Scripts from Scrap etc.

Scripts Tag Sale

2010-09-03T08:57:00.000-07:00

I have been going through all the older Scripts kits and some of the VERY cool things that never made it into a kit!! Wow, there is quite a few AWESOME things left!
I decided to stop Scripts back in the Spring. There were a lot of reasons behind it. Mostly just too much time and too little money!
We are selling our house and I have been cleaning out the closets! I have a ridiculous amount of stuff....as you probably can relate!!

I have put together a kit that will include a 12x12 American Crafts album. I only have a few of these kits. I'm sure they will go really fast! I have a picture of the entire kit. Everything you see will be included. Most items are from CHA winter 2010. I am confident that you can finish a complete album with this product and have so much left over!! I do have a few "extra" things that will be included, too!

This kit would retail for over $150.00!!!
I am offering it to you for $80.00......

This kit will be shipping next week.
I have everything in stock and will box it up as soon as it's paid for!

Email me with your order and I will send you an invoice through Paypal. As usual, email with any questions!!

thank so much!
Lucy

Rayovac Contest

2010-06-22T06:12:00.000-07:00

Hey, friends, I thought you might want to know about this awesome summer promotion!

"The first 99 bloggers to promote the Rayovac Powers Your Summer Twitter Event won a prize package from Rayovac."

Here's the link:
http://www.facebook.com/Rayovac

It's that time of year

2010-05-17T04:41:00.000-07:00

School is almost over - we have two more weeks. My son's elementary school doesn't really do anything big for Teacher Appreciation, which I think stinks. I know they had a duty free lunch one day - meaning they get to eat out of the cafeteria and someone else watches the kids. But that's it. At least, that's all I know of. The past two schools he's attended had great plans for the week of teacher appreciation with themes each day and just fun for the teachers.

Since our school doesn't do a big deal, I just let it slide, planning on really kicking it up for the end of the year party. Our party is Friday and I've got one gift almost finished!! I've got to get on the ball! Here are some ideas that I really love and hopefully will try a few:

Crayon Monogram:

I would love to do this and have a stockpile of crayons, so I think it's doable! I've seen it with colored pencils, too - which is a great look, but I think I can cut crayons easier than the pencils.

The coolest clipboard ever:

Now, I've done a few altered clipboards in my day (every teacher has gotten at least one) but this one is so cool - with the cork and the clothes pins, and post its - you can't go wrong! I may try this for sure.

This one may be my favorite - a box of teacher goodies:

and check out the inside:

I just love this - I'm really going to try to remember to look at supplies for more of these, once school's back in and supplies get clearanced. But for now, I'll scope out some less expensive places and see what I can find - I'm a frugal girl, ya know!!

So, what are you doing for end of the year gifts?

lisa

My boy!

2010-05-12T07:34:00.000-07:00

My son is now at the end of second grade, and I wanted to record some facts about him on a layout. The picture I used is perfect- it is his spring school picture, but he also has on an armful of animal bracelets. He has been ALL about them this year! He has too many to count, and spends any money he gets on them. He also loves his dad, paper airplanes, reading and the trampoline. I hope he looks back on this page one day and is reminded of what a cool second grader he was!

The April kit came along just in time.............

2010-05-10T06:50:00.000-07:00

for this sweet picture of my new niece!

As soon as I dug into my kit, I was thinking about the baby pictures I would have soon of a sweet little baby girl. Seriously, as soon as I snapped this picture, I knew it would be the one I wanted to use on a layout. This came together really quickly and easily - I actually just did this during a break at school, while subbing. The kids were at P.E. so I spread out my stuff and got to work!

I used the Glimmer Mist on the letters to take away a bit of the iridescence and tone them down a bit. First I used a number 9 to test on, since there were enough 6's in case I needed a 9 at some point. I didn't think it was enough coverage so when I pulled my letters off for my title, I placed them on a paper towel and sprayed. Once they were dry, I sprayed a second coat to get a darker shade. They were perfect in the end!! I added the dangling charm from a previous kit, everything else is April's!!

Thanks for looking!
What did you do with your April kit?

Lisa

Another layout to share

2010-05-08T08:42:00.000-07:00

This layout is from the March kit. Cole had a field trip to the McWane Science Center and I got to go along. I took a million pictures of course - these are the highlights:

Thanks for looking!

Cards for Mom

2010-05-05T15:43:00.000-07:00

Mother's day is around the corner, so I need to get some cards in the mail! I made these two this afternoon, and plan to make a few more for some other ladies in my life who aren't my mom, but hold a special place in my heart. I crinkled the cream ribbon up on doubled sided tape to add texture on the card on the left, and used a stamp pad on the white glitter thickers on the card on the right.

Mother's Day is right around the corner

2010-05-03T05:02:00.000-07:00

I don't have any kit projects to share today but I did want to share some great Mother's Day craft ideas. I hope you see something you could easily make for the mom in your life or just for yourself because it's so darn cute!

This is one project I'm making for myself, as well as my mother-in-law and mom. For my mom, I'm thinking about doing a G and Grammy instead of the last name and the EST. date would be the year Cole was born. I'm thinking it would make a great wedding gift, too:

The information to put this together is here: Fireflies and Jellybeans

Here's another fun thing to make:

And the how-to's are here: Living with Lindsey
I've also seen a tutorial for making one of these with coffee filters!

This would be a really sweet pin for any mom or grandmom, or a really cute flower for a scrapbook page:

The directions for this can be found here: Under the Table and Dreaming

And this just may be my favorite - I am planning on doing this sometime this week. Maybe for my mom and definitely for me:

Here's the info on this fabulous project: Tatertots and Jello

All of these website are in my Google reader and are really great for fun projects, most that are super easy to do.

I hope your Mother's Day crafting will be fun and successful!!
Lisa

Can you hear it?

2010-04-28T19:34:00.000-07:00

She makes my heart sing.....
My beautiful Hannah. I choose this title for two, no, three reasons.
1. She does make my heart sing!
2. She loves to sing!!
3. The cool music sheet paper by "Dear Lizzie"!

I LOVED the glimmer mist. So much so that I got a little carried away. I used a little too much. I was upset that I failed to realize that my stamped butterfly should have been stamped after I used the Glimmer Mist, or stamped in a permanent ink. But as the day past, it grew on me, and now I like it! I made the flowers using the cool fabric self adhesive paper- I just cut it into thin strips and wound it around in a circle . The pearls are from my stash.
I hope you all are enjoying the kit-- can't go wrong with Glimmer mist, thickers and stamps!

Sweet baby girl is on the way

2010-04-26T19:49:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-law is scheduled to be induced this coming Monday - I was so excited to hear the news today - I made this.

Used the April kit and added some Dear Lizzy ribbon!

This tin bucket was in the Easter stuff at Hobby Lobby 90% off - quite a deal and a perfect match for this kit!

lisa

Here are my flowers

2010-04-20T05:19:00.000-07:00

Completely forgot last night to do this - so I snapped a quick picture with my phone - it's not the best, but you get the idea:

In this first shot, you can see all the different sizes of circles and scallops I punched. Then i took my Dremel and filed the edges - this is so so much faster than using sandpaper or files and it's a little more precise when you need to get into small edges (like where two scallops meet).

These are my flowers:

I'm not finished with them - I need to add something to the centers, but you get the idea! I just crumpled them up, stacked them, snipped a little here and there and stapled. Whatever I add to the center will cover the staple! There you have it!

later!
lisa

Punches are my favorite tool, how about you?

2010-04-18T06:42:00.000-07:00

I love punches - border punches, corner punches, shape punches - all of them. I have a project I'm working on now and wanted to punch a few different size circle. I know I can use my Slice, but there's just something about a punch - I can't resist. And with the Slice, everything is cut in half inch increments and I wanted a different variation.

I headed to JoAnn's first, hoping to find a round punch that was a little less than 2 inches, plus I had a 50% off coupon. They didn't have one but the punches were on sale so I looked around hoping to find a new border punch - but they didn't have anything I was crazy about. I knew Michael's would have one, but didn't have my coupon with me and wasn't sure if they were on sale or not so to Hobby Lobby I went. Most of my punches have come from Hobby Lobby - so I felt they would have just what I was looking for. I also noticed a few Martha Stewart border punches at Hobby Lobby and this was a surprise, didn't think they would ever carry her stuff.

Let me tell you about my punches for a moment. I have Marvy punches, Paper Studio punches, Fiskars, Martha Stewart, and EK Success punches. I'm an equal opportunity puncher!! My favorite punches tend to be the border punches from Fiskars and then EK Success. I haven't had a problem with any of my Fiskars border punches and I use them lots. In my recent clean up of my scrap stuff I finally located one I'd been missing (apron lace) and was super excited to see it!!

I love my Paper Studio punches, but they tend to be really hard to punch with. I have these two that I've used a lot - they are scalloped circles - one is 2 5/16ths and then 1 7/8ths. These two are perfect for layering together but they are super hard to punch. I've tried aluminum foil and wax paper and neither help. I have to punch them on the floor and step on them (not the best method) or go to my kitchen counter top and punch there.

I was hoping to find a circle that would fit somewhere in between those two scallops. I ended up with a 1 7/16th circle punch - doesn't fit in between but I liked that size. I immediately opened it when I got home Saturday and started gathering my paper for my project.

One of the features of these punches (as well as the Marvy punches) is there is a clear cover on the area where your punched shape falls out - so you can see what you are punching, but it stays contained, in the punch. The bad thing is if you are lining up your paper and want the pattern just right in the punch, you have to take the cover off and take out the previously punched shape. My two scalloped circle punches have the clear cover removed and I'm pretty sure they are lost forever. I can see where this would be a great feature if you are punching a shape multiple times since it contains them all right there - no worries about them falling out or getting stuck. But with those particular punches, I haven't found it was that helpful to me. The coolest part of this new punch is the cover is clear and there's a slot that your shape can fall out of - so you can see where you are punching and then slip the shape out without having to take off that cover. I love it!! Best new feature of a punch ever!!

I got a little crazy and punched more circles than I needed, but hey - that's okay - I'll find a way to use them I'm sure!! While I was out hunting down the perfect circle punch, I ran in Tuesday Morning and found some Martha Stewart punches there. I only got one and it's odd - sort of a flower or medallion - not sure what it's supposed to be but for $2.99, I'll try it out. I haven't taken it out of the bag yet, but will get to it this week, I'm sure!!

So, what are your favorite punches? Do you have any fun tips or tricks to share? I'll be back next week with a few tips to share - I love taking a punch and using it to make something other than the shape intended!! Always love a challenge!! I'll try to come back later today and show you the flowers I made with my circles!!

Thanks for reading and leave me a comment about your favorite punch or tip!!

Altered Cubes

2010-04-14T14:12:00.000-07:00

A long time ago, my son got this game in his kid's meal from Arby's. He didn't really want it and couldn't swap it for ice cream like you can at Chick-fil-a, so I took it! I just knew what I would do with it. Now, finally, I got around to altering it. I think I have 3 more, and may alter one for my Mom for Mother's Day, which will be here before I know it.

Here are some pics of the final product. I think it turned out well. The only problem I had was trying to keep my embellishments flat so the cubes would stack right!

As I look at these pictures, I realize that first, the bottom two cubes are backwards.... they should say "of my {kids}!" Sorry about that :). Second thing I noticed is that we are in restaurants in most of these pics! Maybe we eat out too much....

The third and Final (with distressing courtesy of my kids)

2010-04-12T06:59:00.000-07:00

Sorry I'm late with this post. My layout was stolen and I couldn't find it. It finally turned up under a pile of pillows in the play room. It was also kind of wrinkled, but I figured it went with the "distressed" and "rough and tumble" theme of the layout.

Here is the third layout I did featuring the Glitz Bingo Paper. I had this nice number border left over after my last two layouts. So, I kind of tilted it to make a square-in-square effect on the layout.

Even though I love the paper, my favorite part of the layout is this cool rub on also from Glitz. I cut the rub on sheet in half and layered it both under and over the photo.

Oh, why is organizing so hard?

