Trying to Catch Up

I have a few layouts and several cards that need sharing here on my blog but my days seem to be quite full lately.  I'm going to try to pop in here quickly and at least get some images up to share with you.

 

This layout highlights boy #2's first pair of glasses.  Everyone in our family except the youngest wears glasses so I figured it was only a matter of time before this one started wearing them...now if we could only figure out a way to keep from leaving them at school when we need them at home or leaving them at home when they're needed at school. 

 

Supplies used:  Die cuts – Chic Tags, Elles Studio, Fancy Pants & craft supplies; Enamel dots – Doodlebug Designs Inc.; Ink – SEI Chalk Ink (Cocoa) & Smooch Spritz (Log Cabin); Letter stickers – Thickers (Jewelry Box); Paper Clips – Tim Holtz; Patterned Paper – Fancy Pants & We R Memory Keepers; Pen – ZigWriter (Chocolate); Stickers – Fancy Pants, October Afternoon & craft supplies

I mixed some old and new in on this one.  I outlined almost everything I added to the layout to help it pop off the darker blue background.  The big heart sticker said "a face only a mother could love" but I didn't like that sentiment for this layout so I placed some tiny alpha stickers over the "only" and replaced it with "this".  Now it reads "a face this mother could love".  This was a pretty quick layout and in retrospect I think I would have chosen a different title like A Sight for Sore Eyes...that's okay.  The photos and story behind them are documented and that is what is important.

 

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

Not really...it's been bitter cold out here but very little snow so everything is crisp and brown in our corner of the world.  I'm ready for snow to cover it all up and be sparkly and white.  Meanwhile, I've been working on a few Christmas projects with many more to come (hopefully). 

 

My husband's annual holiday party for his work is coming up soon and every year I make the place cards for the event.  I opted to use a new stamp set that I recently acquired from Lawn Fawn called Bows and Holly.  If you haven't tried Lawn Fawn's stamps, they are amazing.  I love them for coloring in.  The quality that they stamp is so crisp and clear leaving you with beautiful images to color in.  These are the finished place cards.

 

Supplies used: Cardstock - Neenah Solar White; Ink - Memento (Tuxedo Black); Pens - Copic (G24, YG61, YG 63, R22, R29, & R89), Sakura Gelly Roll (Clear Star)

 

I used Copic markers to color in the holly leaf and mistletoe stamps.  Once I had colored the images in, I took my Sakura Clear Star pen and added some glittery shine to the red berries for a bit of bling.  It's Christmas...you;ve got to have bling at Christmas!

 

 

 

Mapping it All Out

I have so much to share and yet I haven't been getting it up here on my blog.  I've been so busy taking care of business that the projects are piling up in my craft space.  I finally finished that big home decor project I had mentioned.  It's a map of the United States made with my Silhouette Cameo, patterned paper that I already had in my office, and some wood slats leftover from an old bed frame we no longer have in our house.  Wanna see???

 

Supplies used: Ink - ColorBox Chalk Ink (Charcoal); Patterned paper - Chatter Box, Crate Paper, Echo Park Paper Co., Graphic 45, My Minds Eye, October Afternoon and Simple Stories

The entire map was a Silhouette download that they offered as a weekly freebie quite some time ago.  I enlarged the map to fit the black foam core board I planned to use and then ungrouped the entire map.  I die cut each state and then inked around the edges using ColorBox Chalk Ink and a paint brush to get into all the little detail areas.  I wanted to ink up the edges so it would not only help to define the shape of each state but it would help each map piece blend into the black background where pieces didn't come together exactly.  Once the pieces were ready, I assembled the map using Mod Podge.  I finished the map off by adding a few coats of Mod Podge over the entire foam core board to protect it all.

For the base, my wonderful husband trimmed each plank to the size I needed and then secured them all together.  I stained the entire thing with a dark walnut stain that I roughed up a bit with sand paper once it was all dry.  I attached the foam core board to the wood planks using Beacon's Hold the Foam Glue for Styrofoam and my hubby hung it up.  I love how it turned out.  The finished size is roughly 35" x 25" including the plank base.  The colors match the colors in our family room perfectly and now that empty alcove above the fireplace has something to fill it in!

Halloween 2009

In honor of halloween this week, here is a layout of some photos from halloween 2009.

 

Supplies used: Alphabet chipboard – AC Thickers (Jewelry Box); Brads – Basic Grey; Cardstock – craft supplies; Ink – StazOn (Timber Brown); Patterned paper – BoBunny and Die Cuts With a View; Pen – ZigWriter (Chocolate); Rub-on Numbers – Doodlebug Design Inc.; Speech Bubble – Cosmo Cricket; Stickers – My Mind’s Eye; Washi tape – My Mind’s Eye

I really wanted to include all 3 photos from events leading up to Halloween which didn’t leave a whole lot of room for journaling on this single-page layout.  Using a simple list format for my journaling and rub-on numbers in both black and white from the same product line allowed me to fit it all in easily.  I kept the embellishments fairly simple by cutting a My Mind’s Eye label in half and tucking each half under the speech bubble to add a little more interest to the top corner and finishing each embellishment cluster off with matching brads from Basic Grey. 

