Friday, November 30, 2012

Christmas Countdown Calendar

Only one more day until December 1st and we are ready to count down to Christmas!!  I am sad to say, that we have been using this pitiful, Christmas tree shaped advent calendar that I bought about 4 years ago on clearance at Michael's.  Well this year, I decided I was going to buy one of the new advent calendars with the little pull out boxes and decorate it myself.  Once I got going, I realized it was probably going to take me until next Christmas to get that crazy thing put together and decorated.  So, I "scrapped" that idea!  At this point, I had no clue what I was going to do, but was determined not to bring out the clearance calendar!!  I decided at that point, that it was time to head over to Pinterest.  I found a fun project, that I thought I could easily do, and got to work getting the few supplies I would need.  After finding this fun frame idea on Pinterest, I even saw it pop up on FaceBook and definitely knew that's what I wanted to do.  So here is a look, at what I ended up creating:




 
And here's what I did to create this project:

*I bought a 12x18 inch frame at Michael's (this one was $5 with their coupon)
*I also got a bottle of Citrus Green spray paint at Michael's ($6)
*The binder clips were purchased at Dollar Tree (you could also use mini clothes pins or large paper clips, in place of the binder clips)
*Before I spray painted the frame, I roughed up the wood with some sand paper
*Make sure you safely discard the glass from your frame.  You won't need it.
*Once the frame was completely dry, I cut 5 strips of black ribbon with White Polka dots, a little longer than the opening of the frame.  The width of this ribbon is 1.25 inches.  You could also use canvas or wire across the opening of your frame.
*Then I flipped the frame over and laid out all 5 pieces of the ribbon and evenly spaced
them.  Then I just took my stapler and stapled the ribbon to the back side of the frame.
*Now, you can get to the fun part...making the tags or "holders" for your numbers.  I just dug into my stash for a variety of products.  And I put my brand new Silhouette Cameo to work!!  I used Thickers for all of the numbers...because I never use those for some reason, only the alphas!!

Voila!!  I was able to finish this whole project within about a 4 hour time frame...spread out over the day of course, because my children would never give me 4 hours straight to get anything done!!  :)

And one of my favorite things about this project, is that it will double as a Halloween Countdown Calendar.  We have never done a Halloween Countdown Calendar in the past, but our middle daughter drove me completely insane this year, asking everyday for a month, if it was Halloween yet.  Hence, a countdown calendar for Halloween next year!  I thought it would be great to do the bright green paint, with the black & white ribbon, because it would work for Halloween and Christmas.  Once I create the Halloween tags, I will be able to save both sets and use them from year to year.

Our plan for this calendar, is to remove a number for each day, as it passes, so the kids will know how many days are left til Christmas.  I am sure that it still probably won't stop them from asking everyday, "Is it Christmas yet??!!"
 

Monday, November 26, 2012

Invest in Forever

I can't believe I am already sharing my last layout for this month, using the November Kit from Artful Delight!  It was really packed full of goodies, and I completed 4 layouts and still have some products to spare!  For this layout, I used a lot more of the Crate Paper chipboard pieces that were included in the kit.  They are so pretty and add a lot of great dimension to your pages or projects.



 
I was able to use this Kit for a large variety of layouts, but I wanted this one to be fun and girly.  Back in September our oldest little girl received her first "big girl" Bible at church.  There were 18 First Graders!!  She has a special little group of friends and they were all able to take part in it together, so of course all of the Scrapbooking mommies had to get a group photo!!  :)  I still have the first full Bible I received from my Grandparents back in 1980, when I was 5 years old.  So I was happy to see that our daughter was so excited about her upcoming Bible presentation.  She talked about it for a month!!

I can't wait to start playing with our December Kit!!  It will include some Christmas and Winter goodies, so make sure you check it out and get one ordered for yourself!!