2010-04-12T05:56:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I mentioned getting my room in better order and cleaning out. This past week I spent a few hours two different days trying to make a mark in there. I've still got a long way to go, but I feel better about the task at hand. The bad news is we may have company next weekend so I can't procrastinate too long - they'll need somewhere to sleep. The good news is I've found lots of things that I really like but haven't used simply because I've forgotten about them!

I have antique furniture in my guest room, which includes a cedar chest, a chest of drawers and a vanity. Right now, every square inch of those three pieces is covered in stuff. I started in the chest of drawers and started throwing things away that I didn't need, or adding them to a box for my sister-in-law to go through. I began sorting within the drawers a bit, but it's hard to sort through a mess. I'm the type of cleaner that needs a clean space to start with - you know, empty drawers or containers or something along those lines. That's how I like to organize. It's rarely how I attempt to organize though!! This time I did clean off the guest bed and start stacking things there. I quickly went through all five drawers on the first day and tossed things that I didn't need (packaging and such) and pulled out things for my sister-in-law and moved things around that I wanted to keep.

The second day I tackled the closet. This is really the worst place. I have a very bad habit of not unpacking bags of stuff. When I go somewhere to scrapbook, I pack up what I want to take and go. Then when I return home, I stick the bag in the closet and forget about it!! Not a good idea. I have several Michaels bags stuck in there as well - things I'd been thinking about looking for but just didn't care enough to look right away.

Now the closet is cleaned out mostly but the bed is covered!! Can you see how I struggle to finish this task? :D

I moved my paper rack into my closet since I don't necessarily need it out in the open. My closet has a light, so I can see inside it very well. I pulled a rack the spins and put it in place of the paper rack. I'm hoping that I can use this to actually display things so I don't forget I have them. I ended up with two empty Cropper Hopper 12x12 paper holders - so I need to find a good and practical use for them.

I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only one that struggles in this area. I'd love to hear your favorite storage idea. How about sharing something you use that isn't typically used for scrapbook storage? Those are the things I really like. I have a hard time spending money on storage items (unless it's a fabulous deal) because that's money I could spend on tools or paper!!! So, I tend to look for things that I can repurpose.

Okay - that's enough chatting. I need to get back to cleaning/purging/organizing!!

lisa

My latest Scripts creation

2010-04-07T19:58:00.001-07:00

I have had so much fun with this month's kit! I LOVED that it had the raffia in it- and that I had pictures of horses to go with it! I think they go well together. I have several more layouts in the works-- can't wait to finish them up and share them here.

Lots of layouts

2010-04-05T06:53:00.000-07:00

I spent a few hours last week just scrapbooking and watching mindless television. I don't get to do that too often - or at least when I do I'm not super productive, I get sidetracked from Brandon and Kelly's on again/off again relationship or get wrapped up in the whole Luke/Loralie thing.

Anyway, last week - I was productive.

I started these first two layouts during Spring Break and finished them up last week. I had photos in mind, but started the layouts without the photos. Usually I let the photos guide me but with this first one - the paper from the Black Bird kit just seemed perfect for the noise going on in the background while I scrapped with my friend, Michelle.

This second layout was inspired by this challenge over at Noel Mignon blog and I used the February Black Bird kit for it, as well. The challenge was titled "Lean on Me" and was about documenting that special relationship, someone you can lean on. So, I made sure to get a picture of me and my friend Michelle. She's that friend - the one that will listen to my craziness and not see it as crazy. She gets me. She has from the beginning of our friendship!! We are a lot alike in so many ways - it's a little weird, actually, but we love it!!

When I got my March Kit - Hey Jude - I couldn't wait to dig in and play. I did this layout with certain photos in mind (which were of Cole petting the animals in Animal Kingdom), but then decided that they wouldn't work (it was December and not really springy). I then thought about taking a picture of Cole outside playing but then wondered if the flashcards at the bottom would make since considering the lack of animals in my photo - so now it's just pictureless and I can't decide what the heck I'm doing here. So, if you have a suggestion, help a girl out.....

Now this one is using really old pictures, I never do that, along with the March kit, Hey Jude. I don't know why I don't use more old pictures since they are just in boxes and not being used at all. I seem to think I can only use photos that have been taken as long as I've been scrapbooking and not from the time before. So, these are from 1997 - while we were living the young and free lifestyle, not too worried about the future yet, not thinking about marriage or kids or anything other than where we'd hang out that weekend. I certainly wasn't too worried about fashion - that's quite apparent by my tucked in tshirt and denim vest!! I recently heard this song "Free" by the Zac Brown Band and loved the chorus and used it as my title.

And finally we have this layout about Cole and what he is, right now, at nine years old. I know we think we'll remember this little silly things about our kids forever. The truth is, we won't remember it all. I'm sure I won't forget his obsession with the Toy Story characters, but I may forget the silly way he says KOOKIE and that face he makes as he says it. I wish I would have thought to do this each year of his life - just a little 'right now' sort of layout. I plan to make sure I do it from now on! And it would be nice to do it with my own 'right now', too.

So, there's not much left of my March kit - so I'm ready to see the April kit! How about you??

Lisa

A layout---and help needed!

2010-04-04T17:56:00.000-07:00

Ok, I am in a bit of a struggle, please see photo:

I made this layout with this month's Scripts Kit, but then, I struggle everytime with how to take a good pic of a 2 12x12 layouts?!

Now, I don't have a fancy schmancy scanner, so that is NOT an option. Who can help? with some tips?

And the second layout with the Bingo Paper from Glitz

2010-04-03T17:39:00.001-07:00

In my last post, I mentioned how much I loved the Bingo paper from Glitz in this month's Scripts Kit. I loved it soooo much that I used it on 3 layouts. Here is the second layout on which I used this fabulous paper.

Now, it's kind of subtle. When I was cutting the grid out of the paper with my craft knife, I cut the star border of the paper off with my craft knife too. I just loved the star border! I also ordered some Dear Lizzy from Lucy (you know she sold some Dear Lizzy kits, right? She does stuff like that from time to time - as well as providing awesome monthly kits. Gotta watch the blog). So, I paired my brand new Dear Lizzy with some elements of the Scripts kit. I am in love with the glitter buttons.

To give the layout some more texture, I used the dyed coffee filter from the kit underneath the star border. I cut it into small strips and gathered it with adhesive on the back side of the star border. Instant texture!

So there you have it! Stay tuned next Saturday for my third layout with the bingo paper!!!

100th Birthday!

2010-03-30T06:06:00.000-07:00

It is so incredible to know someone that is 100 years old! We celebrated my husband's Grandmother's birthday on Sunday. She turned 100 on March 25th. She has been through so much! Just think of it, she was born in 1910!!! The history she has been through.........it is just amazing to me.

We had a huge party at La Reunion in Helena.....very cute coffee shop! So many friends and family members were there. We wanted to have a record of all those people. Of course, I just pulled out the handy dandy Scripts kit and went to work! I LOVE how it turned out! I used the AccuCut machine to cut out the covers and inside pages for the signature book.
We would love to cut albums for you. Just let us know what you are looking for and we can ship it straight to you!!

Thicker Storage (and all those other alphas, too)

2010-03-29T06:31:00.000-07:00

So, I have this bad habit of collecting scrapbook supplies. I'm fairly certain that I'm not the only one. My scrap supplies are taking up residence in my guest room. My guest room is also full of laundry! All my clean laundry is sorted and stacked nice and neatly (well, mostly neatly) on the guest bed. This is just out of control. I can't find my supplies. I can't find my favorite jeans. Cole can't find his favorite pj's. IT'S JUST TOO MUCH.

I think the best way to tackle this problem is first - to get rid of the laundry. Put everything away after it's folded - not just leave it there forever. And then second - I need to find a way to organize my favorite things - the things I use the most and go to over and over. I've decided these things are:

my kits
my paper
my letters
my go to embellishments
my tools

Now, I need to weed out everything else. I'm not sure how I'm going to do that - but I'm going to really really make some drastic changes in my guest room this week!!

In my attempt to organize my favorite things, I thought I would cook up some storage for my letters. This is what I came up with:

I found this fabulous cereal of Target. It's so good, I could seriously eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner, seven days a week. It's just that good. But what makes it better - the container is so cute. It's harder cardboard than a regular cereal box and it has a plastic top - instead of just the typical cardboard fold up top.

I used the February BlackBird kit and covered my box and added some embellishments to the front and a label with THICKERS, as well.

Now I need to make a few more with my faves. I'm not sure if I'm going to do this by brands, though - I mean I have enough Thickers to fill up more than one container but the rest of my sticker letters are cardstock stickers and much thinner so I think I'll just group them all together. I can't wait to make a few more and have my letters a little more organized.

Now, if only I could find super easy ways to organize the rest...................

Lisa

It's Hidden!

2010-03-28T06:08:00.000-07:00

Loving this month's kit. When I picked my kit up this month, this bingo paper from Glitz was the first thing I noticed. Perfect for some great boy pages...which is exactly what I've been wanting to scrap.

I loved the grid pattern of the paper, and it gave me an idea. I pulled out my exacto knife and did some cutting. I cut a big section out of the middle of the paper (and saved the rest. I used this paper on two more layouts. I love the versatility, but I digress). Then, using the grid pattern as a guide, I cut a little flap a little right of center.

I don't know if you can tell from this photo, but I also put a coat of the Copper Glimmer Mist from this month's kit on the paper to give it a little oomph.

Then, I backed the opening left by the flap with some notebook paper (lined - easier to write my journaling on). I used one of the Jillibean soup tab stickers as a little lift for the flap.

So easy and just a little bit different from your usual journaling spots.

The Happiest Race on Earth!

2010-03-27T19:28:00.000-07:00

What fun I had with this month's kit! Why, oh why am I just now using these Tiny Alphas from Glitz Design?! They are the cutest!

I love this photo. I could scrap it again and again! I know this layout is kind of "plain" but that is intentional! The photo says it all!!!

**My challenge to you....get your Happy Photo...and make something with it!

Color Combination Challenge!

2010-03-24T08:30:00.000-07:00

When certain colors are mentioned together or used together, our minds usually think of a particular holiday or occasion, such as red and green for Christmas, black and orange for Halloween, or pastel pink for a baby girl. My challenge to you is to use a color combination that is usually associated with a holiday or special occasion on a layout or project for something else. In my example, I used red and green for a layout about a game the kids made up and played while we were on vacation in Florida. They didn't have a name for it, so I called it "The Random Game".
Once you have created your layout or project, let us see it by posting a link in the comments and I will send a prize to one lucky winner! Become our fan on Facebook and I will put your name in the drawing twice!! If you are already a fan, let me know, and I will put your name in twice as well. I will draw a name on April 7th-- that gives you two whole weeks to come up with an idea. Can't wait to see what you do. Try to use product from the Scripts Kits-- any month, or months! It doesn't all have to be from the kits, but try to make at least half of your layout/project from Scripts. We love to see what you create!

Cookies Jars in the Springtime!

2010-03-23T15:53:00.000-07:00

I needed to spruce up my cookie jar for Spring. I have this really cool jar that has black and white polka dots all over it. You may have seen them at The Spotted Zebra in Trussville! They are made by Coton Colors. This company has the cutest stuff! I wish I had every piece of pottery. It's just all so colorful!

So, I have several attachments for my cookie jar. Each season you can change out what attachment you use. My collection consists of all Fall attachments?! Odd.....I have a School Bus, a Witch, a Turkey (so cute), and a Christmas Tree. I do not know why I haven't bought something for Spring or Summer. I guess I need to head out to The Spotted Zebra to get one! OR.......make one out of the newest kit!!!!

Brittney was over this morning and I was showing her how cute it is. She made the suggestion that I make a new attachment...hello! Great idea.

I ran downstairs, cut out a scalloped circle from the AccuCut machine, a few flowers, used a butterfly from last month's kit and voila...the perfect Spring attachment!

A little Slice of heaven

2010-03-22T05:39:00.000-07:00

You may have seen several of us mention our Slice - I'm pretty sure that we all love our Slice, most of the time!!

Picture from Making Memories

I got my Slice when they first came out and couldn't wait to play with it!! I started off with just the Slice and the Design Card that came with it. I eventually got the Basics 3 card and Fa La La. I was also lucky enough to buy my Slice at the right time and get the offer for the free Design Card - Seasons. So within just a few months, I had enough Design Cards to keep me busy!!

