{Crafting Life}...

Stitched Paper Ornaments...

2011-12-03T08:00:00.001-05:00

Today's post is short & sweet... here are some stitched paper ornaments that I made for the Bo Bunny Blog. They're so easy and perfect for any left over holiday paper you might have. Check out the tutorial if you want the details...
Handmade Christmas Ornaments

By the way, I'm today's guest designer over at D's Paper Studio. My good friend, Debby Lewis was sweet enough to ask me to join in and it was a pleasure to share a few of the traditions we have during the holidays. Stop by and tell her "hey!" for me! :)

Wrapping up fall...

2011-11-26T09:00:00.002-05:00

It's hard to believe we're at the end of November already but I am sooo excited that Christmas is just around the corner. But before the month is over I wanted to share a few final fall projects I've made...

I made this Tri-Fold Screen with We R Memory Keeper's Autumn Splendor collection for the Glue Arts Blog...

"Autumn Splendor"

The squares are connected by strips of ribbon adhered between the front and back layers. You can find the details if you follow the link above for the tutorial.

This quick card is made with Imaginisce's Happy Harvest collection, also for the Glue Arts Blog...
"Give Thanks"

U-Cut-It Adhesive and Raise 'Ns added dimension to the circle and leaves.

And finally, this last project is goofy but looked super cute on our Thanksgiving table....Silly Turkey treat holders made with Bo Bunny's Forever Fall collection...

His body is an enclosed paper tube (like a sour cream container) that can be filled with small treats. Then the tail and wings are accordion folded strips that are hot glued to the back and sides.

Thanks for visiting and hope you're enjoying the long holiday weekend as much as I am! :)

Thank You Card and a {Hop} Winner!!

2011-11-09T09:50:00.000-05:00

I'm bouncing back and forth between fall and Christmas/winter projects this week. For the past 2 months, I've been stocking up holiday projects for a craft show that I'm selling at early in December. I haven't done one in years and to tell you the truth I'm just a wee bit stressed about it....lol! I have a good inventory so far, but still MUCH more to do. This autumn card that I'm sharing today was a nice break from all the Christmas themed items I've been working on....

"Thank You"

I trimmed some fall floral sprigs and tucked them under the flower - adhered with Glue Arts Micro Extreme Adhesive Squares. The Adhesive Squares also help keep the hemp bow from coming undone. :)

Supplies:
Glue Arts - Pro+ High Tac with Glue Glider; Extreme Adhesive Squares (regular and Micro); U-Cut-It Adhesive Foam
We R Memory Keepers - Autumn Splendor pattern paper, flowers and chipboard

By the way, I want to thank all the wonderful Handmade Holiday Blog Hoppers that stopped by over the weekend! You made the hop a great success! And thank you also for all the lovely comments about my snowman!

Now....for the winner of my own personal blog's hop prize......drumroll, please.............

Congratulations to............

............................Clare G!

Clare G said...: Love your project and it just so happens I have some of those little jars in my craft closet-guess what I'll be doing this evening!
November 5, 2011 4:54 PM

Congrats, Clare!!! Please email me with your info and I'll have the G45/Glue Arts prize package out to you ASAP! :)

Thanks for stopping by today!

Handmade Holidays {Blog Hop}!!!

2011-11-05T00:01:00.140-04:00

Welcome to the Handmade Holidays Blog Hop!!!

Calling all crafters! We’ve gathered designers from some of our favorite manufacturers to show you ways to create something from the heart this holiday season. This 3 day Hop includes over 60 stops with inspiration brimming from every corner. Explore all thoughtful and frugal handmade gifts you could make for the holidays, all in one place on this Hop!

Today, I'm sharing this Snowman Jar...isn't he cute!?! Jars always make great packaging for gift giving around the holidays. You can fill them with treats, small gifts, gift cards or whatever you like. And this project costs just a few dollars in total to create so it's both practical and economical...gotta love that! This small jar is one that I found at IKEA but you can certainly create a similar project using any jar with a lid.
*Snowman Treat Jar*

Here's the How-To:

Paint a wooden craft doll head with white acrylic paint and let dry. Use a dry round bristle paint brush (or cotton swab) to rub in blush (yep, real powdered blush…lol!) for cheeks. Add eyes and mouth using the end of a paint brush to dot on black paint. Set aside to dry – you may need to position the head so that the paint doesn’t drip down.
Cover side of jar lid with a strip of pattern paper inked with Clearsnap's Chestnut Roan Chalk Ink. I used Glue Arts' Ribbon Adhesive to attach the strip and ensure a snug hold. Create a decorative design for the front of the jar – scalloped circle and snowflake sticker. Apply glitter glue to the snowflake and a gem to the center.

For the top of the jar, create a rosette using a 1” x 12” strip of pattern paper. Score at ¼” marks and accordion fold. My favorite way to secure rosettes is to use Glue Arts Hot Glue Gun and sandwich the rosette shape between punched circles. This way they never come undone.

Make a tiny paper cone from orange cardstock – I used a segment from 1” circle punch to do this. Use Extreme Micro Adhesive Squares to secure the cone shape, then add 1 or 2 to the open end of the cone to secure it to the snowman’s face. Additional liquid glitter glue applied later will help seal this to his face as well.

Attach the rosette to the top of the jar lid with hot glue. Attach the snowman head on top of the rosette with hot glue as well. Wrap silver tinsel pipe cleaner around the neck twice and secure with a dot of hot glue. Yes, I love my Glue Gun...it makes quick work of this kind of craft. : )
With a paintbrush, lightly apply glitter glue to the snowman’s head and let dry thoroughly. The nose may get a bit soft at first, but once it's dry it will harden and be secure.
With a 4” circle of pattern paper, cut a wedge of the circle and create a cone hat. Secure the hat shape using Extreme Adhesive Squares.

Use the Glue Gun to attach the hat, tinsel ball and trim to the top of the snowman’s head. Accent the hat with a snowflake button and tie ribbon to the neck of the jar to complete. Then fill with your candy or treat of choice and it’s ready share with someone! : )

Supply List:
Glue Arts: Glue Glider Pro;1/4 High Tac PRO+ Cartridge Refill - Pro;Mini Adhesive Squares;Adhesive Squares;Extreme Micro Adhesive Squares;Spooled Ribbon Adhesive;Glue Gun;Glue Gun Stick Refills

Clearsnap Ink: Chestnut Roan Chalk Ink
Bo Bunny: Blitzen Pattern Paper – Turtle Doves, Snow Globe, Blitzen, Stripe and Reindeer Games

Blitzen Combo Stickers, Jewels and Buttons

Fiskars Americas Tools: Round ‘n Round Squeeze Punches and Scallop Paper Edgers

Scor-Pal Tool
Other supplies: Wooden craft doll head; jar with lid proportionate to head; candies/treats to fill; glitter glue; silver tinsel pipe cleaner; red ribbon; black and white acrylic paint

I hope that I've inspired you a bit and that you've enjoyed the project!
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More about the Handmade Holidays Blog Hop...
To sweeten the Hop, we’re offering a gift for you! For every comment you leave on the blogs (comment on each one!) in the Hop, you’ll be entered to win a prize pack from one of the participating manufacturer sponsors!

The winner of the Glue Arts prize package will receive an Embellishment Kit plus a Glue Glider PRO Handle and the *NEW* PRO+ Perma Tac Cartridge.

Visit the list of blogs below and leave a comment on EACH by Nov 7, 2011 at 11:59 PM PST. Each day we will be sharing a brand new list of blogs with brand new projects for you to explore, be inspired by, and create from!

Today's link list includes:
Clearsnap
Spellbinders
Hampton Art
Zutter
Graphic45
Donna Salazar Designs
The Twinery
Authentique Paper
Glue Arts
Jan Hennings – Glue Arts
Kim Sonksen – Donna Salazar Designs
Jamie Harper – Hampton Art
Jenny Suchin – The Twinery
Heather Conklin– Authentique Paper
Gloria Stengel- Graphic 45
Christine Emberson - Spellbinders
Julie Overby – Spellbinders
Mary Dawn Quirindongo – Clearsnap
Lea Sanders – Zutter
Tara Orr – Graphic45
Patti Milazzo – Glue Arts
Emily Lanham – Authentique Paper
Jessy Christopher – Donna Salazar Designs

And.............I have a BONUS GIVEAWAY to offer you...from me!

On Tuesday morning, I will choose at random (from the comments left here on my blog) one lucky winner to receive a prize pack that I've put together. It will include an assortment of Glue Arts Adhesives as well as an assortment of patterned papers from Graphic 45!

Cheers to creating gifts from the heart this holiday season! Happy Hopping!

Happy Friday!

2011-11-04T12:33:00.003-04:00

It's Friday already!?! Where did the week go? I absolutely love this time of year but it flies by and I can barely keep up. Fall is in full swing and we have another busy weekend ahead with band competitions and places to go but I'm hoping that we'll squeeze in a little time to enjoy this gorgeous weather we've been having this week...now that the snow is gone!

Today, I have a few recent fall projects that I've made with Bo Bunny's Forever Fall collection......

"Give Thanks" Mini Album

Visit the link above for a full tutorial on how to make this mini that is chock full of pages with pockets and tags and plenty of room to record your memories as well as photos.

"Autumn Leaves" Layout

This was my take on a "Fast Friday" challenge over at the Bo Bunny Blog. Simple layouts are a big challenge for me since I'm always wanting to add more and more and more...lol! I managed to stop myself though with this layout and tried to maintain some simplicity and clean lines. :)

I even managed to not ink everything! Check out the link for a list of supplies and a few tips on how to make this a multi-photo layout.

Kids Turkey Treat Craft

Goofy looking, isn't he? His body is a "sour cream" style container that is perfect for holding small treats! The "how-to" instructions can be found by clicking the project's title link above.

My kids aren't exactly little anymore, but they still love cute crafts especially around the holidays so we'll be making a few of these for our Thanksgiving table. :)

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By the way...today starts the Handmade Holidays Blog Hop hosted by Clearsnap! The hop takes place Friday, Nov. 4th through Sunday, Nov. 6th.
Glue Arts (along with several other manufacturers) will be participating along with some of the Glue Girl designers. Go check out the details by clicking on Clearsnap to begin! I'll be joining in the hop with a project on Saturday, so please drop by here to see the cute little project that I've made. There will be a whole new list of designers tomorrow and more chances to win the fabulous prizes available. Hopefully, it will help inspire you with a fun gift giving idea this season!

It's a Harry Potter Halloween...

2011-10-31T11:24:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween!!!

As you can see, I have my very own little Potter look-alike. This year I made Alex's Harry Potter costume and I'm happy to say that he loves it! It includes a black fleece hooded robe, a gray "sweater", a tie and scarf with the Gryffindor House colors, a carved wooden wand and last but not least my hand sewn version of the Golden Snitch.

The tie is simply a red clip-on tie with strips of Glue Arts Accent It All adhered to the front. I like that the strips will come off easily without leaving behind any residue and the tie can be used again. By the way, my husband actually carved the wand from a branch in the backyard. He's crafty in his own way...clever man!

Look out Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry! He's not 11 yet, but practicing his spells already!

I found this gold material at JoAnn's Fabrics for the Golden Snitch. It has a black backing that made the material very easy to stitch. The body of the Snitch is made in the same way as a fabric ball with petal shaped leaves. I stitched the wings and pinned them inside each side of the ball before finishing.

After all the snow we had this past weekend (SNOW in October!?!) I'm glad that he'll be bundled up for tonight's chilly adventures through the neighborhood. :)

Here's a couple of recent Halloween cards too...

"Have A WiCKeD Halloween!"

I decided to give this Halloween card a Gothic spin mixing up Bo Bunny's new Enchanted collection with a stamps from other collections as well as a few Fiskars Squeeze Punches. Enchanted is actually a wedding collection but I thought the distressed black and white patterns were perfect for the slightly spooky card I had in mind.

Supplies:
Bo Bunny: Enchanted Pattern Papers, Jewels, Buttons and Brads; Stamps from Welcome Home and Boo Crew
Fiskars Americas Tools: Oval, Cat & Crow

Finally, a Vintage Halloween Door Hanger...

I created the 3D pumpkin using circle punches for this door hanger. You just fold them in half and glue them together. It takes quite a few to fill him out, but I love the dimensional effect. Isn't he cute? I like his little hat, too!

