby blue ribbon on all the mats.

I hope that everyone has a great week!!

Swirls and Curls

I am totally addicted to the swirls out there. I think that this style may be my favorite "new" thing to hit scrapbooking styles yet. It is so versitile! I can use them in every color, mix and match, or use them as accent fillers. I cannot get enough of them. Oh, to have more time to make things with swirls. :)


In honor of my swirls and curls addiction, I made this card full of all types of swirls from the embossing, the stamping, and the paper. I used my cuttlebug for the embossing. The pattern paper is MME. The "Thinking of You" stamp and the blue and green accent stamps are from the Studio G line otherwise known as the Michael's $1 Stamps. The large swirl in the background of the circle is an Autumn Leaves stamp by Rhonna Ferrer.

Also, I would like to repeat this again. If you like podcasts, you must check out ScrapCast. I have almost finished all the back episodes. This is one great podcast. She really gives you so much information. For more info, check out this post or go to the ScrapCast site.

And the Stamps go to . . .

..."nancy". She told me about franticstamper. I have made a list of a few things that I am going to get from there. Thank you!

Thanks to everyone for the great places to shop. It is sometimes hard to judge what will be a good place to order online.

Nancy - if you will email me at sillyleann AT gmail.com then I will get all the info and get your stamps out as soon as I can.

It's the Little Things

I was looking through some of the cards that I have received or made for various swaps and things. As I was looking through, I began to wonder what made some of the cards really stick out to me and others sorda fade into the rest. For me, and I empahsize the for me part, it is all about the details that add demension and interest. I went through my archives and found this card I made. I would like you to take a look at the original design.



I love the different patterns that I used. I not a big fan of the colors, but otherwise a nice card.

Now look what happens when I add a little ribbon.


Now think if I were to use some pop dots and really push those circles out a bit. I could also add some brads or buttons to bring even more interest to the card. It would make this card pop.

Not my favorite card, but I really think you can still get the idea that the little things made the difference.

Spring Generosity

Ok, I guess I have figured out that I am the only one who reads my blog. :) I am okay with that. I will continue to upload my creations as a record of my growth as a card maker. But, for anyone who is interested . . . I still have stamps to give away from the previous post. I will pick a winner Monday, April 9th. So, you will need to post a comment by early that morning to be eligible for my blog candy.

Here is another card for my spring card swap - Enjoy!

Credits to follow soon...

Want Stamps?

I have to admit that I am a major lurker sometimes. I have a list of about 18 blogs that I read on an almost daily basis. I have only commented maybe a handful of times. I really try comment when I have a chance, but it seems that I am always in a rush.

So, in the name of goodwill, I am going to offer these fabulous new Michael's dollar stamps. I am sure that someone reads my blog that doesn't get a chance to comment. That's okay . . . lurk away. I hope that something I post offers you some kind of inspiration. If you want to win these stamps, post a comment telling me where I can get some unique embellishments. I only have a Hobby Lobby and Michael's to shop at (no AC Moore's, JoAnn's, ect.) The closest local scrapbook store is over 30 minutes away. I would like to find something that not many people can get locally here.

If you post, your name will go in a cup and I will pull out a winner. Here is what you could get:

Sunday Morning

For some reason, we haven't been able to capture those angelic photos of our daughter. It seems like most of our pictures she is "deer in the headlights" look. I was so excited that before we loaded up to go to church, she actually gave me a happy face. I had to scrap this.


The flower paper is by DebF. The flower doodle stamp and alpha are FJardine. The frame is ShabbyPrincess.

It has been a long time since I have actually put a digital layout together. It was so nice to get back to something I have such passion for. Oh, to be able to craft to keep up with life . . .

Scrapbooking for Your Speakers

I have to admit that I have been taken over by the iPod rage. I was surprized with one from my DH just before Christmas. I had never even touched one or really looked at one until he gave me mine. I got an 80G 5th generation iPod.

Shortly, after downloading iTunes, I began purusing their store. I found a few podcasts of some different churches that I love and was estatic to see I could hear the sermons for free. I became hooked on podcasts. I say all that to tell you that there is an awesome podcast called "Scrapcast". You really should check it out. You don't have to have iTunes or an iPod to get her shows.

The show is hosted by Lynette. She really packs each episode full of useful information. I get so many ideas and little tidbits here and there from the show. She does a great job and makes a very useful program. Note: I used a screen shot from http://www.scrapcast.com/ for the little graphic so that you can get the feel for it.




I haven't posted anything but cards lately that I almost forget that my purpose of this blog is scrapbooking and card making. :) So for those of you who are faithful card watchers this is for you:


I made these invitations for my neice. She is having a princess party. I made the pocket portion of the tag card. I distressed it with ink. Then, I stamped the swirls with Technique Tuesday stamps. The "Your Invited" stamp is a $1 stamp from Michael's. I paper pieced the castles and adhered them to the front. I made tags with all the information on them and then disstressed the edges. I topped the tag off with some funky fur in white, pink, and purple.

New Idea for Invitations

Here are some beautiful invitations that I made. They are a take off of the ever popular tag card. I just tweaked the idea so that you can see the "Who, what, where, when, why" information. I made these for a baby shower, but they could be used for practically any type of card or invitation. I hope you enjoy!



The colors turned out a little off. The papers coordinated beautifully. I also made some matching envelopes.

2-Minute Miracle

I have to admit that I was interrupted so many times while making this card. I had the general idea set. So, in theory this should be a quick 2-minute card.
Again, a 2-Minute Miracle begins with the inspiration of a beautiful paper with coordianting card stock and sentiment. Then you cut, stamp, and embellish from there. It is that simple.

Credits: Paper - Basic Grey; Flowers - Prima

Baby Shower Invites - DONE

One of my good friends had a baby back in January. She had moved prior to the birth and wasn't up for anything before. So, we are having a "Welcome Party" for her. Everyone can come and see (and hold) the baby. I, of course, volunteered to do the invites. That is a picture of their baby. Because I thought the photo was so cute, I had to use it on the invites. I thought they turned out so cute. However, these were very time intensive! I didn't think I would ever finish them. As some of you know, my sister-in-law and I make and sell all kinds of cards and invites. So, I can say with much experience behind me that these were intense. :) It was fun though because I haven't been able to do anything like it.
I said I was too busy to post and here I am blogging! I was so excited to get all my invites out the door today that I had to show them off.
Have a great weekend! I will most likely not be blogging again until Monday.

I love my Spring Stamps

I was so anxious to make something with my cutie spring stamps. I have a card swap with the theme of spring cards. How convenient! I have never water colored before, so this is my first attempt. I see all these beautiful cards, and I have to learn to do this technique. Anyway, I love how this card turned out. I hope my fellow swappers will be as happy with them as I am. All the cards are basically the same. You can even see what I put on the inside. It says "Happy Spring" with the letters of spring in flowers.


Enjoy! I have had a rough week. I am not sure how much I will be around to blog in the next few days. My husband has the weekend completly off!! So, if I you don't hear from me on my blog, don't worry. I am having a great weekend.

Edited to add Credits:
Paper is a printed paper from Shabby Princess. I ran the blue card stock through my cuttle bug. The stamps are Hobby Lobby colored with water color pencils.