I made several fun things right away - like this December Daily Album and our Christmas Card for 2008! I made this Countdown to Christmas and decorations for out little Alabama tree, too!

I really loved cutting things out - since this was the first die cutting system I had, I went a little crazy, obviously!! But, it was so fun!!

I had a few issues with my Slice, mostly operating issues on my part!! I wasn't always patient and when it wouldn't do just what I wanted, I tended to just unplug it and walk away!! I did end up watching several of the videos on the Why Slice website and that helped a lot. I still tend to have a few problems with it now, but sometimes you just have to give the machine a rest and take a break!!

Now, I've added several Design Cards to my stash! I have Basics 2, Spooky Alley and Mix and Mingle. I've used my Slice for accents on layouts, cards and altered items. I've used it for Banners - for Birthdays and Baby Showers. I've used it on three diaper cakes now, too!

Here's the breakdown on my thoughts on the Slice:

Pros:

Super portable
with the recent upgrades to the machine, it's much faster
design cards are affordable, especially when they are on sale
endless options with the extra things they've added recently - shadowing, mirror imaging, etc
cuts paper and cardstock easily
cuts vinyl

Cons:

battery runs out quickly to me, so even if it's portable, you still have to plug it in to get the best results
temperamental - sometimes I really do just have to unplug it and walk away when it won't cut all the way through the paper, or cuts wonky - coming back to it later seems to make it work again though
the Design Cards and accessories aren't on sale often enough for me (although I've recently discovered that the accessories aren't excluded on JoAnn's coupons - YAY)
when cutting tons of designs, I hate that I have to hold the machine, but the good thing is they've now come out with a Hands free option and I'll be looking into adding that to my stash soon!
adhesive is pricey and my last tube clogged up and was a pain to fix

What I hope they come out with in the future:

the ability to cut your own designs (I've heard this will be available in the future though)
the ability to use the new features (mirror image and shadowing) on the old design cards
Disney design cards (oh my gosh - I hope this happens!!!)

Things the Slice does that I haven't tired:

embossing (I really want to try that)
drawing (I don't know if the pens are out yet, but I know they showed it at CHA)

Overall, I love my Slice!! I love that I can cut out any title for a page (that is, when I'm not using all the alphabets that come in my Scripts kit - Thickers are tough competition for the Slice). I love that I can cut multiple sizes of shapes and layer them for some fun accents. I love that I can cut vinyl now. I cut out a name and stuck it on a cute pink pail for my future niece. Her first Easter bucket is ready (she isn't arriving until after this Easter, but I just couldn't help making a cute pail for her). I've also cut my initials for my back window on my van. I feel like the options are endless - there are so many things I get excited about doing!!

Making Memories sales vinyl that's marketed as Slice Vinyl, but it's patterned and that doesn't always work for what I want to cut. They haven't come out with solid vinyl yet, that I know of. The Slice does cut the vinyl for the Cricut and Silhouette. I also picked up a scrap of vinyl from a sign shop and it cut that, too!

So, back to the OVERALL part, I love it!

Extreme Make Over : Calendar Edition!

2010-03-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

This is what my $1 spot planner looked like when I bought it. I liked it as it was, but decided to personalize it a bit!

I really liked how it came out. The Jenni Bowlin stickers were perfect for making flowers/suns and I have been drawn to orange lately, so I loved that the orange paper matched the design already on the cover. The strips at the bottom are from a previous kit. I {heart} using the kits together!!
I hope this will help me stay organized!!
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hey Jude - March Kit

2010-03-15T08:48:00.000-07:00

So, I'm packing kits for March and I just had to take a fun picture and share the details here. I am totally in love with this kit. First - Glimmer Mist!!! I am new to the world of Glimmer Misting and LoVe It!! The paper is so so fun!! I already have a photo ideas scribbled in my planner just to use with some of this paper. The coffee filter is a bonus I threw in for fun. I just really wanted to dye some and told Lucy about it and she said go for it. Well, I didn't have any tea. Can you believe that? Who doesn't have tea? Well, us - apparently. But, just so you know - you can totally dye coffee filters with Coke. So, that's what I did. I love the raffia and those little buckles are so so cute. All the paper is adorable and when you get your hands on the core'dinations - you will be in heaven! It's a creamy color on the front and a brown on the back. It's embossed with polka dots. When you distress the cream side - the brown pops through!! I can't wait to play with that!!

Okay - so here's the details:

Patterned papers:
Glitz, from the *new* Kismet Collection: Stripe, Numbers and Ledger
Jillibean Soup, from the *new* Chicken Soup Collection: Chicken Bouillon
Cosmo Cricket, from the *new* Garden Variety Collection: Sunday Picnic and Measuring Up, Elements

Cardstock:
American Crafts in Sunflower and Evergreen
Jenni Bowlin, core'dinations Whitewash Collection in Grandpa's Trunk

Alphabets:
Cosmo Cricket Chipboard
Glitz Teeny Alpha in red

Embellishments:
Glimmer Mist in Copper
Jillibean Soup Cardstock Stickers Sheet
Cosmo Cricket Elements Sheet
Glitz Distressed Rub-ons
Brown rickrack
Red and Brown Chipboard pieces from Creative Cafe
Red Gingham pocket
White and Red tag
Brown polka dot stationary
Hand died coffee filter
Natural Raffia
Vintage brown metal buckles
Jillibean Soup canvas flowers
Pink blooms

If you haven't signed up for Scripts yet - you should!! This kit is a must have!!

Lisa

Springy colors make me happy!

2010-03-15T04:00:00.000-07:00

I'm so glad that all the stores are starting to break out all the springy stuff. It's nice to see the cheerful colors. But, here's the deal - I haven't spent much time out shopping lately. I've been at home and on the computer. So, I decided to look around for some springy colors online.

First, I was flipping through my Google Reader and came across this. Here's my favorite image from that post:

Check out these cute water bottles:

Those are from Potter Barn Kids - so cute and springy - I always love polka dots, but it just seems like they fit in better in the spring!

Check out this link from the Land of Nod but before you click, plan on spending a bit of time there - their stuff is adorable!

And look at this:

This is from Martha Stewart - love these colors together - but the kicker is she calls this a Craft Punch Glossary. Check out directions on how to make this here.

So, what spring colors are you wanting to break out? What colors make you squeal with joy?

Mix n Match

2010-03-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

I think my favorite part of the Scripts Kit, is that I can mix and match it all so well.

I used some of the My Little Shoebox paper from the Blackbird kit, but then used some of the Jenni Bowlin and the October Afternoon from the September Kit. I love how it all works out!

These pictures have been sitting on my desk, just waiting....so I love having them done! And, he's super easy to look at too :)

More Fashion Inspiration

2010-03-13T05:06:00.000-08:00

I was ultra inspired by Lucy's Oscar Fashion post the other day. So, I decided to go with the theme.

Earlier this week, I purchased a cute little dress from a Consignment Sale at a friends house. Cream with scatters of brightly colored stars. I just fell in love with it. It's a little small for Cam, but I am going to let her wear it as a tunic.

I don't have a normal hole punch. I have a hole punch that makes butterflies. I know. I have a problem. Anyhoo, I punched out a ton of tiny little butterflies from some Lily Bee, SEI and Cosmo Cricket patterned paper and scattered them in little bunches just like the stars on the dress.

Note to readers: Since I used patterned paper instead of cardstock, I had to place each butterfly by hand. You can see the little shiny dots of Glossy Accents. This was kind of a pain, but I am thrilled with the effect. The SEI paper had a glittery side so that added a little bit "extra" to it as well. For a variation, you could use Stickles to glue the butterflies down (which would add glitter if you wanted it and didn't have any glittery paper).

Thanks also to the Fabulous Lisa Tanner for the new Blog Siggies : )

My favorite tool for inking

2010-03-12T11:15:00.000-08:00

I really like the whole "distressed/vintage" look (shocker, I know), however, I'm not a big, fancy tool kind of gal. I like to just make do with what I have most of the time... plus I'm a cheapskate and don't like to spend my paper spending money on tools. Ha!

However, about a year ago, I was in Hobby Lobby and was buying some new Tim Holtz Distress Ink (I like the Walnut Stain color a lot!) and I found these little sponge daubers. For some reason I was compelled to buy them, and I'm so glad I did.

You can tell I've used the one on the far right a lot. This is actually a new package I bought recently. I'll be digging out those fresh ones soon.

I like them because they give you more control on how much ink you can put on a page. I know there are other tools out there that can help with inking, but the selling point for these are that they fit on my finger like a thimble. I can get into all the nooks and crevices easily, and add "blurry edges" on things.(Cards made with the Blackbird kit)So next time you see some of these, grab 'em! I bet you'll like them.

(I was not endorsed by Tim Hotlz or Tsukineko to post this! I just like the stuff!) :)

I googled Scrapbooking Sketch....

2010-03-10T00:01:00.000-08:00

And was quickly absorbed in to many wonderful sites FULL of fabulous sketches that will be sure to help any scrapbooker who is lacking inspiration!

I picked this one to use:

And this is my finished product:

Instead of using just circles, I incorporated hearts and flowers into the design as well. And I moved my journaling to the spot above the title, because the title was part of it. Overall, I liked how it turned out, and loved following a sketch.

ETA: I found this sketch here!

Oscar night.....roll out the red carpet!

2010-03-08T19:01:00.000-08:00

I love watching the Oscars. I do not really care who wins what. I love the fashion! Oh, the Dior, Chanel, Oscar de la Renta and Marchesa and even Donna Karan.........the best and worst dressed is so fun to play. I tuned in a few minutes late on Sunday night. The first person I saw was Penelope Cruz. Is this girl gorgeous, or what? Wow, I saw her and decided immediately she was at the top of my list......(I hadn't seen anyone else). As the night progressed, I never changed my mind. Of course, Demi Moore and her awesome plastic surgery looked beautiful. I loved the ruffles on her gown. Cameron Diaz looked beautiful, styled by Rachel Zoe. (I need her to be back on tv.......NOW) After looking through all the websites today, my original best dressed still stands......Penelope Cruz. Can someone let her know??

I was very inspired by all this fashion and pulled out my Black Bird kit. What to make? I have been very inspired by this artist lately. I am so excited to say that I will be attending her Book Art Painting Party at the end of this month!!!! YIPPEE!! So, I pulled some energy from her, the Glitz Eye Candy flowers and Glitz paper and started creating! I will tell you this was so easy and fun to make! All I did was crinkle up the piece of paper, did a little folding here and there and covered it in Mod Podge. I took ALL of the flowers on the Eye Candy sheet and started sticking them all around the bottom. The leaves made the perfect sash at the waist.. I struggled and struggled with the words. I tried painting them in red. I covered that up....twice. I wanted this quote on there but didn't want it to overpower the painting. I decided to write it with an American Crafts Galaxy Marker in white all the way around the canvas. I like the way it turned out. It stands out a little more than I would like for it to. I'm taking it to my friend today. I hope she likes it!
The quote reads, "Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening. -Coco Chanel

New Favorite Blog

2010-03-08T10:09:00.000-08:00

Have you guys seen this: Dollar Store Crafts

I must credit Virginia for showing me this blog. I love it.

This is one of my favorite things and I really want to make these!! and these and then, these don't even look like coffee filters and check this one out! I have a wall of T's in my home and that last project would be a great way to bring the T's in the room, and off the wall.

The blog is set up with different sections - like under $1, under $5 and then a section that's inspired by high-end designers.

I love it. The past few days she's been showing birds - birds that were made from the dollar tree but inspired by places that were more expensive!!

So, go check it out and come back here and tell me what you liked the most!!

lisa

A little copycat.... Christmas Cards

2010-03-07T15:22:00.000-08:00

A while back, Brittney did a post called "I Love Christmas Cards", and I loved it! I started copying the idea right away...but didn't finish. It sat on my desk, and got buried....for over a month. I found it last night, and knew I needed to sit down and finish it! So I did. So thanks, B, for the idea! And thanks Scripts-- for having the exact prescription for my needs! :)

Event Scrapping

2010-03-06T05:51:00.000-08:00

I confess, I am an AWFUL event scrapper. Usually, my pictures from events aren't "perfect" and I hate that I can't control all the outfits and the background. However, I am pretty happy with how this layout turned out. The awesome colors in the Glitz chipboard flowers were PERFECT with all the bright colors from Cam's party at Pump it Up. I tried to pick a good cross section of pictures from the party (who was there, all the different things we did) and I created a bunch of 4x3 pictures (one half of a 4x6 picture) to showcase it all. I cut out some of the hearts from the Glitz heart paper to use as accents also. The My Little Shoebox paper was perfect for the background since it already had lines for writing.

