Stuff I use on my Layouts

Here is a review of a pen I use often on my layouts, the Stablio Point 88.  Can an $.88 pen be a useful crafting tool? Here are some projects I have done with the point 88.

Guest Blogger: Scrapbook Steals.com!

I am so excited to get to share a How To’sday tutorial on ScrapbookSteals! Let’s weave some fun into a couple of layouts!
First Weave Idea–

• Grab three pieces of cardstock. Two to weave and one to use as a base.

• Cut the same size strips of your weaving cardstock. I did one inch, but any size works.

• Gently tack down the very edge of a set of your strips, alternating the end you tack down.

• Start to weave the other card stock over the tacked down piece and under the loose piece. Then alternate the over under and continue across the page. You need to tighten your weave as you go.

• Once you’ve finished, tack down your loose ends and trim the edges if needed.

• Cover the top edge with a border and design your page!

Second weave idea-
Every little kid has done this, but a redo is great for a hidden journaling element on a page.

• First, cut two rectangles.

• Next fold them in half and trim the edge to a half circle.

• Cut even size strips from the bottom fold to just past the width of the paper when laid across at 90 degrees. I cheated and used a pattern paper with lines so I could free hand the cuts. I stacked my papers so the cuts would match.

• This part is hard to explain. Think of the bands of paper as arms, and they’re giving bear hugs, (you know when someone grabs you around the arms and you can’t move?) alternate the bands around and through each other. As you go, it gets tighter, so be patient.

• When you’re done, you should have a heart basket that you can punch or cut hearts into for a hidden journal pocket.

I hope you loved my weaving magic!

Sleep?

Time for sleep is not a happy time with Budgie.  She is so happy to be awake that trying to get her to relax is an impossible task, every day.  Her lovely teacher, Mrs. Pam, snuck these pictures of her avoiding naptime.  Sometimes, an expression says everything, and her little smirk in the top picture really makes me laugh at the futility of putting her down to rest, and her little pout on the bottom picture really reflects her distaste for the entire notion of going to bed, whatever the time may be.  Apparently, my baby likes to wear her heart on her face, and her thoughts aren't far from her little, bright eyes. 

Paper: Authentique Delightful.

Our 3rd Anniversary

Creating something for the purpose of giving it to someone sometimes makes the process of creating easier. The emotions, memories, and thoughts you have around that person brings a depth of history to the creating process. I share this collage canvas because it captures a simple statement, a moment and celebrates my 3rd anniversary. A simple gift, a heartfelt gift, for my love. I used Authentique Celebrate, Free Bird, and Uncommon for the papers, and this little canvas says a lot without actually saying it. 

The background is a floral, but it looks a little like the large snowflakes that fell after our wedding, large and wet, which was a perfect ending to our day. The flowers remind me of the way he was always working in the yard when I would stop by, him wearing a cowboy hat and cursing at not being able to tell the difference between the weeds and the flowers.  They also remind me of the statment he made to me after we had been dating for some time, "I've been known to give flowers." The funny thing was, he may have been known for it, but had never given any to me.  To this day, I have recieved flowers from him once.  We still laugh about that. He told me he loved me the first time by saying "I could fall in love with you." The photo, taken at the swap meet, really captures the fun we have together, no matter the setting.

Happy 3rd Anniversary, I am looking forward to many more.



Scrapbook Steals Blog Hop!- Basic Grey Buttons and Brads

BG: Buttons, Little Black Dress tuxedo,classy chic, & charisma

I am so excited to be a part of the very first  Scrapbooksteals.com blog hop featuring Basic Grey Buttons and Brads.  It is an incredible honor to be featured among so many amazing blogs, and by a company I adore. Thank you Scrapbook Steals, Basic Grey Buttons are one of my favorite scrapbooking basics, and the buttons in the    pack were perfect to embellish this winter photo of my hubby and I at the Pt. Defiance Zoo on Christmas Eve.  We were able to sneak this picture while the girls played away on the otter slides.  The buttons match the muted grey of a Pacific Northwest winter sky.  This layout makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, I need to grab a hot tea and a blanket to snuggle in front of the fire.

I think buttons offer just the right accent to a layout.  My youngest daughter, Bridget is the perfect mix of sweet and sassy.  She adores running around the house in her vampire teeth, and loves all things pink and flowers.  At daycare, the little kids are all into names, and when she said hers, the teacher misheard her middle name as "Evil".  I thought this picture really fit that story.  She is such a girly girl, so I wanted to include some frilly elements to contrast the chevron paper and her vampire grin.  The buttons added a strong graphic element to the layout that reflected the colors in the chevron and mimics the dots in the black and white paper.

I have to be honest and say that I have been scrapbooking since 2004, have a stash of buttons in my scrapbook supplies and have used all of maybe two brads in eight years.  After having to overcome my brad aversion for this blog hop, I wonder what I was thinking.  If you are a brad novice, it is super simple to use brads, and there is so much you can do.  On this layout, I wanted to highlight the frilly side of my girl, so I threaded the hot pink ribbon through the buttons. I also wanted to tie in the softer pinks, and the brads were a great way to emphasize the pink in this pretty layout.  I have adored pink and brown since my daughter was born,because her onsies were pink and brown.  The color combination always makes me think of her.

Brads are so versatile, I used them to emphasize the faux quilting on this card, and to hold together the layers of the handmade flower embellishment on this card.  Below, I used brads as a mixed media element on a card for those of you that may like to include doodling or hand-drawn elements onto cards.  After playing with Basic Grey Buttons and Brads for this blog hop with ScrapbookSteals.Com, I adore brads as much as I have adored Basic Grey's buttons.  I hope you enjoyed the projects I have shared with you.  Remember, if you leave a comment on the participating blogs, Scrapbook Steals is picking a random winner for a great prize!  To add to the celebration, I am sending out a prize slected randomly from my blog followers. My prize pack will include one pack of American Crafts This to That Square Foam Adhesives, Basic Grey Rub-Ons, and a pack of Sassafrass Paper Whimsies!  To enter, follow winningatfailing.blogspot.com.

I love making embellishments and buttons are the perfect accent to add to paper flowers.  What fun colors in these sets!  I can't wait to find a project for these beauties.

So keep hopping!

So far, you should have visited my friends at:

ScrapbookSteals: www.scrapbooksteals.com

Kristy Mackeen: http://www.mamasanity.blogspot.com/

Staci Jones: http://cheaperthantherapy.posterous.com/
Amber Sheaves: http://allamberallthetime.blogspot.com/
Cristine Redmond: http://onescrappynovice.blogspot.com/
You are here!-----------> Venetia Holbrook: http://winningatfailing.blogspot.com/

I cannot wait for you to go visit the extremely talented and amazing Charity and Van!

Charity Becker: http://www.menemenetekeluniversity.blogspot.com/

Van Nguyen: http://likethecar.blogspot.com/