Supplies:
Authentique Paper: Glowing pattern paper and accents
Glue Arts: Extreme Adhesive Squares, Extreme Micro Adhesive Squares and Pro+ High Tac Adhesive
Fiskars Americas: Circle and Triangle Squeeze Punches

Glad you stopped by for my Halloween post!
Have a great day and once again....Happy Halloween!

Halloween Decor & a Glue Arts PRO+ Winner!

2011-10-20T12:26:00.000-04:00

Hey there! I am sooo enjoying the cooler weather and that it finally feels like fall. And we're definitely in the Halloween spirit here at our house as the big day approaches. If you can't already tell, it's one of my favorite holidays and fall is by far my favorite season. There's so much to do....tonight we have a Halloween parade in town, I have some special baked treats planned, the costumes for the kids are all set (I'll share on the blog this weekend the one that I made for my son), we have a busy weekend of fall activities ahead and there's still more decorations to be put up and then we'll be set. Hectic but fun!

Speaking of decorations, today I wanted to share another Halloween project that I made recently for the Glue Arts Blog using DCWV Midnight Spell. It's a gorgeous paper collection and it was perfect for this not so creepy project. :)

Halloween Sign

You can find the how-to tutorial at the link above. I love the look of rosettes and wanted to include a mix of layered rosette accents on this wooden craft sign that I painted black and distressed. I used the Scor-Pal Tool to score papers strips of varied widths and I have to say...I just love this tool because it's made it a cinch to make rosettes.

Supplies:
DCWV - Midnight Spell paper pack
Glue Arts - Glue Glider Pro Handle and PRO+ High Tac Cartridge
Fiskars Americas Tools - Ghost, Oval, Scalloped Circle Squeeze Punches

And without further ado....the WINNER of a Glue Glider Pro Handle and the NEW PRO+ Perma Tac Cartridge..............

buglvr2010 said...: Your card is fabulous! I would love to win a glue glider...I have heard wonderful things about it!
October 18, 2011 5:10 PM

Congrats buglvr2010!!!

I've let Glue Arts know that you're the lucky winner and they'll be expecting an email from you. Just contact Julia at this email --> Gluegirl@gluearts.com and she'll arrange for you to receive you fabulous Glider and PRO+ set!

Thanks for visiting! :)

A Halloween Card and a GLUE ARTS PRO+ Giveaway!!!

2011-10-18T09:00:00.015-04:00

I have a Halloween card to share with you today. I was going through my Halloween stamps yesterday and found a cute phrase for a paper pieced pumpkin idea that I had in mind.

Jeepers Creepers....Where'd Ya Get Them Peepers!?!

Crazy looking, right? I don't know though...I think I want our jack-o-lantern to look like this. He looks like he's had waaayy too much candy...lol!

As you can see I used my Glue Glider with the NEW PRO+ High Tac Cartridge. I love that you can flip this cartridge around to PUSH or PULL to apply the adhesive and it really does glide even more smoothly than ever. I was able to easily apply the adhesive even on the tiniest pieces for his face.

Supplies:
Authentique - Glowing Collection of Pattern Papers
Glue Arts - Glue Glider Pro with PRO+ High Tac Adhesive; U-Cut-It Adhesive Foam and Mini Adhesive Squares (hemp bow)
Fiskars - Squeeze Punches (oval, circle, triangle, Oak Leaf)
Stamps - Heidi Grace & Li'l Davis

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Now....onto the details of the GIVEAWAY.........

If you already LOVE Glue Arts then I know that you're sure to be over the moon with the new PRO+ Cartridge. If you're new to being a Glue Arts fan, then their NEW MultiDirectional PRO+ Cartridge will certainly win you over to just how wonderful Glue Arts adhesives are.

One great thing about this new cartridge is that there's no need to purchase a new handle if you already have one. It works with the existing Glue Glider Pro Handle. Just the cartridge is new and improved. :)

Want to know how you can WIN your very own Glue Glider Pro Handle and a PRO+ Perma Tac MultiDirectional Flip Cartridge?

It's simple....just leave a comment below on my blog by 11:59 PM Wednesday evening. That's it! One lucky winner will be chosen on Thursday at random from the list of comments to win their very own Glue Glider Pro Handle AND the NEW PRO+ Perma Tac Cartridge! :)

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

World Card Making Day 2011

2011-10-01T06:00:00.013-04:00

Happy World Card Making Day!

It's an all day card-a-palooza! If you're not familiar with this event you can find it in the link above and on the World Card Making Day Facebook page, too.

Today I'm sharing a "Thank You" card...

It's over the top but I just couldn't help myself...lol! I just love making these paper cone flowers! I made another card awhile back in an earlier post with the same technique - using Fiskars Squeeze Punch Clouds to make each cone - with Crate Paper's Portrait collection. I loved it so much that I just had to do it again, this time with Pebbles, Inc.

For info on how to make the flowers, you can find a brief tutorial on the Glue Arts Blog ---> HERE.

Throughout the day between relaxing with my family and my son's baseball game this afternoon, I'm hoping to get a few cards done for Operation Write Home and some Christmas cards that I'd like to offer at an upcoming local craft show to fund raise for my daughter's Marching Band - Go Bulldogs!!!. I'll try to take photos and update my post with those later.

Happy Card Making to everyone joining in today!!!
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By the way, I've been asked to share some big news today...Glue Arts is introducing its' new Glue Glider Pro+ Cartridges!

Not sure what these are??? Well, I can tell you that they make using your Glue Glider Pro even easier than before. With these new cartridges, you can glide your Glider forward OR back...your choice!
Want to try these new cartridges out? Starting today Glue Arts is giving away a new Pro + Cartridge and a handle to 10 winners for the next 10 days. Fans can enter to win through this link ---> Glue Arts Pro+ Cartridge

You only need to enter once to be eligible for the entire 10 days!

Just a reminder...you DO NOT need a new handle if you already own the Glue Glider Pro because the Pro + Cartridges fit right into the existing handles...so no worries for those who already have a handle.

Go check it out & Good Luck! :)

Adding dimension...

2011-09-30T18:29:00.000-04:00

I love the things I make to be dimensional, where the paper and embellishments "pop" off my card or project or layout. There's so many ways to add even just a little bit of dimension but here are a few projects that I made for the Glue Arts Blog this past month that have lots of dimension...

At the end of August, I created a monogram sign using a rolled paper technique using Echo Park's Splash collection. I was inspired by the many framed crayon monogram projects I've seen on the web and I thought why not do the same with rolled paper.

Summer Monogram Sign

Adhesive Squares secured the paper perfectly and I layered on stickers with Cut-It-Out Adhesive Foam.

I have a few other projects in progress like this for fall and the holidays using this same technique.

Earlier this month, Julia (our fearless and super creative team leader over at Glue Arts) had a another fabulous challenge idea for our team - to use something from Pinterest as an inspiration piece for a project. You should know that I had been avoiding that place like the plague. Why is that? Because (if you haven't already visited the sight) it's HIGHLY addictive! You can spend forever seeing one creative idea after another and pinning things obsessively, which is what I now do. Thank you very much, Julia! :)

Here's my {p}inspiration photo and here's my card using Crate Papers' Restoration and Portrait collections.....

Thankful for You

I made the small paper frames using corner and border punches. I used a mix of U-Cut-It Adhesive Foam and the Raise 'Ns for this card.

And last, but not least....we worked with Pebbles Inc. earlier in September. I love their Happy Go Lucky collection that I used for this card...

Smile

Super simple to put together with their adorable embellishments. I added extra U-Cut-It Adhesive Foam as well as Mini Adhesive Squares and Ribbon Adhesive to secure the button and pom-pom trim.

That's it for today. I can't believe September has come to an end! It seems the month just blew by in a flash! Enjoy your weekend and happy crafting! Go add some dimension to whatever you're making. :)

Remembering 9/11/2001...

2011-09-11T12:00:00.002-04:00

Here's a photo I took ten years ago on Wednesday, September 5th 2001. Joe and I took the kids up to Jersey City to visit the Liberty Science Center that day. Sheridan had just turned 5 that summer and Alex was only a few months old. It was our last "family fun" day trip before Joe was scheduled to leave for South Carolina. Earlier that summer, he had been the unfortunate casualty of downsizing at his work place and full time employment in his field had been impossible to find where we lived in central Jersey. So we decided to take a leap of faith and accept a wonderful position offered to him down south. We were both nervous about this big change in our lives especially with two small children, Alex being a newborn. The day out was our way to ease our nerves and forget about the craziness to come with months of separation and the overwhelming task of moving so far away. Joe was to fly down on Sunday and start his new job that Monday the 10th.

We had a wonderful day and Sheridan particularly enjoyed the hands on activities at the science center. Later, we took a walk along Liberty State Park where we had gorgeous views of the New York City skyline and of course, the World Trade Center Towers. These are a just a couple of photos I have from that beautiful day.

The following week on the morning of September 11th, I had gotten the kids up and ready to make a quick trip to the market. It wasn't until we were just pulling out of the driveway when a friend called me on my cell phone and told me what was happening. I'd only had Barney on briefly before we went out the door. I almost never put on the news in the morning back then. She was trying to reach me because Joe had been trying to do the same without success. He had been frantic when he'd heard "Somerset County" on the radio missing the part where they said "Pennsylvania". At the time, we lived in Somerset County, New Jersey. As for me, like everyone else at the time, I was stunned and especially anxious because here I was, alone with two small children and my husband was very, very far away. I didn't know what to expect with being just about an hour's drive from the city. All those questions you should never have to think about ran through my mind. I casually sent Sheridan to play in her room while I took care of Alex and watched the news. I can't tell you how relieved I was just to hear Joe's voice when he called and was finally able to reach me. I spent most of the morning flipping the channels between Barney and other kid shows and the terrible footage of what had happened in New York, Washington DC and Pennsylvania. I caught bits and pieces throughout the day while trying to make sure that Sheridan stayed unaware. I was relieved to put them to bed that night yet it left me glued to the television worried and anxious without much sleep and the sadness that I felt for all those people, their families and how it felt like the world (our world) had changed.

Since then, we moved back north from South Carolina to the southeastern part of Pennsylvania. We enjoyed our time in the South but we missed the seasons and much more. We love it here. It's hard to believe that it's been 10 years. The kids have grown so much, we're happy and life is good...really good. We consider our family very fortunate and are grateful for all that we have. Truly.

But I will never forget that day. Never. I will remember.

"In memory of all those who perished on September 11th 2001, those who died in the fight against terrorism and all the young men and men who continue to give their service to our country to keep us safe and maintain our freedom and their families who wait for them to return. We will never forget."

Today, I will be hanging out with my family. I have a delicious brunch in mind and I'm sure we'll squeeze in a Mario Cart race or two. The kids have become tough competition these days! Joe and I will have to be on our toes to avoid last place...he, he. :) Later, I have some other cards that I'm working on for Operation Write Home. Go check them out....it's a very worthy cause if you enjoy making cards and it's a small way to give back to those who serve our country.

Shake, shake, shake...

2011-08-27T13:40:00.001-04:00

A quick share today. Remember shaker accents? I had a little blast of nostalgia the other week and made one for a project on the Glue Arts Blog. Clearly I'm having fun because I made another...lol! This card has the center circle as a mini shaker - about 2.5" wide.

Warm Thoughts...

The flower is made up of layered scalloped circles with the adhesive foam shaker in the center filled with black seed beads and a few tiny flower punches. I punched clouds (cut in half) from white cardstock and also paper pieced a tiny bee just below the flower. He's made up of circles and heart punches.

Supplies:
Glue Arts: U-Cut-It Adhesive Foam; Mini Adhesive Squares
Fiskars: Leaf, Cloud, Seal of Approval and Circle Squeeze Punches; Flower Hand Punch; Heart Lever Punch; Circle Pop Up Punch; Retractable Craft Knife and Scallop Paper Edgers.
Pattern Paper - Echo Park (A Walk in the Park); October Afternoon (Modern Homemaker); Pink Paislee (Hometown Summer)
Other: black seed beads; vellum and clear acetate
Here's the card that I created for the Glue Arts Blog using Echo Park Paper's Splash collection. You can find the instructions and detail shots of how to make this super simple circle shaker accent on the blog.