Color Inspiration

2010-03-05T00:01:00.000-08:00

My friend Jana has introduced me to several blog that are GREAT eye candy, and perfect for choosing color schemes for layouts & projects.

This site is a wedding site, but just look at all of these great colorboards from their "Inspiration Binder."

They have lots more to look at, too! Just click on the "Inspiration Binder" link.

This beautiful image is from the site, Creature Comforts. It is full of lots of color combos and inspiring photos. It's such a great jumping off point for when you are ready to scrap, but don't know where to start. Color always puts me in a certain mood...

Image link: Creature Comforts.

I found this entry on Creature Comforts and I loved the sweetness (no pun intended!) of the colors.

Then I realized- oh, this fits the Blackbird kit perfectly!

My Jenni Bowlin letters were kind of disappearing into the banners, so I used a little penwork to make them stand out. I also cut out the inside of one of the JBS label stickers to remove the green border since it didn't fit into my color scheme.
I wanted a nice white space to journal in, but it was late and I didn't feel like pulling out the white paint. I dug around in my scrap tool bag and pulled out a roll of masking tape- aha! It's great for adding texture and a cool place to journal on.

And one more site before I go: Colour Lovers has lots of lovely color pallettes!

I walk for Love

2010-03-04T08:00:00.000-08:00

I love this photo, and all that it stands for. I could make layouts of my 60 mile walk over and over!

I love this month's Blackbird kit! Such a great mix of products. Glitz Design mixed with Jenni Bowlin, and throw in some My Little Shoebox and some new Lily Bee!!! What a great mix!!!

**And, check it out! You could win some scrapbook goodies from Scripts over at Trendy Treehouse!

A Little Birdie

2010-03-03T14:30:00.000-08:00

I loved the birdhouse that came with the "Black Bird" kit. I got out my blue and green paint and covered house. Then I used some of the paper to cover the roof, and layered two flowers and added them to it. I cut out two of the little birdies, edged them with paint and adhered them with foam tape. Next, I added a border along the bottom, which was made using the Fiskars Border Punch from the Wishful Thinking Event. I topped it off with a tulle bow, which I had from a previous Scripts kit. It is a nice reminder that spring is on the way!! :)

My Love Affair..... with Thickers.....

2010-03-03T14:13:00.000-08:00

Thickers.... just saying the word makes me happy! I have used, and collected, many packs over the past few years. I love the many colors they come in and the different fonts, and the variety of materials they are made out of. Some have never let me down-- the puffy, the felt, the glitter, the glitter chipboard, the majority of the foam.... But, as with all love affairs, there are times when one party in the relationship can let the other down. I must admit that I have had issues with some of the foam, and the vinyl. OH the mess the vinyl ones have made... the glue leaving a sticky residue on my page... the letters falling off of the layouts.... But I still love the vinyl... so I just added adhesive or used my stapler to hold them on where they were supposed to be. Same with the foam. Some of the foam letters stay put wonderfully. But some of the foam have a tendency to stray... off the page. But I still LOVE Thickers.... as in any relationship, I just choose to look over the faults of the Thickers, choosing to see and focus on the good qualities! :D What issues have you had with Thickers?? Do you have a love affair with them as well?

Getting Organized....

2010-03-02T17:14:00.001-08:00

is not very easy for me. I have too much stuff. Anyone in this boat with me? I am really frustrated that I have so much. I have been in my studio all day trying to sort through the mess. I thought I would get up here, clean up a bit and get crafty......NOT! I haven't even made a dent in it! So, I have no wonderful post about organization. Can you help a sister out?

I have this book, The Organized and Inspired Scrapbooker, and I can't even look at it. It's so depressing! All the rooms in there are so cute and neat and tidy. I have lots of cropper hoppers, paper racks, drawers, cabinets, counter space and rubbermaids, buckets, jars, and baskets.....just no sort of organization. They are all really cute, too!

I would love to have ideas, inspiration, motivation, or anything you might have to get this place CLEAN! If I can sort through it all, I might just put together a big box of goodness to share with the comment that gets me through it! (don't forget I am a former store owner and have LOTS of stuff!) I promise it won't be old, worn out Heidi Swapp......did I just say that out loud? No offense to Heidi....I used to LOVE that stuff!

So, I will surf the net and send you to some of the best ideas I've found! How about this....I mean, if you have an unlimited supply of money or you do this stuff to make a very nice living, you would do something like this: Donna Downey I could LIVE in there! Or, if you don't have a room designated for "Scrapbooking and all things Crafty", you might do something like this: Virginia Tillery. I couldn't get it to link directly to the pictures of her craft space, but you should dig around on her blog anyway....you will find lots of cool stuff to inspire you!

Don't forget to post your inspiring and motivating comments. I need HELP! I promise to make the box REALLY big!!

My favorite Valentine

2010-03-01T14:26:00.000-08:00

Ok - I did it - I remembered to pick up my pictures at Walgreens (and got some free detergent while I was there)!! And now, here's my layout to go with my sketch from the previous blog post.

I used my January Scripts Kit and added the two pieces of ribbon and the True Love heart.

Lisa

I'm a little sketchy

2010-02-28T18:44:00.000-08:00

Okay - that's totally not as cute of a title as I thought it would be. Bummer!

I still haven't gotten around to doing Virginia's sketch but it's on my list. Speaking of Virginia, she posted some info here on the Scrap Etc site about Memory Dock Planners and refills. There was a site she linked to that had great deals on Memory Dock stuff. Well, I've always wanted one but just never could spend the money on it when there was so much scrapbook paper out there waiting for me to buy it.

So, after her link, I ordered one and tons of refills super cheap! So now, I'm beginning to use it - making lists, notes about journaling and title ideas, and I'm using the little sketch template like crazy. I've never been much of a sketch scrapper - at least, I couldn't really come up with my own sketches - I just used other peoples sketches. Now, I love making my own sketches. I love that I can easily draw them out and with the template they actually look like what's in my head!!

Here's a peek at one page:

So, here's my sketch I picked for a Valentine layout of Cole . I have the layout ready, using the January Scripts Kit - just need to go pick up my pictures - so I'll post the layout in a bit!

In the meantime, I did this with the February kit using one of the other sketches I did above:

I changed my title placement and added journaling around the photo and paper on the bottom part of the layout. There's a Martha Steward punch I've been eying for quite some time:

But, I don't have it - YET - so I used my Fiskars border punch and added an extra hole punched with my Crop-a-dile - you can see it down the side of my layout. I colored all the little holes in with a black sharpie and left the big circles. I didn't exactly punch a straight line of holes, but it'll do until I get that yummy punch!!

So, wanna play along?? If you do any of these sketches, leave me a comment and let us see your layout!

Lisa

No worries, please!

2010-02-28T15:29:00.000-08:00

This little bird house could not have come at a more opportune time!

I have really been going through a lot, and God has been working on me, through it all and one of the verses that I have claimed is this one:

"If God will take care of the birds in the air...how much MORE will He take care of Me!!" Matthew 6:26

So, I made this cute little birdhouse, as a little tiny reminder! It's in my studio, and it greets me when I walk up there (which is usually when I need a little getaway!)

Happy Birthday Dare!

2010-02-27T04:33:00.000-08:00

Today is my sweet Friend Dare's 29th Birthday!!!! Ok, so she is not 29, but she looks 23 : )

I used the Blackbird Scripts Kit and my two favorite flower punches to make her this little birthday card.

I made another card for a wedding party last weekend with this month's kit also. Our friends Richard and Kati are getting married in April. The bird house was perfect for a card about "setting up house".
Have a wonderful day!!!

Dollar Days- Hanger Puzzle Organizer

2010-02-26T00:01:00.000-08:00

For those of you who are new followers to the blog, welcome!

If you are new reader, you may not know that my home is rather like a small preschool. I have four precious kiddos, and my oldest will be 5 in April.

I find more often than not, me reaching back into my memories of being a preschool teacher and using the ideas from the classroom in my home.

These hangers from the Dollar Spot at Target are awesome for decorating and holding all sorts of things.

I used the Blackbird kit (sold out!!) to make it pretty.

Knowing that kids need to SEE stuff, to play with it, I put some of their puzzle pieces in big plastic bags and clipped them up.
Now my kids' puzzle basket is a lot less jumbled up, and they can play with them a lot easier!

I think that these would be really cute for holding up kit bags, or organizing other things in your home. What would you use them for?

Pedis and Love Birds......

2010-02-25T17:58:00.000-08:00

I found this easel and canvas at Target for $5.99, but it was 75% off- my kind of deal! I knew of its potential, so I bought 3..... for only $1.50 I couldn't go wrong! I wasn't sure what I would do with it, until I came across this photo of my Aunt and Uncle (aren't they precious!) from way back. When I saw the Jeni Bowlin paper from the "Can't Buy Me Love Kit", "Love Birds" just popped into my head. And since they recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, I thought it was appropriate! I used the black glitter letters from the "Black Bird" kit. I love it when I can combine kits.

before:

after:

This next picture is of a layout of my daughter and one of her many BFFs getting pedicures together! I LOVE the colors in the "Black Bird" kit! The orange, green, pink and yellow remind me so much of spring, which is right around the corner! And it is a reminder that it is about time to get my feet ready for flip flops!!!

Do you get your monthly dose???

2010-02-23T13:26:00.000-08:00

We took a few things we had laying around and headed to California! Yes, Brittney, Gretchen and I decided at the very last minute.......I'm talking 3 days before booked our flights and went to CHA! I couldn't miss it. We didn't go this Summer and I couldn't stand not to see all my crafty buddies for one more minute! I booked my trip on Monday and called them. They booked their trip on Wednesday and we flew out on Saturday morning! Crazy, just crazy! It was so worth it. We took 2 pieces of paper, a few accucut cutouts, one alphabet and created the most wonderful kit for this month! We just walked from booth to booth picking out things from the newest companies out there to our old favorites! We made sure they were shipping immediately and voila the Black Bird kit was done! We were on a roll and completed the next two kits and most of the next 5! I love that feeling of accomplishment! So, here is what is in the kit that just shipped....btw...it is sold out!!!
Heidi Swapp circle paper
My Little Shoebox bird paper
My Little Shoebox notebook paper
Glitz Design heart paper
Glitz Design bird music paper
Lilly Bee Design green paper
Lily Bee Design pink dot paper
Lily Bee Design orange and yellow paper
1/2 sheet of October Afternoon green paper
1/2 sheet of Making Memories orange and green paper
Craft cardstock
Jilli Bean Soup green alphas
Pink Paislee glitter alphas
Glitz Design flowers
Wood Bird House
Stationary butterflies, celebrate spots, green dot card and flower envelope
Jenni Bowlin labels
Jenni Bowlin banner and alphabet
orange buttons
AccuCut clear flowers
AccuCut Hambly butterflies
AccuCut cardboard box birdhouse and label holders
AccuCut label book paper

We are going to open March for new subscribers. If you have been thinking about joining a kit club. You should check this one out!! We update almost EVERY day of the week! All the designers have different styles....so I know you will fit right in! We talk about everything from food to fashion. The kits will always have the latest and greatest products and sometimes old favorites that we still love!!

Our kits retail for 29.00 + 7.50 for shipping and handling. If you do not subscribe and we have extra kits, the retail is $36.00 + 7.50 shipping and handling. We bill through paypal on the 10th of each month and ship on the 15th of each month. All boxes ship Priority Mail. We try to find lots of unique items that you don't see in the scrapbooking industry. This month, you will notice the little butterflies and the flower envelope. They were found at a stationary sale. What about that birdhouse? It's made of wood and so cute! My mom thinks she will have a bird come to hers......not sure about that! It's not that big. We have an AccuCut machine and have so many dies! There is a birdhouse, butterflies and flowers in this kit! They turned out so cute! We are always on the lookout for vintage items. Last month we put an antique flat key in each kit. I have a source that is looking for things for me all the time.......There's no telling what we will find!!