Friday, November 23, 2012

One Fine Day

I hope everyone is recovering from all of the yummy Thanksgiving meals from yesterday!  Maybe you were able to work off some of those calories getting out to the Black Friday sales today!!  :)  I usually try to avoid those...too stressful for me!  But since it is Friday, we have a new challenge for you this week at Frosted Designs!  This week, we are challenging you to use Happiness Is for the jumping off point for your layout or project.  You do not have to use this for your title, but just interpret it any way you like.  Here is my take:






 
I used the theme for this week, to create a layout about our annual Zoo trips for my husband's birthday.  It is definitely something that makes the whole family happy!

I also had fun using the November FITkit from Paper Issues on this layout.  It was put together by Audrey Yeager and has some great papers and embellishments included.  If you would like to purchase this Kit, you can find it in the Paper Issues Etsy Shop.

Make sure you come play along with us this week and you could win a prize from our sponsor, Easy Canvas Print.


Thursday, November 22, 2012

Cool "Mint"...and WINNER, WINNER Turkey Dinner!

HAPPY TURKEY DAY everyone!!  Hopefully the turkey will be stuffed more than you are, by the end of the day!!  :)  Just popping in to share a new layout today!!  

I'm sure most of us have a love it or hate it attitude towards the flavor Mint, but have you ever thought about using the color Mint in your crafty endeavors?  It is really becoming popular and I have seen it in several new lines like Everyday Eclectic from Echo Park, Ready.Set.Go from Amy Tan, and 5th and Frolic from Dear Lizzy, just to name a few.  Get It Scrapped! is sharing an article today, focusing on scrapbooking with the color Mint.




I wanted to create a romantic, but modern look to this layout, about the photo of me with my hubby.  I did not want use the traditional "love" colors, Pink and Red, but I thought a soft Mint would be the perfect background for this photo.  I used several different shades of the Mint, to make it the dominating color on my page, and then added in just 3 other colors:  Pink, Brown, and White.  The Mint provides a soft background which allows the photos to stand out on my page and the additional colors provide a touch of contrast, to complement the soft Mint. 

Make sure you come check out what the other Creative Team members did with the color Mint at Get It Scrapped!
 
Supplies - Patterned Paper & Stickers:  Echo Park; Mister Huey's Spray Mist & Butterfly Stickers:  Studio Calico; Thicker & Flair Buttons:  American Crafts; Font:  Brush Script; Teeny Alpahs:  Glitz Designs; Washi Tape:  Love My Tapes; Color Magic Papers:  Heidi Swapp; Other:  Staples

And before I head out to gobble up some Turkey (yes, the puns keep coming!!), I need to announce the Winner of my Fall Kit from the ScrapFIT Fall Color Inspiration Blog Hop.  And that lucky person is:

LAURIE LaRIVIERE!!

Congrats Laurie!!  I'll get your prize sent out to you sometime next week!

 

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Digging on Diagonal!

Have you noticed that Diagonal lines have become really popular lately.  The "visual triangle" used to be the "in thing" on layouts, but watch out for the Diagonal design, because it's setting up it's own territory!!  And Love My Tapes is definitely on board with the Diagonal trend, with the awesome Teal Diagonal tape...it is one of my favorites!!!  I think it might just be showing up on about 99.9% of my layouts recently...and today is no exception.  I used it at the bottom of my page to create a doubled up Diagonal.  




 
I drew a line across the page using a pencil and ruler and then added my first piece of tape on a Diagonal line, to match up with the pencil mark.  I continued added the other pieces and just eye-balled the space in between each piece of tape.  It helped having the lines on the tape, because I was able to keep them lined up, to help with the look of the pattern.  I also used another of my favorite tapes on this one.  The With Love tape made a great border at the top of my page and I love that it comes in Gray, which is also a really popular color right now.

Make sure you give this a try on your next layout or project and it will work with any of your Love My Tape pattern designs!!





Monday, November 19, 2012

Cotton Pickin'

***If you are stopping by for the ScrapFIT Color Inspiration Blog Hop, please go HERE.***

Happy Monday...and Happy Thanksgiving week!!  I hope most everyone has a short work week and will get some rest over the holidays...and maybe a little Black Friday shopping too!!  But just because it's a holiday, it doesn't mean that the scrapping stops!!  :)  I have another layout to share with you today using the November Kit for Artful Delight.