Stay Cool...

In these shaker accents I popped up the fish a bit in addition to adding in beads, tiny punches and stickers.

Supplies:
Glue Arts: U-Cut-It Adhesive Foam; Mini Adhesive Squares
Echo Park Paper: Splash

Thanks for stopping by...enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Cute, cute stamps!

2011-08-17T17:59:00.002-04:00

The Glue Arts team is working with Paper Smooches Stamps this month and I have to say, these are the cutest stamps! I'm a new fan of Kim Hughes' adorable stamp designs and I feel that urge to start collecting every set...eek!

In the meantime, I have two sets that I've used to make the cards below. The first is a the project tutorial that I created for the Glue Arts Blog...

"You Make My Life Brighter"

Isn't that lightning bug sweet? :) The images are just perfect for cutting out to paper piece. I used a mix of sentiment stamps to create the watermark stamped background with Versamark Ink. The tutorial has the step by step instructions.

Supplies:
Glue Arts:
U-Cut-It Adhesive Foam
Mini Adhesive Squares
Glue Glider Pro with Perma Tac Adhesive
Raise 'Ns
Paper Smooches Stamps:
Giddy Bugs
Sentiment Sampler
Echo Park Paper: Splash and Sweet Summertime Pattern Papers
Fiskars: Scalloped Sentiment Border Punch, Scallop Paper Edgers & Stamp Blocks

This next card was just a simple quick design, again with a paper pieced image.

"Congratulations"

To layer the butterfly, I first stamped the background tag then adhered the cut out wings. Next, I added the body and then the head from another green pattern paper was applied with a piece of U-Cut-It Adhesive Foam.

Supplies:
Glue Arts:
U-Cut-It Adhesive Foam
Mini Adhesive Squares
Glue Glider Pro with Perma Tac Adhesive
Paper Smooches Stamps:
Giddy Bugs
Sentiment Sampler
Pebbles Inc.: Happy Go Lucky Pattern Paper and Dimensional Sticker
Fiskars Americas: Threading Water Border Punch and Corner Squeeze Punches (Tag & Round)

If you get a chance, be sure to check out the Glue Arts Blog this week for more Paper Smooches projects and go ahead...treat yourself to one of those cute stamp sets Kim that designed...you know you want to! ;)

Thanks for stopping by!

With Thanks...

2011-08-16T19:41:00.001-04:00

A quick share today...I have a tag that I've made with Bo Bunny's Forever Fall collection. I plan to use it as a gift tag for a potted Chrysanthemum later this fall or maybe Thanksgiving. It's sure to make a nice hostess gift.

With Thanks

I used the Chiffon Journal Cardstock again as my background...it's my favorite these days. The sunflower is fussy cut with a craft knife and accented with a little Liquid Embossing (All Night Media).

Supplies:
Bo Bunny Forever Fall Pattern Paper: Foliage, Nature, Stripe, Sunflower, Dusk and Blaze
Forever Fall Jewels
Forever Fall Rub-Ons
Forever Fall 12" Combo Stickers
Et Cetera 12" Combo Stickers
Bo Bunny Journal Cardstock - Chiffon
Double Dot Ribbon - 5/8" Olive

AND of course....I want to announce the WINNER of the Forever Fall PRIZE PACK that I mentioned in my last post. Thank you SO very much for visiting my blog and especially for all those who helped me reach my 100+ mark...you all rock!! xoxo I hope you're continuing to follow along with the Designer Spotlights that Bo Bunny is featuring on their blog. We still have about 2 weeks left of more designers to feature so don't miss out. Remember, there will be drawings at the end of the month for more prizes from Bo Bunny!

So...on with the announcement...I have a handful of Forever Fall's BEAUTIFUL patterned papers, a Shaped Die Cut paper, the Cut-Out sheet and the Gratitude sticker sheet to send out to our winner............

Congratulations Tanya!

Tanya said...: Hi Patti! I'm a new follower, just came from Bo Bunny. Your projects are gorgeous, can't wait to see more from you. :D
August 7, 2011 12:44 PM

Tanya, please email me with your details and I'll have that shipped out to you ASAP. Congrats! :)

Thanks again everyone!

Bo Bunny Designer Spotlight...

2011-08-07T07:00:00.011-04:00

During the month of August, Bo Bunny is hosting a Designer Spotlight series on their blog to let their fans get to know the design team better. They are truly a fabulous company to work for and I am very fortunate to be included on the team! Well, today it's my turn to be in the Designer Spotlight! So if you're interested in reading a bit more about me, then stop by their blog and while you're there you can see six very recent cards that I've made using their newest collections from this summer's CHA.

I've made a 7th card from another of their new collections ~Forever Fall~ that I've only posted here. It's such a rich and vibrant line perfect for any autumn project! I love the gorgeous leaves, sunflowers and dragonflies. ♥

"So Very Thankful"

Tip: To create the pin accent, I used a bit of Alcohol Ink on the crystal part of a pin to give it a slight tint. Then, I removed the prongs from one of the Forever Fall Brads and glued it just under the crystal. Use a strong liquid adhesive and let it dry all the way. Next, I added additional beads and tucked the pin into the hemp that I tied around the front of the card.

Supplies:
Bo Bunny:
Forever Fall Pattern Papers - Cut Outs, Stripe, Forever Fall and Foliage
Forever Fall 12" Chipboard
Forever Fall Gratitude Stickers
Forever Fall Buttons
Forever Fall Brads
Journal Cardstock - Chiffon
Other:
May Arts - crystal pin

Here's a peek at the other 6 cards you'll find over at the Bo Bunny Blog...

Welcome Home collection...

Sweet Tooth collection...

Garden Girl collection...

Father Christmas collection...

The Blitzen collection

And finally, the Et Cetera collection...

Go check out the Bo Bunny Blog for full shots and supply lists...

Interested in some PRIZES?? Of course you are...how could anyone resist Bo Bunny goodies! *wink*

If you haven't already, leave a comment on my post today on the Bo Bunny Blog. (Be sure to visit there throughout the month to do the same for the other designers, too!) At the end of the month, there will be a drawing for each Designer Spotlight giveaway that's been posted.

For a second chance to win....leave a comment HERE on my blog AND help me reach 100+ blog followers (I'm just 21 away!) before Monday 9:00 pm EST. Then on Tuesday 8/16, I will randomly choose a winner to give away a prize pack from the Forever Fall collection - a sticker set and a selection of pattern papers that I'm sure you'll love.

Thanks for visiting and enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Cards, cards, cards....

2011-08-01T09:00:00.003-04:00

Hands down, cards are my favorite things to make these days. With so much to do this summer with the kids I find that creating a card is the perfect quick project. So today I have a bunch of cards to share that I've made over the past couple of months...

To start...a card that I made recently using Fiskars tools and stamps along with Glue Arts Adhesives...

Vintage Thank You Card

I've seen the paper cone wreaths for awhile now and wanted to try it out, but on a smaller scale. This cone flower was just the thing! To give the cones a softer shape, I used Fiskars Cloud Squeeze Punch and rolled small cones that I pieced together for this dimensional flower. You can find the instructions (card title link) on the Glue Arts blog.

Supplies:
Glue Arts - Mini Adhesive Squares, Adhesive Squares and U-Cut-It Foam
Crate Paper - Portrait Collection
Tools:
Fiskars Americas - XL Squeeze Punches (Cloud & Postage); Border Punches (Notebook & Postage Stamp); Simple Sticker Repositionable Rubber Stamps (Accents)

Missing You

Crimped paper can be difficult to apply adhesive without flattening out its texture. But Glue Arts Adhesive Squares worked perfectly to adhere these paper strips to the crimped kraft cardstock background on this card. And the U-Cut-It Adhesive Foam let me add lots of dimension for these adorable fish from Fancy Pants Designs Beach Babe collection.

Supplies:
Glue Arts -Ribbon Adhesive, Adhesive Squares, Mini Adhesive Squares and U-Cut-It Adhesive Foam
Fancy Pants Designs - Beach Babe Pattern Papers and Die Cuts

Tools:
Fiskars Americas - Crimping Tool, Border Punch (Postage); Scallop Paper Edgers; XL Tag Lever Punch

Vintage LOVE

A few simple boxes stacked to create a simple wedding cake accent.

Supplies:

Glue Arts - Mini Adhesive Squares, Adhesive Squares and U-Cut-It Adhesive Foam

Crate Paper - Portrait Collection Pattern Paper and 12x12 Accents

Tools:

Fiskars - 3-in-1 Corner Squeeze Punch; Stimple Stick Repositionable Stamps (The Big Day)

Love is Friendship Set to Music

This Fiskars stamp was a perfect match for Kaisercraft's Velvet Ensemble collection.

Supplies:
Glue Arts - Glue Glider Pro (High Tac); Mini Adhesive Squares, Adhesive Squares, U-Cut-It Adhesive Foam and Raise 'Ns
Kaisercraft - Velvet Ensemble Pattern Paper and Journal Tags
Tools:
Fiskars - Flower and Heart Lever Punches; Clear Stamp (All Around Quote); Round 'n Round and Mint Condition Squeeze Punches

Much Thanks

This card is actually from back in April. I used scrolled corner die cuts from Sizzix to create the squares framing each circle accent.

And the butterfly was created from several Sizzix heart die cuts that I pieced together.

Supplies:
Glue Arts - Glue Glider Pro (Perma Tac); Mini Adhesive Squares; U-Cut-It Adhesive Foam
Crate Paper - Restoration Pattern Papers, Border Stickers and Phrase Stickers
Tools:
Sizzix - Big Shot Die Cutting Machine; Flourish (Original Die); Flowers/Branches/Leaves (Sizzlit); Corners/Heart/Tree (Sizzlit)

And last but not least, a recent card that I made for Bo Bunny using the Zoology collection........
Wild About You Card

A great sketch was provided by the very talented Christiane Muller that you can find on the Bo Bunny Blog.

The Zoology collection has a gorgeous array of pattern papers but the Dimensional Stickers are the cutest...like this adorable crocodile!

Supplies:
Bo Bunny - Zoology Pattern Papers and 12" Combo and Dimensional Stickers

Thanks for taking the time to stop by and happy crafting! :)

♥ Glue Arts on Facebook!

2011-07-30T06:00:00.012-04:00

Good morning! Just a quick post today.............

If you're not already a FAN of GLUE ARTS on Facebook, then go check them out, show them some ♥ and click LIKE! Their fan # is climbing towards 6,000 and we're all hoping to reach it by the end of this weekend.

By the way, there's a fabulous prize giveaway once they reach their goal... so stop by ASAP. And don't forget to check out Pink Paislee on Facebook too while you're at it! They've been our very generous sponsor these past 2 weeks and you're sure to love their gorgeous collections.

Here's an Origami Boxed Notecard Set that I made for the Glue Arts blog using Pink Paislee's Hometown Summer collection...

The collection has an adorable stamp set that I used to stamp the tab & banner on the lid. I also used the set to stamp images onto 4" kraft cardstock cards with Versamark ink.

Have a fantastic weekend & go LIKE Glue Arts & Pink Paislee on Facebook! :)

Playing catch up...

2011-06-30T11:58:00.002-04:00

...Once again. :) The end of the school year was a whirlwind and now that we can finally go at a slower pace, I find myself too caught up in relaxing and having fun with the kids these last few weeks. Love the days of summer, but blogging has taken a backseat! Time to get caught up!

Here are a couple of patriotic themed cards using Bo Bunny's Liberty collection to start.........

Stars & Stripes Forever! Card

I absolutely love the Noteworthy Die Cut's Bo Bunny has included in their recent collections!

Supplies:
Bo Bunny: Liberty collection

Family Reunion Card

The flourished stamp in this collection is beautiful! And my star punch fits perfectly too. I heat embossed the stamped image with white embossing powder onto the navy circle.