Don't you just love brads?

2010-02-22T05:55:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago there was a lovely 60% off an item coupon for Michaels. I was so excited. I couldn't decide what I should buy. I mean 60% off is awesome. I wandered through the aisles thinking about something sort of big that I could get with my coupon. I looked at punches, but the one I really wanted wasn't there. I looked at Tim Holtz stuff, but moved on. I looked at other things in the store and didn't really find one big thing. Well, that's what happens when you work there and you buy stuff all the time. Then, I was helping a customer locate something and we were just chatting about scrapbooking (the best part of my job) and I saw this:

It's a brad maker.

I think I need it!!

So, I bought it and bought a few packs of the brads, too. I couldn't wait to play, but had too much going on at home to really dig into my scrapping supplies. I had a trip to Memphis coming up and knew there would be some spare time so I started pulling some of my older Scripts kits out - ones I just didn't get around to using all of. And grabbed my new tool. In the meantime, I looked around for reviews on this tool and really only found one or two and they weren't really detailed. They both said they had problems with the brads staying together but this was right when the tool came out. They contacted the company and got replacement brads and it never happened again. A coworker said she had played with it somewhere and the tool actually broke. So, I'm hoping all those glitches were just random and that the kinks are all worked out now!

The tool itself is around $35. The packs of brad parts are around $3 (there are three different sizes, I believe). There's a pack of templates, as well - $3, and a punch that was around $11, I think. I wasn't willing to buy the punch yet though, but may later.

I opened all my goodies and got to work. I picked the size I wanted for my first brad, traced the template and cut out the paper. So far, so good. Used the packaging directions and made my first brad. It was pretty simple. Oh - the tool comes with a dvd showing full instructions, but I haven't watched it yet.

Here's my end result:

(don't you like how that one button is just hanging there, ready to fall off? lovely! must go back and stitch instead of glue dot that!!)

Here's a close up of my brad:

I used my September Scripts kit and these pictures from a mini photo shoot near Carol's house. Every time I drive over there, I get a little giddy over this spot in the road. I love the trees making a canopy over you as you drive through. I tell her every time I come over that I want to take pictures there and finally we did. I just loved this photo of Cole in the road - he looks so tiny compared to the surroundings!

I only made one brad and it's used to hold the tag down with my journaling. I think it turned out well. You can see the paper where it buckles a little around the brad, but I don't mind it too much. I think a thinner paper would probably be a better choice for this. Cardstock would probably not look good at all since it's so thick.

In the end - here are my thoughts:

Good points:

with the coupon - it was a steal at around $14.
the directions were super easy to follow.
brads to match anything you could imagine.

Bad points:

wouldn't buy it without a coupon, but I'm pretty thrifty
thick paper won't work out very well
using the template to cut your paper is a little time consuming, but this isn't a deal breaker
I believe the punch is only good for one size brad
not enough time in the day to make all the brads I would want to make!!

So, all in all, I really like my new tool. I haven't had a chance to play with it again yet, but hopefully soon!! I want to try some thin fabric and tissue paper and see how that turns out and would also love to buy the adapter to make the big brads. This tool only does two sizes, but they have an adapter for a third. I just hope this is a tool that sticks around so I can find the parts I need for a while. I may have to just keep stocking up when good coupons are available - just in case!!

Oh - if you ever come across about 60% off coupon - use it while you can! The rumor from Michaels is it won't happen again. Turns out the coupon was for certain states only, but ended up being taken everywhere. I know the Michaels I'm at had tons come through!!

Have a wonderful Monday - despite the gloomy weather outside. If you have a tool you've purchased lately - let us know about it. And if you have this tool - tell me what you think! How do you like it!!

Lisa

From the Sketchbook

2010-02-21T00:01:00.000-08:00

I love to do sketches in my free time, when I have lots of ideas floating through my head, but I don't have time to sit down and scrap.

You know, like when I'm sitting and feeding the baby... or listening in church. I know, bad!! It really does help me concentrate, though! :)

Here is a sketch from my sketchbook:

and here is how I interpreted it with the new kit!

I would LOVE to see how you interpret this sketch! Rotate it, make it your own- and then link it back here! :)

She's Three Today!!!!

2010-02-20T12:19:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to my sweet Baby Girl! I CANNOT believe she is 3 today!!!

I got this kit just in time for some birthday layouts. This one is not so birthday, but I just had to print out these two pics of Cam hamming it up for the camera (can I have some cheeze with that ham?).

I used the 6x12 Making Memories patterned paper across the back (I love this paper!!!). Then, I free hand cut a circle from the blue Lily Bee, and then cut it in half to make two semi circles. I placed them on diagonal opposites right under the edge of the MM paper. Then, I used the Jenni Bowlin pennant stickers to make "rays" coming out from the semicircles. I loved the vivid red in the Glitz patterned paper and loved the way it coordinated with the MM patterned paper.

waiting......

2010-02-17T19:06:00.001-08:00

Spring is my favorite season. I love the warmer weather, the sunshine, the daffodils and tulips, birds' nests, and of course, the Dove Truffle Eggs that appear right after Valentine's Day! I am getting impatient.... I want to see signs of spring now. This winter has been crazy cold and it is time for change. A warm change!
I LOVED getting my hands on this months Script's Kit! It is full of reminders that spring is on its way-- birds, bird houses, flowers, springy colors. It makes me happy just looking at it! I knew right away that I wanted to do a layout about spring, but one problem..... it is not spring outside yet {just in my heart!}. So no pictures. So my layout sits.... waiting... just like me... for spring. But I will add some of my favorite pics from this spring as soon as I can!
And please forgive the awful picture. For some reason, iphoto is not being nice to me right now, so the only way to get a picture was to use my phone. I will post an updated picture of my layout once it is complete.

Fashion week in NYC

2010-02-16T14:07:00.000-08:00

My internet access has been OUT since last Thursday and I haven't been "online" since. I do have a Blackberry (aka Crackberry) and have had limited access to my email and, of course, Facebook. It's just not as easy as being on the laptop. I haven't seen this blog since last Wednesday. I have to say, today, while sitting in the library, I was completely blown away! They have just been rocking along and sharing beautiful things all weekend!!

Since it is Fashion Week in NYC and I am completely in awe of all things fashionable. I decided to show you how I use my Scripts Kit for fashion. Granted, this was an easy one!

I had the idea for this kit to add a key. I have a source that keeps me in the old key business.....luckily! He found me enough old keys for each and every person! I was so excited when I saw them. They all were very different and each had a unique quality. I wrapped them all in twine and packed them away in each kit. I had the whole "key to my heart" idea since it was closing in on Valentine's Day. Right after that, we went to CHA and Making Memories came out with their new line called, Vintage Groove. I LOVE it! I was totally inspired after doing the make n take necklace to find vintage pieces to make jewelry! Aha!! That's where my little key comes in! I added it with a couple of pieces from MM and made this adorable necklace! I've been collecting lots of old things to make several more!
If you haven't used your key for anything, pull it out and put it on a chain. You will get lots of comments and compliments!

3 things I've learned for Fall 2010 from this week of Fashion.
1. Chocolate Milk nail color
2. Color tights with black shoes
3. Matte lip...no gloss

I'm ready!

I have to say that I must be one of the luckiest people on earth. I can't begin to explain how much I adore the girls that support this Scripts kit. Virginia, Katie, Brittney, Carol and Lisa all add so much to our team. It is amazing how we all have different qualities to bring to the table. They all go together so well. I am proud to have them as a part of this group and to call them my friends.

More Can't Buy Me Love creating!

2010-02-15T05:00:00.000-08:00

You know, sometimes you get in the grove and you are creating away. Then suddenly you need something in a specific color and you can't find it. You don't have all the embellishments on hand that you have pictured in your mind (or you can't locate them in your stash). I hate when that happens. Usually I can come up with a suitable substitute but not always.

For Valentine's, I don't really decorate, but I decided to at least make a little banner to hang up and actually managed to hang it before Valentine's but just haven't managed to share it here.

I used the "Can't Buy Me Love" kit! I was hanging out with my fellow Scripters - Carol and Virginia. All I had with me were my basic supplies and the kit. I wanted to cut out the banner pieces in a scalloped shape - just to make it more girly and frilly. Since I didn't really have anything with me to use for my shape - I just grabbed the plate Virginia had put yummy chocolate chip cookies on, and traced it's edge. Thank goodness she had a cute plate, huh?

I just didn't have the right shades of pink and blue cardstock with me to go with the yummy Jenni Bowlin paper. So, I just worked on the Jenni Bowlin paper and waited for all the other extras.

I left my project alone for a week or so and then dug everything back out. Sometimes leaving it alone is a bad thing, but for me - when I went back to it, I was ready to finish and hang it up then!! Then I remembered I still didn't have any cardstock to match - at least not to match what was in my head.

So, off to the kitchen I went. I got lost in blogland last week and saw where someone was dying coffee filters to make flowers. They used food color to tint the water and dipped the coffee filters in and then laid them on a cookie sheet and popped them in the oven to dry. I had no food color! I did have icing color so I thought I could try that. I filled a giant pot with warmish water and used a toothpick to add some color to the water. It took much more than I thought, but in the end, I got the result I wanted.

I took my coffee filters (once they were dry) and crumbled them up and stitched a few together in different colored layers. In the end, I got this:

You can't really see it - but it does say BE MINE on the very middle two pieces. Here's a close up of my coffee filter flowers:

I wanted to hang it in a doorway, but having a tall husband puts a cramp in my banner style! So, I picked a doorway we don't really use (the back door).

So next time you think you don't have just what you need - head into the kitchen and whip something up. Of course, you could also use tissue paper since it comes in a wide variety of colors. I've started just buying tissue paper when I see something different, a different color or pattern, just to hold on to, just for when I need a specific color and don't have time to dye something to match. Coffee filters are super cheap though and this was a really easy way to get the colors i was looking for!

So, what do you do when you don't have just the item you need? What are your solutions?

Lisa

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY (sorry for the technical difficulties)y.

2010-02-14T05:06:00.000-08:00

Ok, so yesterday I tried (in vain) to upload the pictures from my camera to my computer. I seriously tried like 5 times. I finally gave up.

This morning, I got up and charged my camera battery. Apparently, that did the trick.

So, here is another Scripts Kit project just in time for Valentines Day! I made a thank you card for my Dad for watching our dog a few weeks ago. He loves Starbucks so I got him a Starbucks gift card. I used the tea technique I wrote about last week on the white felt heart. Since the felt is partly acrylic (I think), the tea gave nice variations to the white so it wasn't solid ecru. I adhered the hear to one of the red tabbed pages from this month's kit and anchored it with a sticker, button and some embroidery thread.

I was lucky enough to find a free version of the fling font for my computer and that is what I used to write "thank you" on the paper. I then adhered the thank you to the heart with adhesive.

Since I used the tabbed page for my card, I had to make my own envelope. The brown Jenni Bowlin paper was PERFECT for this. I love Jenni Bowlin paper. It has a thinner weight than alot of other Patterned Papers. It really lends itself to altered items and folding, etc. I used one of the Sassafras stickers as a label and adhered the envelope all together.

How I Organize My Scripts Kits

2010-02-12T17:40:00.000-08:00

I've kind of migrated to making my scrapping stuff more easily portable. I do a lot of scrapping in the living room, with my husband, while we watch tv together, or in my bedroom, or with my friends, or at the craft table with my kids... you get the picture!

Because of this, kits are AWESOME for my type of scrapping. Everything is in one spot and I don't have to hop up a million times for whatever things I need.

However, keeping all of the kit in a plastic bag doesn't prove to be the easiest way to find stuff within the kit.

Let me introduce you to one of my favorite purchases of all time. I bought this around 2 years ago.

My Rubbermaid drawers. (You can buy them here - 3 sets of these for $30!)

The drawers are 14x14" so there is plenty of room for all your papers & such.
Two drawers are for kits, and one is just for "new purchases." (hehe)

The cool thing about these is that you can pull the whole drawer out and bring it with you wherever you are going to scrap.