One of a Kind Costumes

It's almost Halloween so I figured I ought to scrap these really old photos of our younger boys trying on costumes that we had received from a friend of the family.  Her boys are adults now but back in the day when they were young, she took the time to make amazingly crafted costumes for them.  She passed them along to me when her boys had outgrown them and I have saved them all these years until our boys could wear them.  They've outgrown most of them now too but when these photos were taken, they could fit into most of them and they had so much fun trying them all on - mixing and matching them just for fun.  It was an evening full of giggles.

 

Supplies Used: Cardstock – Bazzill (swiss dot) & The Paper Co.; Enamel dots - My Mind’s Eye; Ink – ColorBox (Green) & StazOn (Timber Brown); Patterned paper – Echo Park Paper Co.; Pen – Zig Writer (Chocolate); Stamps – Studio AE by Technique Tuesday; Stickers – Echo Park Paper Co.; Tags – Jenni Bowlin & Michaels; Wood veneers – Studio Calico

This years costumes are partially ready.  Both boys are going to be "Steve" from Minecraft.  We have the heads and swords but I have to figure out what they are going to wear on the rest of their bodies...I wish I had more time to build them a square body to match the character.  Who knows, maybe I'll get some inspiration and get to crafting something before next Thursday.  

Making our Home More Home-y

I've worked on several home decorating projects lately and have another big one in the works.  Just thought I'd share what I've been up to in making our home a little more comfy for us.

 

First up is this cross that I decorated for our master bedroom.  I used a quote from Bob Hazlett who was a guest speaker at our church a while back.  It says "Every problem we have is an invitation to learn who God is."  I love that... 

I covered a paper mache cross that I found at Hobby Lobby with acrylic paint then I decoupaged on the polka dot patterned paper.  Next I took the beautiful vintage lock from Blue Fern Studios, inked it up with brown ink then softened the edges with white ink, tied some twine around it and added an enamel dot.  The wood veneer hearts got a little ink around the edges and an enamel dot of their own then I glued them onto the cross.

 

Here are some detail shots...

 

 

Next up is a Fall decoration piece that hangs out in our family room.

This Fall subway art was a freebie download from the Internet.  I can't find my original source for this Silhouette file...sorry!  It is a print and cut file that I printed on our color printer then I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out all the little details - the acorns, pumpkins and leaves.  I inked the edges of these little bits then glued them to the printed image.   I then mounted the finished image onto patterned paper and popped it into an 8x10 frame I found at Michael's.  I love how it turned out the warm, rich colors make me want to curl up in front of the fireplace.  I made a second one of these for a harvest themed auction basket for son #3's class.

 

This next project was for the Jingle Bells themed auction basket for son #2's class but I will be making another one to fill in the above frame when Christmas decorations come out in our house.

This print and cut file I created myself in my Silhouette software using some existing files I had purchased.  I printed the image on our color printer and then cut the little details (holly leaves, trees, and poinsettia flowers) out of patterned paper and cardstock, inked the edges and glued them to the printed image.  Once again, I matted the finished image on patterned paper and popped it into an 8x10 frame. 

 

The big project I'm working on is a map of the United States for a blank wall in our family room.  I have all the states cut out and I've inked all the edges, now I have to adhere it to a black foam core board and cover it with Mod Podge to protect it.  I think I'll use some wood planks I have in the garage to mount the foam core board on and then up it will go.  I promise to share pictures when it's completed.

 

I'm off for now...the boys and I have to figure out what they are going to dress up as for Halloween while they're home on their Fall break this week so I better get moving...the week is almost over!



Silly Season...

I love how playful my husband is with our boys.  When I took these pictures, he thought nothing of it.  Boy #3 was being silly and hamming it up for the camera so why wouldn't my husband do it too?  Our boys are blessed that their Daddy has no problems being just a silly as they are, especially since Mom tends to be the more serious one of the bunch.

 

Supplies used: Alphabet stickers – Echo Park Paper Co.; Brads – My Mind’s Eye; Cardstock – Neenah (Desert Storm); Font – My Own Topher; Ink – ColorBox Fluid Chalk (Charcoal) & Jenni Bowlin (Cough Syrup); Patterned Paper – Echo Park Paper Co., My Mind’s Eye & Simple Stories; Tag – Chic Tags; Washi tape – My Mind’s Eye; Wood veneers – Studio Calico

I love the dimension that the My Mind's Eye patterned paper adds as the background - not quite black, not quite gray and certainly not boring.  I ran the Chic tag through my laser printer to add the journaling and cut apart one of the tag sheets from the Simple Stories 24/7 collection to help create the embellishment clusters.  The old fashioned cameras came from an Echo Park Paper Co. border strip. For the single camera, I simply fussy cut, inked the edges and put it on dimensional adhesive.