Supplies:
Bo Bunny: Liberty collection
Fiskars Americas Tools: Twinkle, Twinkle Squeeze Punches and Circle Shape Template

If you're looking for an easy summer craft for your teen, these stamped bracelets with hemp are super simple too.
Stamped Bracelets

Supplies:
Fiskars Americas Tools:
Simple Stick Repositionable Stamps - Shapes & Such
Clear Stamps - Butterfly Magic
Craft Hand Drill
Other: hemp, 1" craft wood circles and assorted beads

Here's a few projects that I created for the Glue Arts Blog...
Birthday Album

This birthday book album made with Unibind's PhotoBook Creator is my solution to recording all the kids' birthdays in one place. The pages are designed to be very simple with just a single photo and a bit of space below for journaling. I think it will be fun to be able to look back on each year at a glance without digging through multiple books.

Supplies:
Unibind: Album and PhotoBook Creator Tool
Glue Arts: Adhesives
Basic Grey: Birthday
Fiskars Americas Tools: Twinkle, Twinkle and Round 'n Round Squeeze Punches; Scallop Paper Edgers, Ultra ShapeXpress Tool

I decorated this clear acrylic tag from Clear Scraps with paint and the Modern Homemaker collection from October Afternoon.
Home Sweet Home Decor Tag

I die cut flowers from a 12" x 12" clear sheet. After removing the protective layers, I used a heat gun to sculpt the petals and then layered the acrylic flowers with paper flowers.

Supplies:
Clear Scraps: Tag (album) and 12" x 12" clear sheet
Glue Arts: Adhesives
Sizzix: Flower Layers (Original Dies)

Last but not least is this gift set for my new neighbors - a houseplant with a decorated plant stick and a coordinating card.
Welcome Neighbor Gift & Card

Supplies:
Glue Arts: Adhesives
October Afternoon: Modern Homemaker collection
Fiskars Americas Tools: Squeeze Punches - heart, circles, cloud, leaves; Lever Punches - flower and butterfly

That's it for now, but I'll have more to share soon. Happy crafting and hope you're enjoying summer, too!
Happy 4th of July!!!

Bo Bunny {BLOG HOP}!!!

2011-05-25T09:00:00.066-04:00

Welcome to this month's final round of blog hopping with Bo Bunny designers! Have you been enjoying the hopping and creativity this month? I hope you'll play along again today and visit each blog. You're sure to get inspired by what each designer is sharing today as well. AND as usual there will be...PRIZES!!

But before I tell you more details about the hop, I want to share a simple card that I made using Jolanda Meur's sketch for the recent Bo Bunny Card Challenge and one of Bo Bunny's new collections --> Liberty! This collection's patriotic theme and colors were perfect for the invitation I had in mind for the upcoming Memorial Day holiday weekend here in the US.

Memorial Day BBQ Invite:

Bo Bunny supplies used:
Liberty Pattern Papers – Stripe, Freedom, One Nation, Dot, United and Old Glory
Liberty Cardstock Stickers – Family Times
Liberty Noteworthy Die Cuts
Liberty Jewels

Now, for more details about the BLOG HOP......To be eligible for the first prize, leave a comment on each designer's blog. A random comment from one of the blogs will be chosen for this prize. For the second prize, be sure to visit the Bo Bunny Blog at the end and leave a comment to be eligible.

The winners will be announced on the Bo Bunny Blog next Wednesday! :)

YOU'RE NEXT STOP is to visit the super creative Gabrielle Pollacco
You won't be disappointed to see Gabi's incredibly beautiful projects. Her work is absolutely gorgeous!

Just in case you get lost along the way....here's the list of designers for this Hop:
Robbie
Jolanda
Luz
Me! :)
Gabi
Mireille
and last but not least....Shanna

Go on...have fun & enjoy the HOP!!!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-23T09:00:00.002-04:00

A day early...but I had a few Easter projects that I wanted to share with you...

Easter Bunny Carrots:

For Bo Bunny's "Easter Treat Holder" assignment, I was inspired to create these sweet little carrots from the sour cream container idea. I changed the size a bit from the usual shorter version to a longer, thinner shape, then added the crimped and fringed green cardstock on top. They're super easy to put together so if you're looking for a last minute idea, give it a try. I think a basket full of these would be great for a hunt too.

Supplies:
Bo Bunny - Blast Off! and Ad Lib Pattern Paper and Orange Citrus Double Dot Cardstock
Fiskars Americas - Scalloped Sentiment Squeeze Punches, Flower Lever Punches and Simple Stick Repositionable Rubber Stamps

For the larger carrots, I cut my paper to 5”w x 6”h and for the smaller carrot, I cut it to 4”w x 5”h.
I crimped double sided (Bo Bunny's Double Dot Avocado Cardstock), folded over 3 times and cut a fringe to create the green carrot tops.
You can make them with a ribbon loop for hanging by punching a hole near the bottom of the
green carrot top and inserting the fold of a ribbon through the back. Make the loop in the back, then tie a bow in the front. Add an embellishment (scalloped stamped circle) or a button to accent it.

Another Easter/Spring treat or gift holder idea is to make these totes from a paper pillow box.

Spring Pillow Box Tote:

You can click the link above for the full tutorial on the Bo Bunny Blog.

They're the perfect size for small treats (Cadbury Mini Eggs....yum!) or a gift card.

Supplies:
Bo Bunny - Gabrielle collection of pattern paper and embellishments
Fiskars Americas - Scalloped Sentiment and Apron Lace Border Punches, Round n' Round Circle Squeeze Punch

Last but not least is a kids' craft idea that my children helped with for the Glue Arts Blog/Website...

Spring Flowerpot Pals

Lamb - Chick - Bunny
Again, click the project title link above for step by step instructions. They're really easy to make and the kids can get as creative as they want or keep things simple too. We used Glue Arts Extreme Adhesive Squares to attach everything from feathers to the wooden ball heads to felt. Worked like a charm and no burned fingers from hot glue or waiting for things to dry.

This silly chick with its goofy feathers is my favorite!

I hope that I've given you a little inspiration for any last minute gifts or projects you might need for Easter. And thanks so much for stopping by....have a wonderful holiday weekend! Happy Easter!

Happy Earth Day!

2011-04-22T17:34:00.001-04:00

I was reorganizing my desk yesterday and came across the DCWV's Green Stack (70% recycled paper) that I'd bought awhile back. Of course, I got distracted from my mission to organize and made this card instead. :) I love the patterns they have in this stack...too cute.

It's the simplest card. I added the title, Fiskars Cloud Squeeze Punches that I'd outlined with some Glass Effects and cut out pieces from an identical stack sheet to layer with adhesive foam for extra dimension.

Another green inspired project that I made earlier this month was for the Glue Arts Blog. We focused on creating recycled/re-used/re-purposed projects. I re-purposed an old hard cover craft book by turning it into a simple fabric covered tray with wooden ball feet.

Fabric Covered Book Tray:

I covered it the same way that as I used to cover text books when I was a kid so the book can still be opened if you choose.

Although today is celebrated as Earth Day, we've been trying as a family to make improvements over the past couple of years on how we impact the environment on a daily basis not just on this one day of the year. We've cut back on waste - reducing garbage and more efficiently using what we already have and buying less overall. For example, we pay more attention to using up what we purchase at the grocery store - much less waste of food - and we use what we buy more carefully, especially soaps and detergents. We cut out our use of papergoods especially - paper plates, cups, etc. We cut back on household energy use - electricity, heating/cooling. We pack our lunches with re-usable containers. And we're more careful with recycling too. Not perfect by a longshot but Earth Day is a good reminder to keep striving to make improvements and we'll continue to include more changes in the coming year.

Happy Friday & Happy Earth Day, too! :)

Thank You Cards...

2011-03-28T09:00:00.003-04:00

Hey there! Hard to believe that March is almost over and we've had little sign of spring here, at least outdoors. We're still having the occasional flurry filled morning and temps are too frosty for flip-flops yet. However, my cards and projects have been bursting with flowers, butterflies and spring colors! Today, I have a couple of "thank you" cards to share...

This first card is a mix of Bo Bunny collections - including Gabrielle, Vicki B. and Ad Lib collections.

"Thanks"

I border punched strips of paper and then pleated them to create the flower.

Supplies:
Bo Bunny: Gabrielle, Vicki B. and Ad Lib pattern paper; Embellishments from Gabrielle and Vicki B.

Fiskars: Dot to Dot 3-in-1 Corner Squeeze Punch; Threading Water Border Punch; Scalloped Sentiment Border Punch; Seal of Approval Squeeze Punches; Round 'n Round Squeeze Punches; Broken Square Lever Punch; Ultra ShapeXpress Tool; Circle Shape Template and Scallop Paper Edgers

Glue Arts Adhesives: U-Cut-It Foam and Perma Tac for the Glue Glider Pro
Sizzix: Flowers, Branches and Leaves Set

My second card is from the Glue Arts' Blog where we're featuring My Little Shoebox this month. I received the one of their new lines called Home Tweet Home - fun papers with lots of bright, cheery colors and the cutest designs.

"Thank You"

I used the Ultra ShapeXpress Tool to cut out the flowers from the "Place to Nest" pattern paper and then layered the flowers with Glue Arts U-Cut-It Foam Adhesive.

Supplies:
Glue Arts Adhesives: U-Cut-It Foam and Perma Tac for the Glue Glider Pro
My Little Shoebox: Home Tweet Home pattern paper and Apple Alpha Stickers
Fiskars: Ultra ShapeXpress Tool; Circle Shape Template; Butterfly Lever Punch and Apron Lace Border Punch

That's it for today...thanks for stopping and Happy Monday! :)

♥♥♥♥♥

2011-02-28T11:13:00.001-05:00

A quick post today to wrap a few more February projects..........

Glue Arts and Little Yellow Bicycle teamed up this month with their "Cupcake Love" collection - the cutest!

Home Decor - "Hugs for Sale"

I reached for the Glue Arts Glue Gun again and again for this project.

I also made this card for the Glue Arts Blog using Fancy Pants "Love Birds" collection of pattern paper and stickers.

Card - "{love}"

One last card today to share that I put together for Bo Bunny's Card Challenge Tuesday using their new Ad Lib collection using Romy Veul's adorable sketch.........

Pocket Tag Card - "Happy Birthday"

You can attach a gift card, photo or just include personal message to the tag......

Thanks for stopping by.......Happy Monday! :)

Favorite Layouts...

2011-02-18T09:00:00.007-05:00

Off and on I struggle with creating layouts....that vast piece of paper and my mind goes blank! But I've had a couple of favorites lately that I wanted to share.......

I made this Valentine's layout for the "Catchy Title Tuesdays" challenge over at the Bo Bunny Blog - we used "Forever Young" as our theme...........

"4Ever Young......Forever in My Heart"

Supplies:

Bo Bunny's Crazy Love collection

Tools:
Fiskars Border Punches; Squeeze Punches and Lever Punches

The white dots are made with the handle tip of a paintbrush and white acrylic paint.

This next layout is actually from a couple months ago and I completely forgot to post it here.........

"Christmas Stockings"

Supplies:
Echo Park Paper - Everybody Loves Christmas pattern papers and stickers
Tools:
Fiskars - Border Punches, Squeeze Punches and Shape Templates

I was really excited to find out that it was one of the winning layouts for the Echo Park Paper Challenge over @ Two Peas in a Bucket! I received several collections of Echo Park's gorgeous lines...yay! Can never get enough of that stuff!

I added Ranger's Crackle Medium to the little Santa paper cut out and it turned out sooo cute!

Thanks for visiting! Enjoy the long weekend! :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T08:00:00.192-05:00

My family is all about hugs & kisses and showing our love for each other every day in the things we do for one another and in the time we spend together. But we still enjoy taking a little extra time to create handmade cards and gifts for each other on Valentine's Day. I especially look forward to those creative cards and projects my children make - they always make me smile! As for me, I typically create love notes that I tuck into lunch boxes, a kids' craft project for the upcoming class party this afternoon, cards/tags and even the occasional home decor project. Here are a few projects I've made recently...

Glue Arts featured May Arts' gorgeous ribbons last week and I created this layered Ribbon Frame for the blog. I picked up a bunch of these simple black 4" frames from IKEA and find they make the cutest home decor accents that are easy to embellish.

I remove the glass so that the dimensional embellishments can be seen easily. The center accent is a puffed heart made with ribbon behind a punched out heart.

These Pencil Toppers are a craft for any age child using Fiskars Punches, Fiskars Clear Stamps and pipecleaners - you can make them as complex or simple as you like.