I also bought these little lunch trays (I think at Target- on clearance!) a while back and have them sitting in the top of the drawer. They hold all the smaller bits and pieces nicely.
The little tray can easily lift out and be set aside so you can rifle through the rest of the drawer's contents.
One other thing I like to do (and I know B is gonna laugh; she always teases me about using every last scrap!). When I'm working on stuff, I end up with a pile of papers like this:
I like to pull out a few fave punches, and punch the heck out of them, and then toss the rest.
I add those right into my little tray and have pre-made embellishments for the next project I'm going to do! I hope this helps!

I would love to hear your kit organization ideas; what do you do with the leftovers from your kits?

January 2010 in review

2010-02-11T07:50:00.000-08:00

This layout does not "look like me" in my opinion. But, I like it.

I love these little Jenni Bowlin calendars, and I would love to have great hopes of doing every month, as a month in review?! We will just see how that goes.........

But for now, here it is. The 2010 is Heidi Swapp chipboard letters from my stash. They were pink. So, I ripped off the top layer, and inked them...a little rough.

And, then a card......just a note!

The Girls Paperie---PreSale!

2010-02-09T12:21:00.000-08:00

We were blown away by Margie's new line The Girls' Paperie. I loved both collections so much, I decided to order the whole line and offer it to you! We ordered both entire collections.
The Paper Girl line is $70.00 Here are the pictures from both collections.

You can purchase yours --------------->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

On Holiday $40.00 - both collections are in the paypal store to the right. click on the sample to purchase!! Enjoy!

Some yumminess!!

2010-02-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

Do you ever just get lost in blog land? Once in a while, okay - all the time, I come across a blog and it mentions something from another blog, like directions for a project, or just a picture of a finished project. I go to that blog and then just look and look and look and suddenly, I don't even remember what led me to the current blog or what I originally was looking for at that particular blog. I'm sure I'm not the only one that happens to.

I just spent about 45 minutes on this one blog and ended up linking to about ten more for that one!!

Well, this blog - I came across in the same way - not sure how I got there, but I've never really left. It's one of those in my blog reader I never skip! Never.

So - check out The Hostess with the Mostess - you will be there a while, so go grab a cupcake and a Diet Dr. Pepper and enjoy!

I made a diaper cake last year for my cousin's baby shower and then another for my aunt-in-law's baby shower. It was totally inspired by this blog. So, it's no wonder I'm back today looking through baby shower ideas. I have another cousin who's expecting a sweet baby girl in April. My mom and I are planning the baby shower and I just know this blog will help out!

Look at this:

How cute would this be in pinks and browns for little finger sandwiches (or cupcakes, but we aren't having cupcakes at the shower).

And this:

Those suckers are so cute!! I wonder if I could find some pink ones now (since all the valentine stuff is out) and use that for the shower. Pink is just too fun!

Then I saw this:

I wish we could do a candy buffet at the baby shower - but with Easter right around the corner, I think there's a better use for all that candy. Each Easter, my mom has done a huge Easter Egg Hunt for the kids. Well, now the kids are too old for the most part. There's only two that really like to look for eggs and there are six that just really want a prize. So my mom decided that she'd do a scavenger hunt last year and it was fun - the kids enjoyed it. Now, this year, she's thinking about something different - we decided to fill up some clear containers (we have several different sizes and types) with candy and let them big kids guess how many pieces are inside. Then after guessing, the one the closest will win and instead of winning the container (which I don't want to give up) they'll get another cute little decorated tin with the same treat inside and if I know Mom, some cash!! So, I'm thinking I'll make up some cute little labels for the containers - and they'll match the cute little tin they'll actually win. It'll be fun and cute! Can't beat that!!

Lisa

Dear Lizzy kit

2010-02-07T21:09:00.001-08:00

I had a couple of requests for exactly what is in the kit.......here you go!

We are doing immediate pre-orders for Elizabeth Kartchner's new line from American Crafts....Dear Lizzy. This line is so whimsical and fun!! Included in the kit are 9 patterned papers, 2 fabric papers, Flair, rubons, buttons, brads, and Thickers.
(*Dear Lizzy bag is not included in kit)

List of patterned papers included:
Sunny Spot
Puddle Play
Giddy Grasshopper
Swallowtail Social
Honeydew Hop
Beehive Brunch
Dragonfly Dance
Growing Green
Humble Honeybee
Tickled Tulip
Firefly Festival

Bliss Thickers in Clover

Buy this entire kit for $40.00
estimated retail $44.00

bonus
Everyone that places an order will be put into a drawing for the Dear Lizzy bag and a signed copy of her new book,
52 More Scrapbooking Challenges.

A Candy Kind-of Birthday!

2010-02-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

***Attention, here's a Dollar Tree Craft For ya***

So, how fun in the world is this, if I do say so myself!

A Christmas time, I fell in love with this Dollar Tree vase (thanks to Virginia).....so, when it was time to make a birthday gift for Scott's Administrative Assistant, I fell back to this new fave!

I started with the candle holder, and the vase.....a little bit of E6000, and let it set!

Then, I used my Can't Buy Me Love Scripts Kit , and made the little "J" tag, and the "happy birthday" note. I love those JilliBean Soup alphabets!

I then hot glued some candy bars to skewers, the tags to skewers, and the best part.....the marshmallows as filler!!!! Ahh, I love it!

And, then, topped it off with an Apple Gift Card....and tada! Happy Birthday Jenny!

I hope she loved it as much as I do!

Tea Technique

2010-02-06T05:13:00.000-08:00

So, I was completely inspired by the tea bag in this month's "Can't Buy Me Love" kit. When I was little, my Mom and I used to make treasure maps (fun crafty idea for little kids). We'd draw all these pictures and paths. We wanted to make them look old, so we would get wet tea bags and rub them all over the paper to give it that aged, lost treasure map look. When I saw the tea bag in this month's kit, I immediately thought of using it to distress and age some of the kit elements.

I wet the tea bag and put it in a mug with the white shipping tag and one of the tiny doilies. I crumpled the doily and tag up and rubbed the tea bag all over them. Then, let them sit in the mug for several hours. When I thought they had achieved the right level of aging, I (carefully) took them out of the mug and laid them on a paper towel to dry completely. Once they were dry, I had some nice, aged elements for my layout.

This layout is all about the journaling. I layered a bunch of stickers and embellies over the envelope included in the kit. I journaled on some regular paper and then made a little enclosure for the journaling out of some of the Jenni Bowlin paper. Then I tied some embroidery floss around the journaling to seal it up.

Valentine's Decor

2010-02-05T13:12:00.001-08:00

Do you decorate for Valentine's Day?

I always dream of doing something pretty, and fluffy, and pink & red, and glittery... but I have yet to do it! I do think I'm going to Valentine's my house up this week as a fun lead-up to Sunday!

Here is a little something I made with the "Can't Buy Me Love" kit to hang up for V-Day, but I'm not sure if I'm loving it or not. Even so, it was really fun to experiment and create it, and I'm all about that when it comes to scrappin'!
Here are a few other things that I love:

(Tutorial here on the UCreate blog.)

I will so be making this for my house. And it will stay up year round. Because we love each other year round. :)

(Tutorial here.)

This is made from coffee filters. How much do I love this? A whole stinkin' lot.

And this is really simple, but oh so easy... you could even use your kit to make it!

Link me up to your favorite thing that you've seen for Valentine's decor!

Dear Lizzy CHA pre-sale

2010-02-03T22:37:00.000-08:00

We LOVED this collection!! We LOVE Elizabeth! If you were at our Wishful Thinking event in the Spring, then you had the wonderful experience to learn from this amazing girl! She has so much talent and is such a sweetheart! We enjoyed seeing her at CHA and are very excited to bring you this amazing offer! We have her collection for pre-sale. Shipping in March and the kit is $40.00! Just click on the link in the Paypal store to the right! The best thing about this pre-sale is you have a chance to win an autographed copy of her book, 52 More Scrapbooking Challenges!! We are also going to throw in an official Dear Lizzy bag from CHA! All you have to do is pre-order the kit and your name will go in a drawing. We will draw the winner right before they ship out. This means it will come in the mail with your kit!! I hope you win!

One of our FAVES from CHAW 2010!

2010-02-03T21:30:00.000-08:00

On Holiday $40.00 - both collections are in the paypal store to the right. click on the sample to purchase!! Enjoy!

Chore Chart

2010-02-03T19:06:00.000-08:00

I have had issues with the kids remembering to do their chores, so I thought I would use Virginia's idea and alter a Dollar Store silver tray to make a chore chart. It will be hung up in the kitchen, so the colors in the "Can't Buy Me Love" kit were perfect because my walls are maroon. My idea was to have an actual chart and to check things off each day, but as I thought about it, I realized I would be kidding myself if I thought I would actually do it every day! So it morphed into a reminder chart! The kids always have to pick up their rooms, so I wrote that out, then added "plus one more". For this they will have to pick one of the papers marked Kitchen, Bathroom, Room and Laundry. On the back of each of those, I have written specific jobs for each room or chore that need to be done.
I liked how it turned out, so even if it isn't used much, it will look nice in the kitchen! :)

Inspired by fashion

2010-02-01T00:30:00.000-08:00

You know, we're all inspired by different things. I see some random things in a store and immediately take out my phone and snap a picture. I see things online and bookmark like crazy. I find something through a blog and it's immediately added to my Google reader. I collect more ideas than I can actually do anything with!!!

So lately, I've been inspired by several different sites - the first I owe to Lucy, who loves this store and I'm sure couldn't believe that I've never been inside. Still haven't, but I've been spending lots of time on their website - ANTHROPOLOGIE!!! I really love this and would like to find a way to do that type of cluster on a page, or a canvas!! I would love one of their necklaces, too - but I'm thinking I'll stick with trying to make one, instead of buying one! I love all the muted colors that are all over their site!

And I'm definitely a Vera Bradley girl - I love the patterns and colors and softness of her bags. I wish I could have every single pattern and style bag, along with the luggage and stationary! I just love it. This time of year, the previews start for the new spring collection. I've already picked out the pattern I want next - Sittin' in a Tree - it's just springy, in soft colors I'm really drawn to.

And we can't forget Pottery Barn - I know Pottery Barn isn't really fashion in the clothing department, but it's fashion for your home, right? Their new spring collection all seems to be the same thing I've been drawn to everywhere else - light, muted colors - everything's a little worn. I love that.

So, what new colors for spring are you drawn to? What fashion mags are you peeking through to get some inspiration?

More "Can't Buy Me Love"

2010-02-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

So I got a little crazy with this layout. Tried a few new things - not sure that I like them all but hey - you gotta try, right?

This picture was from our last trip to Disney - taken on the SEC Championship day (Roll Tide) and it's the only picture of the two of us together (without Cole) from our trip. We rarely get pictures together since one of us is always the one taking the picture.

Some hidden journaling talks about how we should always remember to tell each other we love each other, put our family first - little reminders of the important stuff! I loved that craft alphabet and wanted to highlight the J and L (our initials) so I backed those letters with red paper. Like Virginia - I love that these alphas come with little extra hearts and stars!!

I tired to make an interesting flower, it didn't do what I wanted, but it's okay in the end! I love sheet music, but I usually am a bit too scared to cut it up and actually do anything with it. Maybe I need a little more so I won't be so scared to USE IT!!

Lisa

A little bit of 30.....

2010-01-31T20:26:00.000-08:00

I am totally inspired by RED still, now that Christmas is gone, that color still sticks with me! So, I am so glad that the colors of Valentine's Day, and all things between Christmas and now, still give me a little bit of my love of Red and PINK! ahhh, extreme, joy!

So, with that, I love the Can't Buy Me Love kit! I love the colors, the whimsy, and the fun feeling it gives! Here's what I did with it....(well, one thing, I have a few more up my sleeve!)

So, I was dashing out the door to go to a party for a sweet friend of mine, and it was her 30th, so we were all supposed to bring 30 of something. So, seriously, about 20 minutes ahead of time, I dipped these spoons, and began the gift-making process!

I had this heart candle/thing, that I bought at Target, either last year or the year before, and I have just used them for the "right" gift! I bought 10!

