Playing With Paper!!

I feel like...

we have been running a marathon with no end in sight!  This past weekend was great but I am exhausted.  We mulched our yard, celebrated my oldest daughters 14th birthday and found 2 graduation dresses and a dress for a dance next Friday.  And on Thursday, the whole gang is heading to Florida for a long weekend.  Needless to say, there hasn't been a whole lot of scrapping or card making going on.  I attempted to do the challenge from Fresh Made Sketches last week but missed the entry deadline.  Here's my card anyway-I think it's pretty cute:

I really miss having time in my office to play.  Maybe next week things will slow down a bit...

Anniversary Card

My friend asked me to make some anniversary cards for her mom.  Her mom has a big 5oth for a friend coming up and wanted a special card.  This is one of the cards I created:

 I love this card.  Simple but elegant right?  I didn't have anything gold so I headed to Paper Anthology for the the gold card stock.  The gold swirls are stickers from elizabeth craft designs - they look so cool.  I hope her mom likes this card...I know I do!

I can't believe this is my desk!

I am a bit of a neat freak.  Now, when I am scrapbooking or making a card-my desk is often a disaster but I clean up when I am finished.  It's just the way I am.  However today my desk is just a mess:

And although this is unusual for me, I don't really mind it.  I am working on thank you cards for a friend.  She has a baking business and wants some cards for her clients.  I am having a blast working on the cards & I have a million card ideas in my head.  I didn't think I could work with so much disorganization but I am feeling very inspired.  Here is one of my cards:

I used sketch number 33 from Fresh Made Sketches as my inspiration.  I really liked how the patterned paper is the star of this card.  So cute don't you think?

Happy Mother's Day!!

We will be spending the afternoon at my sister-in-laws but I am getting to spend a little time in my office this morning.  Thought I would share the card I made for this weeks Fresh Made Sketches challenge:

I used patterned paper from My Minds Eye.  I really like the colors.  After I had placed the sentiment on the white circle, it needed something more to finish it off so I used some thread to sew around the edge.  The "ribbon" is washi tape that I bought a Target a while back.  I like how this card turned out - it's cute.

Would you like to try the challenge too?  Here's this week sketch:

 It's lots of fun so why not play along??

Another "commercial" for Paper Anthology.

I just love that store.  It is so wonderful to have such a great store so close to home.  If you happen to stop by the store, make sure you check out all the wonder little board books Elizabeth has place around the store - very inspiring.  I was in the store recently, came across several of her books and decided to create one myself.  I forgot how much fun a mini board book can be to create.  I decided to use my favorite patterned paper of all time - Hometown from October Afternoon - & put my favorite pictures in it.  This is the cover:

My kids wondered why I titled the book My Hearts then I explained it is My Loves - you could see the light bulb go off in their head-that made sense.  

Below are a few of the inside pages:

I added a few "filler" pages like the one below:

The litttle insert above is from a kit I bought years ago by Becky Higgins.  On the front it is embossed with the word open (hard to see in the picture).  Below is what it looks like open:

And then with the insert closed:

Here's another page:

The yellow page on the left is a piece of corrugated board from Zutter.  I found this package of corrugated board at Tuesday Morning a while back and new I'd find a use for it sometime.  Great way to add an extra page to my book.  Here's the next page:

And one last look:

I had so much fun creating this little book.  Sometimes I get so caught up with my regular scrapbooks that I forget all the fun ways to play with paper.  Now I am thinking I need to make books for my nephews...bummer-that means a trip to Paper Anthology (hee hee)!

Design team call card.

So Fresh Made Sketches has a design team call going on right now.  I have never applied for a design team but I love this blog so much I decided to give it a try.  Here is one of my cards I submitted:

 The patterned paper is from the Uncommon collection by Authentique - I love it!!  I love the Fresh Made blog because their sketches always make my cards look good!!!!  They may be simple but I love the way they always turn out so pretty.  

I love October Afternoon...

I love how their colors always work together even if it's from a different set.  The photos below are of my kids working together - crazy idea I know.  My daughter Grace was having some difficulty with her homework and needed some sibling advise.  I was really proud to see them all working together.  Here is my layout:

I used washi tape as my ribbon on the layout and my tags.  Super simple layout but cute and fun!

Mother's Day Card

I made this card yesterday afternoon.  The patterned paper is from Stampin' Up! - it retired a long time ago but I still love it.  The stamp is from Denami Design.  And the saying is from My Favorite Things.  I used a sketch I found on Fresh Made Sketches.  I love this card.  And I think I am going to use it for Mother's Day.

Minor mishap with my computer...

I haven't been able to update my blog because I spilled coffee on my computer last week!  What a mess!!  But I got it back this afternoon  - Yah!!  

This afternoon I having been making cards.  This is the sketch from Fresh Made Sketches this week:

And this is my take on it:

I used patterned paper and stamps from Stampin' Up!.   I love strawberries so I love this paper! And I love the colors - they are so happy!  Pretty cute card don't you think??

Thinking about summer...

A few weeks back, my daughter took this great class at Paper Anthology.  In the class they created this awesome book - check it out here link (I hope this works).  I was so impressed with how the journal looked, I was inspired to play myself.  This is what I came up with:

I think it turned out pretty cool.  The sheet I embossed is a like foil but not as flexible.  I embossed it and then layered it with several layers of Tim Holtz's alcohol inks.  I did a layer, let it dry; did another layer and let it dry - many times til I got the look I wanted.  The little metal sigh is from Martha Stewart.  I like the way this card turned out - this is a bit out of my "normal" box but it is always fun to try something new don't you think?