Glue a pipecleaner end between two circle punches and decorate the front and back with punches, stamps or stickers. Then wrap the remaining pipecleaner around the top of a pencil....voila!

Here's a quick card -"Hugs & Kisses" - using Bo Bunny's Crazy Love collection of pattern paper and embellishments.

I layered blocks and strips of pattern paper along with punches to create this card.

I also baked cookies last week that I packaged in an Origami Valentine Treat Box made again with Bo Bunny's Crazy Love collection. I tucked the box into a cello bag to help keep the cookies fresh and tied it off with a ribbon.

However you decide to spend this day - celebrating as a couple, sharing it with your children and family, or taking some time out for yourself for a little pampering - I hope you enjoy it!

Happy Valentine's Day! xoxoxo

More Cozy Winter Days...

2011-02-11T09:00:00.006-05:00

I think I may be just about the only person I know that actually likes winter. Those chilly temperatures and dreary skies (preferably with snow - flurries will do) are actually my favorite days to craft and create things to brighten up the house following the holidays. Give me a hot cup of tea and a pair of fuzzy slippers and I'm ready to go!

Here are a few winter projects that I made recently...

I created this Snowman Topiary Decor for the Glue Arts Blog using Echo Park's Wintertime collection of pattern papers and stickers - love this color combo! Follow the link to find detailed instructions and more photos.

Check the blog like for directions. If your looking for a substitute for Snowtex, try mixing sawdust with glue and white acrylic paint. It will do in a pinch. :)

Here's a Winter Fleece Hat for Fiskars that I created using their sewing tools...

This flower is easily made by cutting a large circle from felt and then cutting a winding spiral to the center. Then you start at the center of the cut spiral with a running stitch all the way back around to the outside end. Gather the stitch as you go and cinch to create the flower.

I also made this Altered Winter Birdhouse using Fiskars Clear Stamps and Squeeze Punches.

The roof is layered with heart punches for shingles. I also added a few floral pieces, raffia and moss to embellish it.

And last but not least, a couple of Winter Themed Thank You Cards using Fiskars Punches and Clear Stamps...

To create this winterberry wreath, I used Fiskars Tree Lever Punch to create two layers of branches from brown cardstock.

A paper pieced snow"girl" accent is matted on cardstock punched with the Snowbubbles Border Corner Punch for this thank you card.

I'm sure I'll get pummeled with snowballs for saying this, but I wouldn't mind if winter lasted just a bit longer. I'm not all that anxious for spring to come just yet. ;)

That's it for now...have a great day!

Bo Bunny {BLOG HOP}!!!

2011-01-12T09:19:00.005-05:00

WELCOME to your next stop on the HOP! This is Bo Bunny's 2nd Hop this month and there will be not one but TWO WINNERS of some Bo Bunny product this round.

Our second round of hops includes a whole new set of designers, so be sure to stop at each one to see what they're sharing today.

But before I lead you to the next designer, I'd like to share a recent layout I created for the blog using a sketch by another Bo Bunny designer, Frances.

Snowflakes:

*For my take on the sketch I turned it on it's side and shifted the title up to the top.

Supplies:
Bo Bunny Winter Joy - Pattern paper, Stickers, Chipboard and iCandy Brads
Bo Bunny Chocolate Double Dot Cardstock

Now....back to details about the Blog Hop ...

You're next stop is to visit the very talented, Frances Sylvia!

If you've arrived here from elsewhere or in case you get lost along the way, here's a list of today's participating designers' blogs:

Mahlin Wiggur- Sweden

Carin McDonough- United Kingdom

Patti Milazzo - Pennsylvania

Frances Sylvia- Louisianna

Jolanda Meurs- Netherlands

Kathleen Glossop- Australia

Michele Beck- France

To play along, follow along the blog hop path stopping at each to leave a comment on each designers' blog. Just keep hopping until you reach the end!

For the BLOG HOP PRIZES, ONE blog hop participants that leaves a comment on each of the designers' blogs will be chosen at random from the blog comments to win one of Bo Bunny prize package. When you are done hopping the designers' blogs head on over to the Bo Bunny Facebook page and leave a comment about the hop on the wall. A participant who comments on Bo Bunny's Facebook Wall will be chosen at random to win a SECOND Bo Bunny prize.

Have fun & enjoy the HOP!!!

BTW, for those who commented on my last blog post....the winner of the NOEL Holiday Giveaway is...................Kim!!!

Kim said...: AWESOME Projects!! I LOVE this time of year as my grandkids are just getting giddy with excitement for Santa's Visit!! THANKS BUNCHES for sharing and have a GREAT Day, Me-Ma Kim
December 5, 2010 7:30 PM

Email me your info, Kim and I'll send out the Noel prize to you ASAP along with some extra Winter Joy goodies, too!

Have a great day everyone! It's a snowy day here and I'm looking forward to a cozy day of crafting. :)

Catching Up...

2010-12-05T10:00:00.278-05:00

Ever wonder how an ENTIRE month can pass by without posting once on your blog? I have and I did or rather I didn't...post that is. Confused? Me too. Not sure how that much time can elapse without me finding the time to post but it did. But despite that, I was busy creating. Not a day passes without a little bit of that at least. So...now it's time to play a bit of catch up. :)

"Hearts Come Home for Christmas" card

Went a little vintage with this card which was part of a Stamp Challenge on the Bo Bunny Blog. I paired the Noel pattern papers with the wings and banner stamps from the Cambridge collection as well as the Noel stamps to add background patterns to the hearts.

Then I switched gears to a simpler style for this Card and Gift Tag on the Glue Arts Blog using May Arts beautiful ribbons and Bo Bunny's 'Tis the Season from 2009.

I found that pleating the ribbon is a cinch if you apply the Ribbon Adhesive to both sides of the ribbon's edge. I also used U-Cut-It Foam Adhesive (3D Combo Pac) to raise up the medallions.

The punches are Fiskars' recent Heart Lever Punch and the 2009 Pine For Me Limited Edition Squeeze Punch.

Here is a gift wrap idea using Fiskars' Continuous Stamp Wheel to create the red background flourishes on a standard paper lunch sack and Cosmo Cricket's Mitten Weather...
Holiday Paper Gift Bag

And these Holiday Gift Toppers were another project for Fiskars using Mitten Weather...
"Cinnamon Berry Spray"

Backtracking a bit to Thanksgiving...

This Glass Candle Trio Centerpiece was made using Ranger Alcohol Inks to tint the clear glass holders I found at my local AC Moore, then embellished with flowers created with Fiskars' Oops a Daisy Squeeze Punches and Flower Lever Punches.

Earlier in November the Bo Bunny Blog had a challenge to incorporate something from nature into a project and I create this Thanksgiving card using dried floral branches tied with raffia.

The tree is made with Fiskars' Cameo Appearance Squeeze Punches and the XL Tree Lever Punch.

If you don't already know it, I'm a little punch happy...meaning I love Fiskars' punches. :) These Paper Punched Fall Pins were paper pieced using Bo Bunny's Learning Curve and Olivia pattern papers along with an assortment of Fiskars' Squeeze Punches, Lever Punches and other punches; inked and covered in Ranger Crackle Medium.

I had some gorgeous stamps from Hero Arts to work with for the Glue Arts Blog...

"It's The Little Things" card using the Glue Glider Pro with Perma Tac Adhesive, Ribbon Adhesive, U-Cut-It Adhesive Foam, Adhesive Squares and Mini Adhesive Squares.

Hero Arts Bold Blossoms and Big Hugs stamps

"Miss You" card using the Glue Glider Pro with Perma Tac Adhesive, Ribbon Adhesive, U-Cut-It Adhesive Foam

Hero Arts Delicate Blossoms and Big Hugs stamps

I also had the chance to work with Twinery products on this card for the Glue Arts Blog...
"Thank You" card using the Glue Glider Pro with High Tac Adhesive, Mini Adhesive Squares and U-Cut-It Foam Adhesive.

And in November, we worked with Crate Paper's Restoration collection...
"Trinket Box" using the Adhesive Squares and Mini Adhesive Squares

"Hello" card using the Glue Glider Pro with High Tac Adhesive, Adhesive Squares and U-Cut-It Adhesive Foam.

And last but not least, as a part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month back in October, I made these 3 cards using the Persuasion collection for the Bo Bunny Blog's Power of Pink Week....
"Peace, Love and Hope" card

"Awareness: 1 in 8" card

"Hope" card

--------------------------------------------------------
Phew! Can't let that lapse happen again! ;) If you've actually taken the time to read through (survive) this EPIC post and peruse these projects...you're a gem!

And since 'Tis the Season of Giving and I'd like to thank you for reading my blog. I'm going to do a little Holiday GIVE AWAY. I have an assortment of Bo Bunny Noel pattern papers, a Noel Stamp Set and various embellishments put together. Leave a comment below - tell me how your holiday season is going - by Tuesday, December 7th by 6pm EST. and I'll pick a random winner by Wednesday, Dec. 8th for the prize.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

HaPpY HaLLoWeeN!!!!

2010-10-31T16:36:00.001-04:00

It's finally here...and it's been a CRaZy day with last minute details to take care of. My daughter and husband are off to a HUGE band competition. Me and my little buddy have plans to Trick-or-Treat very soon! He's super excited! I wanted to share his adorable costume...it turned out pretty good, I must say. Although that hat about killed me and it's still not quite right...lol! But he loves it and I'm looking forward to an evening of fun with my little guy!

Hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend! And if you're going out for some HaLLoWeeN fun tonight....be safe & have a great time!

It's almost HaLLOwEEn!!

2010-10-25T06:00:00.001-04:00

...one more week! And really, it's this week that I love the most. The anticipation of all the fun we have planned throughout the week. We went pumpkin picking last week and got a ton of pumpkins when my husband did the "all you can carry" pumpkin challenge - we got 10! 3 really big ones, a few mediums and some small ones too...oh, and a butternut squash that I baked with cinnamon & brown sugar...it was sooooo good! I still want to add a few more decorations to the house - maybe a scarecrow; I have a pumpkin muffin recipe I want to try; I have to finish up my son's Mario costume (so cute...and easy!); we'll be carving some of those pumpkins soon and I have a class party at the end of the week. A lot to do, but I'm looking forward to it all.

I've also been creating a bunch of Halloween projects lately...including this Spiderman layout based on a sketch by Trisha Hill at Sketch Inspiration - you can find the sketch on the Bo Bunny Blog. Here's my interpretation............

It's a Spiderman Halloween! The photo was from a couple years ago, but it's a favorite (I love his pose!) so I scrapped it again! :) The paper, stamps and embellishments are from Bo Bunny's Whoo-ligans collection.

Cut the webs with a craft knife...yep, that took awhile. :)

I made this Halloween Tray and a few Party Project Ideas for Fiskars using their Halloween Night Clear Stamps and assortment of other tools including a few Squeeze Punches...

The pattern paper is Happy Halloween by Echo Park Paper (<---love them!)

These little dimensional pumpkins are my favorite!

A paper treat box made from the Journal Shape Template.

Last but not least is this sign, "The Witch is In...": sign I made using Glue Arts Car Accents....that's right, they're not JUST for cars!!

And these super simple Spooky Lollipop Covers...

Again...Echo Park Paper...

So that's it...for now. I'll have more to come...

Happy Monday!

Fabric, Stamps & Paper...oh my!

2010-10-08T10:57:00.001-04:00

It seems that I've been doing a little bit of everything lately...lots of sewing projects especially. My sewing skills are pretty basic but I learn a little more each time I tackle a new challenge and it's so much fun, too.

This Pumpkin Pincushion for the Fiskars' website was super easy to make... However, it's been kidnapped by one of my kids so I think I'll need to make another one...lol!

I also made these simple Fabric Gift Bags that are handy for just about anything - small gift, treats, potpourri. They can be used again rather than throwing away packaging as you normally might. And they're all made essentially the same way with a few minor changes. I plan on making more of the mini totes to fill with small gifts & gift cards for the holidays.

Here is a Sewing Accessory Set that requires virtually NO SEWing using Glue Arts new Fabric Bond Adhesive...love this stuff! It really made it easy to attach the Cosmo Cricket fabric (so cute!) to the chipboard for the mini needle book. No waiting for glue to dry or having it get brittle & crack later on!