So, I dipped the spoons, and while they were hardening, I grabbed my January Scripts Kit, and began making the tag! I love these little Jillibean Soup Alphabets, and mixed with the music paper, and a few little accents, this kit was just the perfect match!

So, I made the tag, threw them in a cello bag, and viola! The gift was made!!!

And, a fun time was had by all!!!! What a fun night!!!

Yay Sunshine!

2010-01-30T02:38:00.001-08:00

So, the sun finally came out and I was able to photograph the layout I did last weekend with the "Can't Buy Me Love" kit. I love the girlie colors in this kit. You all of course know my deep deep deep love for all things Jenni Bowlin so when I saw the JB in this kit, I was ecstatic!

To make the floweresque embellishments, I halved one of the doilies from the kit and let them peek out from the side of my picture and the side of the cardstock on my layout. Then, I layered on some scallop circle punches and a little something special from my stamp collection. I used the plastic that covers a set of Fontwerks stamps I had and cut out a few of the stamp pictures (they were all circular designs). Then, I heated them up with my embossing gun to make them get kind of sticky and crinkley (I made up that word). While they were still kind of sticky, I dipped them in some Zing Embossing Powder (love me some American Crafts, btw - did y'all know that?), and heated them up some more to set the powder. I secured them to the layout with some brads. I think I'll try this technique again, but maybe with just some clear cellophane this time.

Thanks for looking!

Menu Board

2010-01-28T20:42:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to get better about planning our meals around here (you know, instead of trying to figure out what I'm going to make for dinner BEFORE 4:45?).

I thought maybe I'd be more motivated if I had a pretty place to jot down my plans, so out of (what else?) a Dollar Store metal tray, and the "Can't Buy Me Love" kit, I made this little board.(The two black buttons are from my stash- I glued magnets on the back so I can change out the meal plan each week. The trim that I hung it with is also from my stash.)

I printed the menu plans from here: Unclutter and trimmed them down to size.

Now, does anyone have any good sites they can recommend to give me easy & somewhat healthy recipes? ;) Or you can even just share a recipe/meal idea with me in the comments!

Some Crafty Sites!

2010-01-27T00:01:00.000-08:00

I have been itching lately to redecorate a little-- nothing big or anything that would cost a lot, but just a little something to keep it fresh. Something new to look at. So I searched a little and found some wonderful ideas on these blogs. From frames to mirrors to pillows..... I found some of everything! And one blog or site leads to five or ten more! I have found some great ideas. Now I need to go to the thrift store to get some cheap fabulous things to remake for my house!! And I need some time! But a lot of these ideas seem pretty quick, and I am all about that. Happy Decorating!

She's Crafty

The Lettered Cottage

Shanty 2 Chic

One Pretty Thing

This website is FILLED with goodness-- I couldn't just pick one picture to share!! Go see for yourself, then come back and tell us your favorite!

Make it and Love It

Aren't you inspired?? I know I am. Let's see what we can make!!!

We have a WINNER!!

2010-01-25T22:34:00.000-08:00

I know you saw that awesome bag I posted last night....and you all wanted it. Margie's, The Girls Paperie line is so adorable, right? Well, did you see what we did to glam that bag up? (Ok, not we, Margie!) We took it back to her booth and not only did she sign it, she glammed it up with some adorable paper flowers from her line!! It is so cute.......

This is one hot bag!
Congratulations goes to

halfbakd said...

Absolutely beautiful!!

January 25, 2010 7:49 AM

Send me an email with your addy and I'll get your prize out ASAP!!
lucy@scrapetc.com

How do you organize your stuff?

2010-01-25T08:25:00.000-08:00

Do you have a dedicated room for scrapbooking? Do you have to share space with the rest of the family? Do you have to go hide off in a corner to scrapbook while the husband hangs in his man cave?

I find it really hard to organize my scrap supplies. I've had dedicated space and shared space. Both are usually a mess. I've been to several friends houses that had a dedicated space and it's messy, too - so I don't feel so bad. But, then I've been to one friends house who shares her space with her kids and everything is nice and neat and put away. I mean - I didn't see stacks of stuff everywhere like you'll currently find in my space. I think it's because she actually USES her supplies!! I just collect the majority of mine. My current scrap space is in the guest room which doubles as the laundry landing pad, so I drag everything out and it ends up all over the house, in the dining room and the living room. It's a mess!!! Huge and giant mess!!!

I long to have a room that's all pretty and clean and mess free, but honestly, I need a bit of mess in my creative process!! Just a bit.

Here's some spaces that really speak to me - some ideas that I really like - so check them out:

Melissa Gunter - this is full of bright colors and looks very inspiring. I think I lean toward this because you can see supplies - I need to see what I have or I forget all about it! I'm not much for super bright colors in my home, but I do like looking at this space - A LOT!

Becki Wainwright - this is great, too and speaks to the shabby chic side of me - it just makes me think of old vintage-y touches! I think it's the lack of bright colors here that I'm drawn to. Funny how complete opposite rooms still get my attention.

And one more - I like that this is a smaller space and you can see she's still got all her supplies inside her room.

For me, I like to use what I have and not go buy new furniture, so I have some restrictions in my space. But, one day, maybe I'll have a dedicated room again and can really do it up with some Ikea buys and The Container Store! Oh the ideas!! I've always loved January and February because of all the storage containers that you see everywhere!! I love it just can't keep it up!

Oh well - I'm a work in progress!! I found this article and thought maybe it would help me out - 100 reasons to get rid of it - this article was great and not just about crafting supplies - lots of things here we don't think of getting rid of.

So tell us how you store things? Do you have a dedicated space? Do you spread out all over the house like me?

Lisa

Perfect, Simple love

2010-01-25T06:08:00.000-08:00

Good Morning everyone!! I was so excited when I got my "Can't Buy Me Love" kit. I immediately had this layout pop into my mind. I'm a country music girl - love it, love the lyrics, love trying to find the meaning of the song. Well, that's for all music, not just country - but country is the easiest to listen to with a little guy in the car who memorizes lyrics super fast!

So this layout title came from the song "Do I?" by Luke Bryan. It's kind of a heartbreaking song, the guy isn't sure if he still makes his wife (or girlfriend, I guess) feel all those things that you feel with new love. My title came from this line - "Remember when we didn't have nothing, but a perfect simple kind of loving? Baby those sure where the days." Those lines made me think about the good ol' days - remember when you first met your spouse/significant other and everything was new and wonderful. Things change as you grow up together and it's really hard to capture that simple, perfect love from so long ago.

When I saw this picture below, I knew it was perfect for the title that had been turning around in my head.

Cole and Kaylee are in second grade together. She is super sweet and a little sassy and spunky! I just love her. (And her baby sister is just as cute, let me tell you) Anyway - she is super sweet to Cole and goes into Mothering Mode with him a bit, too - which I love. She sticks up for him and defends him. He's a pretty emotional kid and things get to him that really wouldn't bother your average 8 to 9 year old. So, I love it when there's someone around who will stick up for him and have his back, so to speak. Kaylee is it!! Her mom has told me several times little stories Kaylee comes home with about Cole. It's just sweet and innocent and this is probably one of the last school years this will happen. At some point, kids get too cool to be friends - boys and girls split apart and the girls stick with their girlfriends and the boys have to be all tough with the other boys. That's what's so sweet about this to me. I'm glad I could capture their friendship and record it for him. He may hate it in the future - ew him and a girl - but hey, right now, it's so sweet - perfect and simple!!

Lisa

A little giveaway from CHA!

2010-01-24T20:39:00.000-08:00

Our first stop this morning was The Girls' Paperie by margie. Oh, oh, oh I love it! It is beautiful. Honestly, that is an understatement! Her booth was full of energy and spark! She created the most inspiring atmosphere and I did not want to leave. I actually went back several times just for hugs! For placing an order, you got a cute bag! After much consideration, I decided I would give it away here!!!

Do you want it?
All you have to do is comment here or on Facebook!
We will pick a winner tomorrow night!

More Christmas stuff

2010-01-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

I'm still catching up on the layouts and projects from the December Scripts Kit. Here's a layout I did as soon as I got my kit, but waited to add a picture until last weekend!!

And here's the December Daily album I made and then didn't take the pictures for:

I made this album back in August and then used my December Scripts Kit to fancy it up a bit. I added stuff from the Bits of Bella all throughout the pages and on the cover. Then added some flowers (one Making Memories and then another out of the cupcake wrapper and then I made one out of a scrap of fabric) on the front cover and tied on my cute cookie cutter to my binder ring!

Since I didn't take enough pictures to fill up for album, I'm using what's left of my kit to make another album with my favorite photos from the holidays!

Lisa

Stupid Rain

2010-01-23T17:39:00.000-08:00

So, I have finished one layout and am ALMOST finished with two more using this month's Scripts Kit "Can't Buy Me Love". Unfortunately, it has been gray and nasty today so I have not been able to photograph anything.

So, in honor of this weekend being CHA, I thought I could link up some of my favorite new products....

Let's start with the Brook Collection from Crate Paper. My favorite colors and I LOVE the texture of Crate Paper paper.

Naturally, I have to include American Crafts. Check out that flair. And of course Dear Lizzy is my favorite of this CHA. I told Gretchen to tear it out of Liz's hands if she had to.

I tried to snag pictures of Cosmo Cricket Material Girl and Lily Bee, but there was some file corruption problem. Most likely a PICNIC (problem in chair, not in computer).

What do YOU like?

Can't Buy Me Love- Fashion Inspiration

2010-01-22T00:01:00.000-08:00

I, like many scrapbookers, love to find inspiration in the fashion & design trends around me.

However, since my life is pretty much inundated by preschool stuff right now, I keep my eye out on trends with the under 3 ft. set! hehe

I started out with this layout using the "Can't Buy Me Love" kit (with the exception of the addition of the pink cardstock and Glimmer Mist), with the idea of capturing some of Emerson's favorites and quirks at age 4.
If your house is anything like mine right now, I find those dang Silly Bandz EVERYWHERE! I thought it would be a great accent and also be very fitting for her age to include this current fashion trend.
(Those tiny stars, hearts, and dots are from the Jillibean Soup alpha sticker sheet in the kit. I love it when a company includes a few extra little surprises in their products like that!)

Just got my "Can't buy Me Love" kit!

2010-01-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

This kit is the cutest! I love it!

I love the Teabag, as a fun little alternative for a Valentine Treat!

And, to top it off, I found this GREAT little Teabag Download! Oh, this is great.

So, use this teabag, and if you want to grab some more, just run to the Dollar Tree, and grab a box of teabags, and wrap them!!!

Great teacher treats and co-worker treats!
Oh, so cute!!!

Valentine Cupcakes!

2010-01-20T00:01:00.000-08:00

I love to make cupcakes for my kid's classes at school for their birthday or holidays,and like to decorate them a little-- I am not a cake decorator, and the little tubes of frosting with the decorator tip intimidate me. Give me a simple idea and I am all over it! With Valentine's Day coming up, I wanted to find some cute ideas, and this is what I found: I mean how cute are they! They look a little involved, but I am sure once I get the hang of it, they wouldn't take that long. I found them here.

And look at these:

Adorable! I am not sure what they used for the hearts, but I am thinking of using chocolate hearts, or even cutting a fruit roll up into heart shapes and using sweethearts on top! I need to check out the Valentine's Day candy aisle and see what I can come up with. I found these here , along with a ton of other wonderful ideas! If you make something, please share it with us. We would love to see what you can do!

Bliss

2010-01-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun in San Diego, CA last week! I did not want to come home. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. Connor and I had the whole day on Friday to just explore. We went on a whale watching tour.....super cool and then we spent the afternoon in Coronado. It's an isthmus...not an island. You have to go over a huge bridge to get there, so, I guess the part that connects it to the mainland is under water! We LOVEd it there! It would have to be the perfect place to live. We walked through the streets, in and out of shops. So many cute shops! Then we headed to the Del Coronado. Wow, it is so beautiful there! We went straight to the beach. I took my boots off. You know how much I love sand! OH, I love it! There were surfers in the water, so many people taking pictures, plenty of people just soaking up the sun. It was pure BLISS! The sun was perfect for shadow pictures and we took several! I love these......this was my favorite!