This layout has something out of the ordinary for me...a solid background.  Most of the time, I use a patterned paper for the full background on my pages.  But every once in a while, I like to throw in a solid (and White is usually my favorite to use).  And I did have to add in a little color to the White background, using some Mister Huey's Spray Mist...adding some mist blots to my backgrounds has become a little obsession!  :)



  
I wanted to use some White on White on this page, just to kind of go along with the cotton theme.  So I added the DIY Thickers just as they were.  That is what is so awesome about this pack of Thickers, you can mist them any color you want to or just leave them White and use as is.  I also used my Expression to cut out cloud shapes from White cardstock and embossed them through the Big Shot.  These can be considered as clouds or cotton balls...whichever your imagination likes better!!  :)

The only things I used on this layout that weren't included in the Kit, are the Washi Tape and Spray Mist.  I can't believe this is already my third layout using this Kit and I still have enough to finish my fourth page for this month, plus a whole lot more!!  :)

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Creative Scrappers - Sketch #235

***If you are stopping by for the ScrapFIT Color Inspiration Blog Hop, please go HERE.***

I'm back again, with another fabulous sketch from Creative Scrappers!  This sketch was created by Nicole Nowosad and was so much fun to work with.  Plus, I got to play with some of the Midway collection from October Afternoon and also mixed in a little bit of Everyday Eclectic from Echo Park.  What an awesome combo!!  :)  Our family loves to go to the Fair every year and this was the first time, that all 3 kids were finally tall enough to ride the kiddie rides.  They had a blast and all 3 of them are fearless when it comes to riding.  We ended up meeting up with one of the families from our church and their little girl and our little girl are best friends, so it was a really fun night.






This page was just too fun...and I even ended up splatter painting my jeans in the process! HA!  Flinging white paint can be dangerous for surrounding areas!  You may have noticed, that I have a slight obsession with that teal, diagonal striped Washi Tape!!  I think it finds it's way on almost every layout.  :)  And here is a fun little tid bit...Scrapbook supplies can be picked up anywhere, say like Krispy Kreme for example!!  :)  The stick for my flag was one of the coffee stirers I picked up, when we stopped in a couple of weeks ago.  Needless to say, several of them made their way into my purse, for future use!!  :)

Come play along with us and you can have the opportunity to win from our November Sponsor, Peace, Love & Scrapbooking.  We would love to see what you create using Sketch #225!  Make sure you link up at Creative Scrappers!


Products Used:  Cardstock:  DCWV; Patterned Paper, Tin Pins, Buttons, & Mini Market Stickers:  October Afternoon; Patterned Paper & Stickers:  Echo Park; Wood Veneers:  Studio Calico; Baker's Twine:  The Twinery; Font:  CarnivalMF; Other:  Acrylic Paint & Stick

Thursday, November 15, 2012

ScrapFIT Color Inspiration Blog Hop!

Welcome to the ScrapFIT Color Inspiration Blog Hop!


You should have arrived here from Diana's Blog.  If you've gotten lost somewhere along the way, begin HERE at the ScrapFIT blog. We hope you're enjoying visiting the FITGirls' Blogs and seeing all of the beautiful Fall-colored cards.

We have a fun Color Inspiration to share with you!  And the twist, was that we needed to create a card, using Diana's down to earth color combination.

 
And you will have to give me a little leeway on this post because my card making skills are about negative 100%!!  :)



Since I am not an experienced card maker, I decided to keep it simple!!  I used some patterned paper from the Simple Stories Harvest Lane collection and fussy cut that cute little house shape out of one of the papers.  Two of the leaves, the Bookworm Spray Mist, and the word Fall, were included in the November FITkit, Gather, that I ordered from Paper Issues.  And of course, I had to add a little bit of splattered Mister Huey's Dark Calico mist across my card.

AND...here is where the fun comes in for you!!