For stamping...I had the opportunity to work with these cute stamps by InStyle Stamps. You can find a bunch of projects on the Glue Arts blog by the rest of the Glue Girls.
Here are the cards I made...

Thinking of You

I paper pieced the stamp design with different pattern paper - My Mind's Eye

A Little Bird Told Me...

More paper piecing...cut out the pieces with a craft knife.

And last, but not least...a Halloween Candle/Candy Jar for Bo Bunny... It's filled with Candy Corn...decorative and yummy!

And if you haven't already taken a peek at the newest Bo Bunny releases, stop by the blog and check out these links ---> Crush, Midnight Frost & Crazy Love (<--my new favorite!) Can NOT wait to create with these fabulous new lines!

Thanks for stopping by today...enjoy your long weekend! It's going to be beautiful here in PA and we have lots to do...a football game (my daughter plays flute), pumpkin picking and the PA Renn Faire! :)

Meet Owl-iver...

2010-09-16T07:00:00.028-04:00

He's one of my recent sewing projects for Fiskars....isn't he cute!?! Making plushies is by far my kids favorite thing of all the projects I create because in the end, they usually end up confiscating the little softie for snuggling. I thought Owl-iver might be a nice addition to my fall home decor but he's already found a place with my daughter and I have a request from my son for another Owl-iver....minus the flowers...lol! You can find all the details for how to make Owl-iver on the Fiskars website along with the template.

I also have a card to share today that I made for Bo Bunny using the Cambridge collection. It features their new line of Wraps...for this card it was the Newsprint set.

"Thinking of You"

I made 2 different flowers -a pleated posey and a wrapped rose...very easy and quick to make. I love that Newsprint pattern! The leaves are cut from the brown faux leather.

That's it for today...hope you enjoyed and have a good one!

Welcome to the Glue Arts {Blog Hop}!!!

2010-09-10T06:44:00.007-04:00

Good morning, Blog Hoppers!!! Welcome to Glue Arts' first Designer Blog Hop!

By now, you've visited just a couple of Glue Arts Designers....there are many more to come...so keep reading to find your next hoppin' blog! If you've found your way here another way, then hop on over to the Glue Arts Blog to start today's hop and many chances to win Glue Arts Adhesives.

But before you move along, I wanted to share a card I made using Glue Arts fabulous adhesive products........

"Hello"

Glue Arts Adhesives: Glue Glider Pro with Perma Tac Cartridge; U Cut It - 3D Adhesive Foam
Paper: Echo Park - Life Is Good!
Tools: Fiskars - Cupcake, Envelope & Shapes & Flowers Shape Templates; Ultra ShapeXpress; That's Amore (heart) and Block Party Squeeze Punches

The card above is inspired by another project that I made earlier this year....

It's a paper pieced sign that I made with the same Fiskars' Shape Templates for my laundry room called Home Sweet Home. It's so cute and cheery that I couldn't resist recreating it as a card too!

As for Glue Arts.....I simply can't say enough good things them. ♥ They're not only a super generous and fabulous company to work with but they offer a wide variety of top notch adhesives for all sorts of crafting projects. If I were to name my very favorites....I'd start first with the Glue Glider Pro with the Perma Tac Cartridge. My next favorite adhesive would be the Adhesive Squares - all sizes. These are the two adhesives that I reach for again and again for virtually every project. :)

So..........do you want more blog hoppin' goodness??????
Well....if you leave a comment below, you'll be entered to WIN a Glue Glider Pro and a Cartridge Refill of your choice!!! Be sure to do this at each of the Designer Blogs - 12 chances to win! The blog hop runs through Sunday, so you must comment by Sunday. The winners will be announced on the Glue Arts Blog on Monday, Sept. 13th.

Don't forget about the BONUS chance to WIN!!! If you can name the 4 NEW Glue Girls and email your answers to Julia at Gluegirl@gluearts.com then you'll be entered to WIN a Glue Glider Pro, a Refill and some of the new Extreme Adhesive Squares!!!

Now....to lead you to the next Glue Arts Designer.......the very talented Lesley Langdon! You're sure to love her gorgeous creations!

Have fun hoppin' today & enjoy the weekend!!! ♥♥♥

this & that....

2010-09-09T14:47:00.001-04:00

Time to catch up on some recent projects.........

I was so inspired when I found this shoe template! I made this paper "Witching You..." Treat Box....as part of the challenge to use Bo Bunny's new Petals fabric flowers that you can find in their latest collections...

You can find the shoe template on Cindy's "Skip to My Lou" website. The original shoe template design is by Ellen Hutson. I so appreciate their inspiration and creativity!

I used the Whoo-ligans line of papers and embellishments and the Winter Joy Petal fabric flower. I loved the Whoo-ligans tulle flower but it was a bit big for the shoe design and the Winter Joy Petal worked out perfectly.

I created the sketch for the Bo Bunny's Card Challenge Tuesday this month and made this card "School Days" using the Learning Curve collection....

Many of the pieces to create the embellishment accent are a part of the patterned paper of this line....the library card, the math flash cards, the schoolhouse and the words "School Days".

Earlier this month the Bo Bunny blog had altered project inspiration challenge. And with it being back to school for my kids that week I came up with this Apple for Teacher Gift Set...

In the end, my little guy decided that it would make the perfect gift for his teacher on Teacher Appreciation Week....so we're going to hold onto it until then & of course, we'll have to add some fresh M&M's first....lol!

Isn't it cute? I used one of the Buttons & Bling containers...re-purpose, re-use, recycle...that mantra runs through my head often these days. :) If you create this, be sure to clean and air out the container before filling it with candy. And if not M & M's then maybe some red wrapped cinnamon hard candies.

Here's a recent thank you card......"Gratitude..."

I used Fiskars Round 'n Round Squeeze Punches (my must have tools) to create the big scalloped edge borders.

And last but not least....I have a Beach Memory Jar that I made for Fiskars earlier this summer. It was just recently posted on the website and is super simple to make.

I used Fiskars new Border Punches, new Squeeze Punches and new Stamps to create the paper accents... and then just added some sand, photos from our trip to Sanibel Island and some of the shells we collected there.

Tip: If you don't have actual sand from your vacation, you can simply buy a bag of sandbox sand from any local home improvement store. Also, be sure to clean any shells with a bleach bath and dry thoroughly.

Phheeewwww.....that's it for today.....but have I mentioned I've been sewing like a mad woman lately? After all, September is National Sewing Month.....yes, I've been sewing, sewing, sewing.......it's been insane. And really fun....and I've made a bunch of projects that will be on the Fiskars website throughout September and in the months to come along with the other fabulous projects by the Fiskars girls, so be sure to stop by.

Stay tuned........there's going to be some blog hopping tomorrow..... :)

New Bo Bunny and Liquid Embossing

2010-08-24T06:00:00.005-04:00

I absolutely love the new Bo Bunny collections...every single one of them. But I'll admit, Olivia is my new favorite. The colors are perfect for any occasion and I can see myself using this line again and again this fall.

Here's a birthday card I made recently for the Bo Bunny Blog...

Pleated strip of pattern paper stitched across the front along with lots of layered chipboard and paper flowers.

The butterfly is 3 Fiskars Squeeze Punch butterflies layered and glued in the center. I added micro gems in the center.

I also created a layout recently using a previous collection ~ Paradise. It's another line I adore with it's seaside colors and images. Reminds me of our family vacations to Cape Cod when I was little. The layout below is of my son, Alex, from just a couple of weeks ago. We'd gone to a favorite beach on the Jersey shore that's generally mellow and not too crowded. I managed to get a great picture of him just laying back enjoying the view.

It's hard to tell but the beach actually drops off fairly steep just beyond where he's laying. The waves were somewhat rough and huge by normal standards due to hurricane Colin near Bermuda. But the view was beautiful.

I added Plaid's All Night Media Liquid Embossing to stamped images, chipboard, alpha stickers and paper images....love this stuff! You can see all the details & how to here --> Surf's Up!

I also used a couple of the new Fiskars Border Punches - Notebook and Stamp. If you don't have these already, seek them out. I've been using mine like crazy. :)

That's it for now...but check back for more new projects coming soon....

What a GREAT day!!!

2010-08-13T10:20:00.009-04:00

I am so happy to say that I get to join the Bo Bunny Design Team for another wonderful year! Thank you Bo Bunny!!!! I can't tell you how excited I am! And I'm looking forward to again working with the other fabulous ladies who are returning to the team - Juliana, Carole & Shanna - as well as meeting a whole bunch of new talented girls from the USA and all over the world! I will greatly miss working with all the previous team members - each of them were not only super talented but truly wonderful women to know. [[[Hugs]]] I wish them only the best and I'm looking forward to an incredible year for us all!

Now for some Bo Bunny goodness....
My little guy and his favorite July 4th activity using Bo Bunny's Block Party collection.

can you tell I like lots of little details? :)

And here's a card using the Petal Pushers collection from a sketch I designed for the Bo Bunny blog recently...

To top off this good news and to make my day even better....it's my 16the wedding anniversary today! I'm so lucky to be married to the most wonderful man who sweetly tolerates my crafting obsessions and has given me 2 beautiful, healthy children who I adore as well as an incredible life that I am so very grateful for...Happy Anniversary, sweetheart! I love you!!! xoxo

So...now I'm off to enjoy the rest of my fabulous day with my family....and I hope you have a great day too!!!

Hey....I'm back!

2010-07-24T23:44:00.008-04:00

Long time...no blog. What happened? Summer. That's it. Summer arrived and there's swimming and playing and so many other things to do that this poor little blog took a back seat for a bit. The creativity hasn't stopped though. So let me catch up and post a few things I've done lately........

Let's start with Fiskars Americas... These baby onesies turned out so cute!

Check out the link for detailed instructions. By the way, they were super simple to make using Fiskars Shape Templates. The birdy is my fave!

Here are a few wedding favor ideas using some recent Fiskars stamp sets...

I used various paper box/container templates and then embellished with the flourished stamped images.

I also wanted to share these cute tea cup floral arrangements.

They're especially nice when you make several and group them together. And I'm proud to say that the lovely doiley is one of many that my mom made for me. She's crocheted so many beautiful pieces. Sadly, I don't crochet very well myself, but it's something I'm determined to learn.

Then there are these kid craft summer bookmarks.....

A few Squeeze Punches and pre-printed phrases makes these a snap.

There's also these dimensional flower cards............

using punches and a few paper distressing techniques.

And here's a few projects I made for the Bo Bunny Blog.....starting with a recent layout challenge...... mr. baseball

This picnic invite was a card sketch challenge....

And this Congratulations Graduate card.........

That was just some of what I've made over the past couple of months. But I'm ready to move forward and keep this blog up to date.

I have another layout finished and will be sure to post it in a day or so...

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and thanks for stopping by!

:)

BB [Blog Hop] Flower Child Winner!!!

2010-05-31T12:00:00.003-04:00

Wasn't the Bo Bunny Hop fun!?! Thanks to all who played along!

And now for the winner of the
prize package....

Comment # 2:

Michelle said...

That LO is beautiful Patti!!! I love everything Bobunny!!! That line is gorgeous

May 28, 2010 11:17 AM

Congratulations Michelle!!! Send me your info (my email is in my profile) and I'll send out your goodies! Oh, and I'll include a set of Fiskars Birthday Stamps, too!

Have a great day everyone!

Happy Memorial Day!
Thank you to those who serve and our veterans for protecting our country and our freedom. And thank you to all the military families who sacrifice and support our troops!

It's that time again...Bunny Hop!!!

2010-05-28T09:46:00.004-04:00

Bo Bunny has another fun Blog Hop for you to enjoy today! I hope you'll have fun visiting each of the designers and when you reach the end you'll find Bo Bunny's Guest Designer for June! I'll give you a little hint as to just who this incredibly talented artist is.... aside from her beautiful designs, she is someone to greatly admire for her heartfelt and insightful journaling. She's a story teller through and through who can make you laugh and cry with her words. Can you guess? Hmmmm....

Before I send you along to the next Bo Bunny designer, I'd like to share a layout I made awhile back using the Flower Child collection.

And if you love this collection, I have a prize pack for ya! How about a selection of paper and stickers for one lucky person who adds a comment to this blog post? Sound good? :)

So if you want a chance to win, leave a comment by Sunday morning, May 30th before 9 am so that I can enter your name to win. I'll post a winner on Monday @ noon.