Can't Buy Me Love

2010-01-19T04:14:00.000-08:00

This kit is full of LOVE! So, you CAN buy it! :) This kit does have a very romantic feel to it. I love the vintage Jenni Bowlin papers, the music note paper, mini doilies....so many little touches. There is even a key wrapped in twine. I have mine on a chain around my neck. I should take a picture of it. I have been meaning to add a few beads and haven't done that, yet....tomorrow, right? ha
Here is a picture of all that is included in this kit. This one is sold out. I know, I know, I keep talking about opening it up for new subscribers. I am getting it all ready to do in March. If you are interested, you can go ahead and send me an email. Lucy@scrapetc.com. We are planning a few contests for the re-launch. Lots of fun prizes, too! Oh yeah, I was going to show you a picture, wasn't I???The design team came over Friday night and we talked and talked about all the great things we are going to do for Scripts this year. It's going to be so much fun and I really hope you will all be there to join us! Be watching this blog for daily posts! We are all getting in on the fun and you are going to have so many ideas....you won't know what to do next!!

I did a layout with this kit.....I need better light to take a picture. I will work on that and have it loaded by the end of the day! Have a great one! It's my sister's birthday......
Happy Birthday, Nicole! I love you!!

Have you seen these blogs?

2010-01-18T20:18:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd share some blog links with you today. I know that several of these were passed on to me from friends so I thought I'd do the same!

This blog - U Create - has links to other blogs with wonderful ideas and tutorials. I think have of my starred items in my Google reader are from this blog. The bad thing (if that's possible) about this blog is each post leads you somewhere else, so you know - you'll be adding that to your blog reader, as well!!

Here's a few of my faves:

Burlap Magnets
Gathered Pillow
Burlap and magnet Board

Did you know burlap is IN? It is!

Here's another I really love - The Idea Room - there are so many great ideas here for decorating - and she's done one whole blog post on valentine ideas! You better believe I'm going to buy some candy canes at Michaels tomorrow (they are 25 cents a box) and make the first thing she has shown here!!

I have about a million more blogs I read on a daily/bi-weekly basis and seriously I bookmark and star them like crazy. I'm not sure what I would do without my Google Reader.

So, what blogs do you love for home decorating ideas?

How do you keep up with all your blog reading?

Lisa

Finally getting around to those Christmas pictures

2010-01-18T06:34:00.000-08:00

I've taken forever to get any Christmas photos on a layout. I just haven't made it a priority until this weekend. I was inspired after spending an evening with the Scripts girls!!

Here's a layout I started at Wrappers Delight 2.0 with my December Scripts Kit (and finished yesterday).

The lighting isn't that great on the first one - but this close up shows a few details, in good lighting. It was too gloomy today to get good photos.

Here's another that I just finished up last night.
And I don't think I've ever gotten this many pictures on a layout before!!

This wasn't really planned though - all those tiny photos! I ordered some pictures from Shutterfly - some deal for 50 prints and then I got 20 for registering with them. Got my photos in the mail last week and there was an index photo with all these teeny tiny pictures - two photos actually and I thought it would be fun to do something with all these small pictures and here you have it.

How are you doing on those Christmas photos and layouts?
I have one more layout to post when the sun is shining!
OH!
And I have two already done with the January Kit.
It is SO SO cute! I really love it!
I can't wait to do a few more things with it.

Want a hint about the January kit?

I'm think LOVE is in the air. Super McDreamy Love!

Later!!
Lisa

Delicious!

2010-01-15T07:04:00.000-08:00

My friend Virginia, is a wealth of information, and so, lots of time, when I need some crafty info, I give her a yell!!!

Well, one particular day, I was at her house....and we were swapping a few ideas, and here's something that she showed me, and if you are like me, well, this might just change your life!!!

Delicious.com

You see, it's a bookmark site!!! You can save all of your bookmarked items there, then tag them, then have them at your fingertips whenever you need them!

No more google searching, no more going back through TONS of items on your google reader!!!

Ahhhh, life is good!!!

You might want to wait to do this....

2010-01-13T14:35:00.000-08:00

but how cute? I saw this here. Which directed me here. This looks like a fun blog to hang out in! I would love to make one of these lampshades. I think I will wait until we are cleared of this nasty, cold weather! I would hate to cut up and hot glue one of my warm sweaters! I'm pretty sure I would love to sit at this little table and be creative, too. I mean, look at those cabinets and notice the vase that is covered in a sweater!! Who needs to learn to knit? Wait until February and buy up some sweaters marked down to nothing! Yes, this looks fun.....

Christmas Layouts, part 3

2010-01-12T08:50:00.000-08:00

Our family Christmas! Since we were out of town for Christmas, we celebrated early as a family. I used Lucy's idea of the Christmas tree, but I used small pictures instead of paper.I added ornaments and decorations. The only thing not from the kit is the bling and that came from my stash. I also used a label maker. The picture is not that great, but it is too cold to go outside and take a picture! :)

December 2009 Memories

2010-01-12T07:57:00.000-08:00

I did not attempt a December Daily album this year (like Britney & Katie did!) , but I did want to create some sort of mini album recording some of my favorite Christmas pictures.

I used a card from the November Scripts kit to create the cover for the album, then I folded and cut several interior pages (folded just like a card and nestled with each other) from kraft colored cardstock. I punched two holes with my Crop a Dile and threaded some hemp through them and tied them to hold them all together.
I covered the inside page with some of that lovely glittery polka-dot paper! Super cute!

My Silhouette machine came in handy to add a few fun die cut touches.
I alternated punching & tearing the edges of the 'pages' of the album. I like the touch it adds!
I think backing the hole in the gift tag with the red text paper added a cool look.
I used a bit of masking tape, here and there, to the album to add to the "handmade/haphazard" feel of the album. ;)
Thanks for looking!

Christmas Layouts, part 2

2010-01-11T08:46:00.000-08:00

The pictures from this layout are from our trip to Florida. It makes me happy-- all my family together- sisters, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews and my Mom and Dad.

I love Christmas Cards!!!

2010-01-11T06:47:00.001-08:00

Before:

I love them so much! I love checking the mail everyday! I love watching my friends kids grow up each year! I love the creativity of the photos and the cards!!!

So, I started in 2000, keeping the photocards.

That was "back in the day" when they weren't too trendy. I think that year I got 5 or 6 photo cards. I put them in one large frame...collage style. I did the same thing in 2001 and 2002, but then, I was getting more photocards than I could fit in the frame.

So, then I started scrapbooking them (sort of).

So, here's what I did with this years!

I used my December Scripts Kit, and I made a "cover page"....then I used the Bind-it-All, and bound it on the side! Now, I have a little flip album from 2009! I love it!!!

I will put it away, and bring it out next Christmas, with all of the cards from Christmas' past....and go through it all over again!!!!

Ahhh, I love my photocards!!!!

Christmas layouts, part 1

2010-01-10T15:44:00.000-08:00

I did 90% of this layout in the car during the trip back home from Florida! Next time, I will bring a lap desk or something!

Place cards

2009-12-31T12:46:00.000-08:00

While I was at my parents' house over Christmas break, Mom said "I wish we had place cards....". I told her I could make them for her, and whipped out my December Scripts Kit (I never go far without my Scripts....) and started cutting, stamping and designing! I impressed my BIL with the stamps-- he wanted to know how it stuck to the block! I used the alphabet stickers from previous kits, buttons from my stash and a page from a music book, but everything else was from the December kit! I loved the bells! I was rushing to get these done in time, but liked how they turned out. Mom even kept them to use next year. :)

My Pick

2009-12-30T12:08:00.000-08:00

I love "the Christmas kit"! It always has my favorite colors. I die for anything red and white. It's the crispness of it, I guess. All of my favorite Christmas decorations are red and white. The "scarf" my kids have on in this picture is red and white. I know, it's a black and white photo and you can't tell. I am working on something else with this picture in color and you can see it there! I call it a scarf that's wrapped them up, but it's actually garland from my tree. It has bells on either end and I have several of them that wrap my tree. So cute. The Bella Blvd in this kit was perfect. It has traditional red and green with a touch of whimsical red and green. I love that!

When trying to pick out the picture for our holiday card, I printed it in several ways: black and white, color, sepia and color desaturated. I picked the black and white. I just loved the contrast. Everyone else picked color......they could see their eyes better. Ok, valid. We did color.......sorry, I never sent them. I handed them out as I saw people! Maybe I will work on them and get them in the mail.....joke. I think, besides the picture, the ribbon is my FAVORITE thing on this layout!

I wanted to use all the fun colors from this kit on one layout. I guess you could say, RED is my favorite color. I love it. A LOT! I cut the papers in different lengths to make it look like a tree, hand cut a star for the top, and made a little trunk for the base. Then I printed lots of pictures from Christmas Day and put them on the bottom: Presents under the tree! I added different little ribbons or toppers to each to make them look festive. It kinda looks like a cake, but you get it, right? I can't look at this picture without thinking about how grown up Emma looks. It makes my heart hurt for her to be "big".

My December Daily......um, still not done!

2009-12-28T08:40:00.000-08:00

In the midst of all of the hustle and bustle of Christmas, this month's Scripts Kit was perfect.

I love the fun of this whimsy kit!!! So, I started my December Daily kit..........with great ambitions, and great goals for myself!!!

And, well, let's just say I made it to page 9! And, I have printed the pictures, for about 10 of the days! But, I am hoping to get to some of that this week!

So, atleast I have it started!!! I added some of the junk from my stash, etc, but you get the idea!

I love this little book so far!

And, can I say, I LOVE the Bella Blvd paper in this kit! Ai-yi-yi!!! So cute!!!

A mini ornament!!

2009-12-22T07:18:00.000-08:00

I used the cookie cutter from the kit to make this sweet ornament. I tied ribbon around it to make a loop, and made a little bow from the red ribbon from the bell cluster! Super easy, but I though it was super cute, too. It is on my tree right now!

A Christmas Gift

2009-12-21T20:18:00.000-08:00

Yes, yes, I'm STILL using the November kit.

I can't help it, it's got some of my very favorite things in it!

I made this little flip book from Snapfish as a gift for my husband's Grandma, but when it came, I knew I just had to spiff it up. I couldn't leave it plain! The pages are basically just photos bound together, so the backside of each photo was just white.

The cover has letter stickers from the December kit, plus some October Afternoon stickers from my stash. I was skeptical about the Tim Holtz film strip stuff at first, but I've ended up using it on every project! It's really cool!
The little sticker strips from 7 Gypsies were the perfect touch for this simple album.
To go along with this gift, I bought these cool Ranger Ink/Tim Holtz frames, glass slides, and swivel chains. I made a 1.5" x 1.5" square of paper, slapped Grandma's first initial on one side, and then put a 1.5" x 1.5" collage (made it in Picnik because it was fast & easy!) on the other side!
The collage goes in between two glass slides- I made this in about 5 minutes. I love it! You could also make these into necklaces.... ;)A fun & easy Christmas gift!

Elf Legs

2009-12-21T09:31:00.000-08:00

This is another creation from Wrapper's Delight 2.0. Lucy had several letter shapes for sale, and while I was looking at the Y, Brittney said "turn that upside down!" and we both knew it would be perfect for legs! :) So I painted them, and added paper from the kit to one, along with the pom poms and bells, and glitter and more bells to the other! I loved how they turned out, and are now on my end table in the living room!
The little tree in the background is made from a page from an old music book, folded and glittered! If you were not at Wrapper's Delight, see how much you missed!!??!!? :)

A Christmas mini album!

2009-12-20T19:06:00.000-08:00

I worked on this at Wrapper's delight 2.0 (which was so much fun! When is the next crop, Lucy?? :) ), and loved how it came out. I cut triangles out of chipboard and used my border Punch from Wishful Thinking on the bottom (it was not easy to get it through chipboard!). I used the yummy papers from the kit, along with the ribbon, bells (I took the cluster apart!) and tulle. I added bling from my stash, and used a label maker for the words on the back. Had so much fun making it.... can't wait to fill it up with pics. I plan to use index size prints from Christmas to fill it up! I also plan to use the cute stamp set, but want to add pictures first. I will post more pics when I am done!