Now, for your next stop.... the very talented Robyn Weatherspoon!

Enjoy the Hop!!!

Roughin' It WINNER!

2010-05-04T13:12:00.002-04:00

First, thanks to all who participated in last Friday's Bo Bunny Hop! Wasn't it fun? :)

The winner of the Roughin' It selection of paper and stickers is........... Ashley Neumann!

Ashley said...

From the moment i layed eyes on the roughin it line my stomach dropped! i Love this line and we camp and take our quads out almost every weekend in the spring summer and fall, i want this line so badly but none of our LSS carry it and its sold out everywhere online, i would so love to win this. Happy NSD!
ash_albright44@yahoo.com

May 1, 2010 11:33 AM

CONGRATULATIONS!!! Oh, and guess what? I'm going to toss in a couple Fiskars Punches to sweeten the prize box. So e-mail me your info and I'll get that out to you ASAP.

Have a great day!

Bunny Hop!!!

2010-04-30T09:26:00.005-04:00

That's right, another Bo Bunny {Blog Hop}!

You'll be hopping along the designers' blogs where at the last stop you'll find Bo Bunny's May Guest Designer revealed. One small hint.... she's an incredible photographer! Hmmm... wonder who it is?

Your next stop is to visit the fabulous Julia Sandvoss!

But before you go... I have a collection of Roughin' It papers and stickers that you'll love.

So leave a comment by Monday, May 3rd before 9 am so that I can enter your name to win. I'll post a winner on Tuesday @ noon.

Happy Hopping!!!

A little peek...

2010-04-09T10:01:00.004-04:00

I just posted a new card over at the Pursuit of CRAFTYness Blog. I used a favorite paper distressing technique on a card with some gorgeous My Mind's Eye Quite Contrary paper.

Here's a peek....

Have a fabulous weekend! :)

Bo Bunny [Blog Hop] Mama-razzi Winner!

2010-04-06T07:12:00.008-04:00

First, thanks to everyone who participated in the Bo Bunny [Blog Hop] on Friday! It was a huge success and great to see so many fans of Bo Bunny join in on the fun! I hope you enjoyed visiting each of the designers' blogs as well as finding out who our guest designer is this month - Michelle Lanning

And now for the winner of the Mama-razzi paper selection and 2 sticker sheets....

Congratulations to #32 Kmassman!

Blogger kmassman said...
I love how you used that collection on a layout and a card! The idea of the collection is so cute--I definitely fit that category! Thanks for a chance to win and for sharing your lovely projects!
April 2, 2010 10:58 AM

Kmassman, please email me (see my profile) with your details and I'll get that out to you this week!

Thanks again everyone...have a great day!

BO BUNNY [Blog Hop]!

2010-04-02T07:00:00.004-04:00

That's right...it's time for another [Blog Hop] with Bo Bunny!

But first, I want to share a new layout and card I made with the Mama-razzi collection. I don't have many photos of myself with my camera (yet!) but I found that the collection just as easily lent itself to this layout of my son as well as the simple thank you card.......

If you love this collection, please leave a comment below by Monday, April 5th before 9 AM to enter your name to win a selection of Mama-razzi papers and stickers from me! I'll post a winner by Tuesday at noon.

Now, onto more details about the [Blog Hop] with Bo Bunny.....
For this hop, Bo Bunny is offering a giveaway from the Jazmyne collection so be sure to follow along and hop from designer to designer. As you hop, you're sure to find much inspiration and more giveaways as well. So, after your visit here with me, your next stop is with the very talented Sherry Wright.

A few more details...when you arrive at the very last Bo Bunny Designer she'll provide you with a link to your final stop at our fabulous Guest Designer's blog where you'll need to leave a comment on her blog for the your chance to win the Jazmyne giveaway.

As for our Guest Designer...she will be joining us for all of April on the Bo Bunny Blog. Stop by again and again in the upcoming weeks to see her inspiring designs. Here's a little hint about who she is...she's been published in Scrapbook Trends and Cards magazine many, many times...in fact, she's in the April 2010 issue of ST.... let's see, she resides in sunny California...and one last clue...she describes her style as "classic with a twist of bling and shabby". Can you guess who???

Once again, thanks for visiting and I hope you enjoy the Bo Bunny [Blog Hop]!!!

Long Time No Post.....

2010-04-01T15:56:00.030-04:00

It feels like foreeeeever since I last posted here. For the past two months life just took hold and there were too many things to juggle. Of course, the creating never stopped but my blog took a backseat for awhile. Sorry about that!

It seems though that with spring arriving things are falling into place and I hope to post much more often. I have quite a few projects that I'd like to share from the past couple months...

I'll start with the most recent projects from March............
This Spring Flower Box is one of a favorite project of mine the new Fiskars website.

Easter Finger Puppets

Easter Treat Jar

Kiss Me I'm Irish card

Some Bo Bunny projects...

Hoppy Easter card using my favorite new collection, Sophie.

Jazmyne Sachets filled with lavender.

A little home decor with this paper pieced tri-fold screen also using the Sophie collection.

Thinking of You - fabric yo-yo's with the Delilah collection

Some things I made back in February for Fiskars........

Valentine Family Plaque

She's All That

A few Valentine projects for Bo Bunny...

Straight from the Heart

Love Blooming

SWAK

I Love You

Hello Friend

And finally, a couple Fiskars CHA projects from the winter tradeshow...

Make-n-Take Mini Bouquets/Boutonnieres

Peony Wedding Centerpiece

Ok....is this not the looooongest post ever? Good grief!! Best not to let this happen again!

BTW, check out tomorrow's post. Bo Bunny will be having a blog hop! More details tomorrow. :)

Thanks for visiting! xo

Fiskars Winter CHA Goodies...

2010-01-31T15:30:00.006-05:00

I must say, I am one lucky girl to be a part of the Fiskars team of designers. They are always very generous with providing us with oodles of their fabulous tools and stamps, but I about fell over when I opened this box on Friday. I'd seen the catalog before the show and knew that they have a ton of new stamps and punches coming out, but still... to think this is just a part of what's new with Fiskars makes me do the happy dance!

So here's a few photos that I wanted to share of my goody box....

birthday, wedding, baby, quotes, alphas, shapes, Halloween, Winter, borders, flowers, butterflies, birds...and more and more AND new seasonal Limited Edition Squeeze Punches too...the bird is cute, cute, cute!

The For the Birds & Butterfly Magic stamp sets are my favorites!

I don't believe these are up on the regular Fiskars website just yet, but keep your eyes open for them on-line and in stores. Or you can see them here - Fiskars Catalogs.

In addition to the above there are a ton of new Squeeze Punches being released...wait til you see!!!

I know what I'll be doing this week...

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

King of Hearts...

2010-01-21T09:54:00.004-05:00

Here's a new layout I made for the Glue Arts website.

BTW, have you ever had a photo that you find yourself scrapping time and again??? Well, this is the one for me. I simply love this photo of my boy and can't help but use it again and again. :)

Anyway... using the Glue Arts adhesive squares, I stacked small chipboard pieces to create dimension with the stickers, punches and other embellishments on the page.

Supply List:
Glue Arts - Glue Glider Pro with High Tac adhesive; Adhesive Squares
Bo Bunny - Persuasion & Love Bandit Collections
Fiskars Tools - That's Amore & Pucker Up Squeeze Punches
Li'l Davis - Chipboard Alphas

Thanks for stopping by...have a great day!

The New Year...

2010-01-08T15:14:00.005-05:00

Happy belated! I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday celebrations. My family and I had a wonderful holiday break that was VERY laidback...maybe a bit too much since I now find it impossible to get back into the swing of things! :)

But here's a quick post today to share a cute project I made for Fiskars website featuring the Ultra shapeXpress Tool and the new Cupcake Shape Template. The challenge for the article was to create something out of the box using the template and cutting tool. Meaning, don't make something with cupcakes!

A decorative frame...looks perfect in my laundry room.

Isn't that birdie cute?

You can find more details about this project and those of the others in the article, Ultra ShapeXpress Templates.

Here's to a creative new year & have a great weekend!

Merry Wishes!

2009-12-21T22:54:00.015-05:00

It seems that each year I vow that I'll have things done so that I can spend the last week or two before Christmas more peacefully. Well, I almost did it this year...so close! Still, I can not believe how quickly these last few weeks have gone by!!! And with all the busyness of life and the holidays, I've neglected to keep up with posting here...eeek!

I have a few more things on my to-do list but I wanted to post some Christmas projects from the Bo Bunny Blog that I've been meaning to share here. ;)

12 Days of Christmas Frame
I don't know about you, but I forget the words after the 5th Day! :)

Bo Bunny: St. Nick
Fiskars: Mint Condition (leaf) Squeeze Punches to make the poinsettia.

Noel ~ Flowerpot angel
I used to make these flowerpot dolls for craft shows ages ago. A little updating on an older craft and she turned pretty cute.

Bo Bunny: St. Nick collection
Fiskars: Butterflies 1 & 2 Shape Templates

Paper Quilted Ornament
I was inspired by the fabric and ribbon quilted ornaments I've seen. I did the same here but with paper instead.

Bo Bunny: 'Tis the Season collection

That's it....time for me to finish off the last bit of my Christmas shopping and tie up any loose ends. I plan on enjoying these next few days baking cookies, wrapping and relaxing with my family. I'd really love if it would snow again! It doesn't look likely so I'll be hoping the snow from this past weekend lasts a few days longer. It's been years since we've had a white Christmas!

I want to wish everyone a wonderful week with your families and friends! Be safe & I hope you enjoy every moment! Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

A layout...

2009-12-01T12:51:00.007-05:00

Here's a recent layout I created as a guest designer for Debby's Dream Studio. Debby is a friend of mine from when I lived "down south" for a few years. She's a very sweet lady and an inspiration to many who love scrapping and crafting. She's asked me to create a handful of projects with Fancy Pants' Rough & Tough collection for her website that I'll be sure to share here over the coming weeks. I must say that I just LOVE this line!!! It's colorful with fun patterns and perfect for layouts and projects of my little guy. So thanks very much, Debby!

Title: 8 is GReaT!

A few detail shots..............

Supplies:
Fancy Pants: Rough & Tough patterned paper; Rough & Tough Cards, Rub-Ons & Buttons
Tools:
Fiskars Americas: Twinkle Twinkle, Brick and Round 'n Round Squeeze Punches; Ultra ShapeXpress Tool; Tags 1 & Circle Shape Templates; Pinking and Wide Pinking Paper Edgers

---------------------------------------------------------------
Well, there's tons to do this week...more projects...shopping...baking...hopefully getting a head start on my wrapping (yeah, right!) and much more!
:)

BO BUNNY Thankful Blog Hop......

2009-11-27T13:36:00.004-05:00

I hope those of you celebrating Thanksgiving yesterday enjoyed a wonderful holiday! Despite feeling a bit under the weather myself, my family and I had a really great day together. It's sooooo nice to take a break from everything and simply be together. It's just the 4 of us but I like to cook the whole feast with all the trimmings. Usually it's just me in the kitchen but this year I was thankful to have so much help from my husband and children and I couldn't have done it without them. I truly am very grateful to have such a loving family!

I wanted to share a mini floral arrangement I embellished with some Bo Bunny paper and embellishments. It stands just 7" high and was a cute little addition to our table as part of the festive decor yesterday.....

Supplies:
Bo Bunny: Kitchen Spice - Nutmeg patterned paper; Buttons & Bling; 5/8" Harvest Ribbon
Tools:
Fiskars: Floral Spray Foam; Floral Multi-Snip; Professional Grade Stem Cutter

Now on with the Bo Bunny THANKFUL Blog Hop............

With it being Black Friday, I'm sure many of you are out finding great sales in preparation for the holidays or some of you may be taking the time to wind down from yesterday and still others (like me) are getting your homes ready for the upcoming winter holidays. Whatever you may be doing today, I hope you'll join Bo Bunny and its designers in this Blog Hop. Be sure to start at Dee's blog and follow along to the other designers' blogs to enter some fun giveaways as well as ending at the Bo Bunny Blog for the Thankful Blog Hop Prize!

Your next stop from here is to visit the fabulously talented, Debbie Nicholas!

Just in case....Here's the Bo Bunny list of designers taking part in the Blog Hop today....
Dee, Christine, Juliana, Sherry, Carole, Me!, Debbie, Rita, Kristen, Julia, Robyn, Tonya, and then back to the Bo Bunny Blog.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Enjoy the Blog Hop!

Day 3 for the Giving Thanks {Blog Hop} 2009...

2009-11-21T11:35:00.007-05:00

Today's share is something small.............a Thanksgiving card.

I liked the paper posey I made with ink & distressed circles for the Gratitude Journal so much that I did it again. Except this posey is even puffier! I don't know how I'll ever stuff it in an envelope for mailing but I still like how it turned out. :)

Title: Giving Thanks
I stamped the background cardstock with a floral image using Versamark ink.

Also, I added a rub-on to the button along with a few gems. The border sticker is stitched and the leaves are layered and then stitched to the card front.

Supplies:
Bo Bunny - Gypsy: Lace, Saffron, Curry, Henna & Spice patterned papers; Bohemian Borders Rub-On; Gypsy iCandy Jewels; Gypsy Buttons & Bling; Fall Favorites Cardstock Stickers; Gypsy Combo Stickers; and Double Dot Cardstock - Chocolate Dot & Chiffon Dot
Tools:
Fiskars Americas - Ultra ShapeXpress Tool; Circle Shape Template; Round 'n Round and Mint Condition Squeeze Punches
Bo Bunny - Sunburst Clearly Stamps

Contributors to the Giving Thanks {Blog Hop} -
Just click on their names to visit their blogs...

Alison Kreft Abad
Becky Novacek
Debbie Hodge
Elizabeth Kartchner
Jennifer McGuire
Jodie McNally
Kelly Purkey
Lain Ehmann
Lisa Dickinson
Liz Hicks
Margie Romney-Aslett
Margot Potter
May Flaum
Patti Milazzo
Rhonna Farrer
Stacey Kingman
Stephenie Hamen
Wendy Smedley

Happy Saturday & thanks for visiting! I'm off to get out of the house & hang out with the family...enjoy your day!

Welcome to the GIVING THANKS {Blog Hop} 2009...

2009-11-19T09:18:00.027-05:00

I've been given the fabulous opportunity to be a part of the Giving Thanks {Blog Hop} along with a super talented group of artisans and designers. Over the next week, you'll be able to hop around the web from the list below to find various projects and stories each will be sharing on their blogs. Each person participating in the hop will have a full list of contributors so that you can hop from one to another. It's our hope that you will be inspired with creativity and share in our gratitude for all things good this Thanksgiving. Enjoy!

Alison Kreft Abad
Becky Novacek
Debbie Hodge
Elizabeth Kartchner
Jennifer McGuire
Jodie McNally
Kelly Purkey
Lain Ehmann
Lisa Dickinson
Liz Hicks
Margie Romney-Aslett
Margot Potter
May Flaum
Patti Milazzo
Rhonna Farrer
Stacey Kingman
Stephenie Hamen
Wendy Smedley

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A Gratitude Journal.....

We keep Thanksgiving pretty simple in our home. It's just the four of us but we all look forward to a day of being together with no other commitments, good food and later that afternoon a trip to the movies. It's become a tradition we all enjoy. To add to that day, I've been wanting create a holiday keepsake that as a family we could contribute to each Thanksgiving. I thought it might be nice if this year I created a gratitude journal. I think it's important to keep it simple so that it's not a chore but instead a small activity to do together before the meal. My plan is for each family member to have a page with their photo and a simple journal entry from them about what they are thankful for and anything else they'd like to share that year. No rules, no fuss...just a moment to record how we are grateful for all that we have together as a family.

Since I've yet to make a fabric covered mini album/journal, I saw this as my chance to give it whirl. I also wanted to play around with stamping on fabric and mixing paper with fabric and trim in a fun way.
Instructions:
To make the cover and back of the journal, I cut 2 - 6"x8" pieces of thin chipboard. It's important that it be thin enough to machine stitch through and to add eyelets. I also cut 2 - 6"x8" pieces of fusible fleece to give the cover a little bit of a quilted look. I cut the fabric larger (2 - 8" x 10" pieces of muslin) and then stamped my images onto the fabric.

I layered the fusible fleece onto the back of the fabric and ironed the stamped side to secure the fleece. This also heat set the ink in the process. I added my thin chipboard to the back of the fleece and wrapped the excess fabric around the edges and corners. I added a few stitches at the corners to tighten the wrap and further secure the fabric from slipping.

Once all the corners were done, I machine stitched 1/8" around the edge of each piece (front and back covers) twice.

At this point, I created a few embellishments to dress up my journal.
-The paper flower: The leaves were punched, inked, distressed and machine stitched in place. The flower is a stack of graduated punched circles that were also inked and distressed. I layered and adhered them together slightly off-center so that the different patterns and colors could still show through. I used a paper pierce tool to punch holes in the center and added the button with embroidery thread with a large needle tying the thread behind the chipboard.

-The mini blue ribbon flower: This is made using regular thread and needle stitching along one edge of the length of ribbon - about 2 1/2" long. Then gather the thread to cinch the ribbon into a circular shape. I adhered it to the cover with an adhesive square and added the gem to the center.

-The lace trim: With this I weaved the 3/8" wide ribbon through the lace, wrapped it around the cover and machine stitched across the center of the ribbon several times to secure it in place.
-The heart stamp: I created a stamp like square with pattern papers and scallop decorative scissors. I stitched it onto the cover and added punches and other embellishments.
I also added other buttons, a decorative brad to the mix as well as the printed strips of cardstock.

Once my embellishments were complete, I covered the back side of each cover with a 6" x 8" piece of cardstock to hide all the stitching and brad prongs. I adhered this with the permanent adhesive squares.

I punched holes in both the front and back covers and added red eyelets for the binder rings as well a few orange 1/8" eyelets just for fun. I kept the back cover simple with stamping only and the red eyelets for the binder rings, but this could also be more embellished if you choose. I tied several ribbon strips - each about 6" long - to the top binder ring.

The pages are slightly less than 6" x 8" and have holes punched in alignment to fit the rings. In the example page I'll be using for my own entry, I kept the decorating to a minimum. I adhered a piece of black cardstock (a bit larger than wallet size) as my photo mat and stamped journaling lines as well as adding a few paper accents to brighten it up.

As I've mentioned, each family member will get a page to decorate. I'll place the black cardstock photo mat and add the stamped journal lines but otherwise they can decorate and embellish as they like. It can be short and sweet or as elaborate as they please. I'm certain my kids will have a field day adding all sorts of things whereas my husband will keep it pretty simple.

I'm looking forward to one day looking back at this journal when we have several years' worth of entries. I think it'll be a treat to especially see how the kids' entries change and grow. I know it will be something I treasure and hopefully will become a new Thanksgiving tradition for our family.

Supply List:
October Afternoon - Weathervane patterned papers
Bo Bunny - SWAK iCandy Brad
Bazzill - Kraft cardstock
Clearsnap Chalk Ink - Bisque, Ice Blue, Chestnut Roan
Staz-On Ink - Timber Brown (or textile ink)
Glue Arts - Permanent Adhesive Squares (these worked great with the fabric!)
Muslin or other cotton fabric: 2 - 8 x 10 pieces
Fusible Fleece; fabric trim/lace; ribbon; eyelets; assorted buttons; 3 binder rings; gems; mini brads; black embroidery thread

Tools:
Bo Bunny - Fancy Frills and Write On! Acrylic Stamps
Fiskars Americas - Round 'n Round, That's Amore and Mint Condition Squeeze Punches; Scallop Paper Edger Scissors and Eyelet Hole Punch/Setters

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll visit again with me and the other participants to join us in our week of Giving Thanks {Blog Hop} 2009.

2009-11-18T14:41:00.003-05:00

It's coming...

Nov. 19th-25th

Some Bo Bunny Goodness...

2009-11-17T08:11:00.010-05:00

I have been one busy girl lately and have some recent Bo Bunny projects to share today.......

For the Bo Bunny Sketch Challenge this month, Rita Shimniok gave us a great single page sketch to work with that I turned to the right to put together a layout of my girl. It's been months since her birthday and I STILL can't believe she's 13! It doesn't seem that long ago that she still needed to hold my hand when we crossed the street....eek! :)

Title: Love You
I used the new Love Bandit collection along with the Persuasion Buttons & Bling for this layout. I wanted to create a larger flower embellishment and decided to replicate the flower shape found in the patterned paper. I used heart shape punches in graduating sizes and pieced 4 together for each layer and then added the cut out flower shape to the center along with a button.
Tip: Use a large circle punch underneath to anchor all the heart punches in place.

The butterfly punches are layered and stitched to the page. For the tag, I stamped the flourish images with Versamark Ink on kraft cardstock.

Supplies:
Bo Bunny's Love Bandit - Nuts, Whoo Loves You, Stripe and Flower Die Cut patterned papers; Love Bandit Combo Stickers; Double Dot Card Stock - Shiitake, Kiwi, Strawberry & Wine; Persuasion Buttons & Bling
Tools:
Bo Bunny - Journal Acrylic Stamp; Love Birds Clearly Stamps
Fiskars Americas - Flutterby, A Chip Off the Ole Block and Round 'n Round Squeeze Punches; Ultra ShapeXpress Tool and Circle Shape Template; Apron Lace Border Punch and Scallop Paper Edgers
Quickutz - heart and tag die cuts
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This next project was for the Fall Flower challenge. Now, when I think of Fall flowers, the first flowers that come to my mind are Chrysanthemums. I just love them.... the endless layers of petals on each flower is so pretty and for me the Gypsy collection had the perfect color combination to recreate them.

Title: Fall Flower Bucket
I used a small pre-painted bucket from the craft store and then splatter painted with brown acrylic to make it a little less stark looking. I embellished with the layered flowers, ribbon and flourish stickers and added pinch of seedbeads with liquid glue in the center. Fill the container with candy or baked goods to use as a favor or even as a placecard for the Thanksgiving table if you like.

Supplies:
Bo Bunny's Gypsy -Henna, Lace & Spice patterned papers; Gypsy Combo Stickers; Gypsy Buttons & Bling; Double Dot Ribbon - 5/8" Orange Citrus & 3/8" Harvest
Tools:
Fiskars Americas - Oopsie Daisy Squeeze Punches; Daisy Pop-Up Punch; Ultra ShapeXpress Tool and Flowers 1 Shape Template and Shapes & Flowers set of Shape Templates
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These Christmas cards are the projects I used for the Stamping Shrink Plastic with Bo Bunny Stamps tutorial. Using shrink plastic to create your own unique dimensional embellishments is super easy and fun...something you can definitely do with the kids too. I like that it gives me another way to put my stamps to good use. You can find shrink plastic at your local craft store and they typically carry a few different types. I like to use the Frosted for most of my projects. Aside from scrapbook and card embellishments, you can make earrings and charms for bracelets among other things.

Card Title: St. Nick

Supplies:
Bo Bunny's St. Nick - Mistletoe, Noel, St. Nick and Sugar Plum; Chiffon Double Dot Cardstock; Home for the Holidays Cardstock Stickers; Christmas Wishes Rub-Ons; Holly Berry iCandy Jewels; and St. Nick Buttons & Bling
Tools:
Bo Bunny: Dear Santa Clearly Stamp
Fiskars Americas: Lattice & Lace Border Corner Punch

Card Title: Christmas Trio
Supplies:
Bo Bunny's 'Tis the Season - Treasure, Stripe, Yuletide, 'Tis the Season and Deck the Halls patterned papers; Wildberry Bodacious Brads
Tools:
Bo Bunny - Merry Christmas Clearly Stamp
Fiskars Americas - Scallop Sentiment Border Punch; Round 'n Round Squeeze Punch and Seal of Approval Scallop Squeeze Punch
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So that's it! As you can see, I'm all about creating your own embellishments and I hope I've given you a little inspiration to make your own, too.

By the way, later this week I'll be joining in on a Blog Hop along with a super talented group of Fiskars designers and friends. Please stop by as I'll be posting a project of my own along with the list of other participants. It's sure to be a Blog Hop full of creativity and fun!

Thanks & have a wonderful day!