I am having a little giveaway on my Blog.  You can be entered to win the Fall Kit I put together, by becoming a new Follower and commenting on this post to let me know you did.  If you are already a Follower, just leave a comment letting me know your favorite thing about Fall.  I will announce a Winner on Wednesday, November 21 .  Please leave a way for me to contact you, along with your comment.


You also have the opportunity to win an awesome prize from ScrapFIT, by visiting each Team member's Blog.  You must collect a Word at each Team Member's Blog and leave a comment at each Blog.  Once you have collected all of the words, you must unscramble them and arrange them into a sentence.  Once you think you have the sentence figured out, please email it to missy@whiddendesign.com.  By completing the Hop, leaving a comment at each of the Blogs, collecting the words, and unscrambling the sentence, you will be eligible to win a $20 Gift Certificate to Paper Issues!!  The Hop will remain open until 8PM on Monday, November 19.

The Word from my Blog:  WORTH

And don't forget, that you can Workout along with this challenge, by using the Color Inspiration and creating a Card.  Just make sure you link your Card up at the ScrapFIT Workout Blog.  You will have the chance to win the November LowCal FITkit, designed by Diana or you can head to Paper Issue's Etsy Shop and purchase one!!


Thanks so much for stopping by to visit today!  Now, you are off to visit Laurie's Blog and check out her fabulous Card!!


Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Fair Faves

As the years have passed, I have noticed changes in the way I scrapbook.  When I first started, every layout had to be double page and whatever the design was on one side, the other side had to mirror it.  And everything had to be in the albums in chronological order.  Then I started doing double page layouts, that didn't have to mirror on each side...still chronological though!  :)  Next I graduated to mixing in some single page layouts...in chronological order, of course.  Now, I find myself sticking to single page layouts all the time (and I finally gave up the desire to have all of my layouts in chronological order in my albums).  I usually do anywhere from 1-4 photos on a layout.  But there are times, when I have a few more photos to work with, but still want to stay away from creating a double pager.  Today, we are sharing an assignment at Get It Scrapped!, that asked us to use 6 photos on a single page layout.




 
I always find that using "photo strips" is an easy and fun way to include a lot of photos on a single page layout.  On this layout, I included 6 photos that are sized at 3.25x3.25.  With the popularity of Instagram, this is a great way to get those photos off of your phone and onto a layout.  I pulled my photos from my Instagram file on Facebook and loaded them into a Desktop Publishing program.  Then I arranged them in two different photo strips, printed them, and cut them out.  You could also print your photos individually, if you don't have access to a Desktop Publishing program, and then cut each one and arrange them in a photo strip on your layout.

And you can also play around with the size of your photos, because the smaller the photo, the more you can include on your layout!  Using a photo grid, is also a great way to create a single page layout that has room for a lot of photos.

Come visit Get It Scrapped!, for more ideas on using 6 photos on your next single page layout!

Supplies:  Cardstock:  American Crafts; Patterned Paper:  October Afternoon & Echo Park; Buttons:  October Afternoon; Thickers:  Pebbles; Font:  Fitzgerald; Washi Tape:  Love My Taps; Flair Buttons:  A Flair for Buttons & Bluebirdchic.com; Film Strip:  Tim Holtz; Baker's Twine:  The Twinery; Spray Mist:  Studio Calico; Other:  Metal Tags & Paper Clips


Monday, November 12, 2012

Pumpkin Patch Kids

I never thought I would look forward to Monday, but after joining the Artful Delight Team, it's not so bad anymore!!  :)  I get to post a new layout using the amazing Kits each Monday!  I am sharing another page today, that uses the November Kit, which includes a mix of Echo Park For the Record, Crate Paper On Trend, and Pink Paislee Portfolio.

The patterns and embellishments in this collection aren't necessarily geared towards Fall, but there was just something about it, that made me want to create a couple of Fall layouts.  So I put the Kit together with just a few other little bits and pieces to create a fun page to go along with one of our Pumpkin Patch photos.



I used some of my favorite pieces from the Kit on this page...chipboard pieces from Crate Paper, that awesome Burlap heart, and the AC DIY Thickers.  The Thickers are white fabric and you can spray them with any color of Spray Mist.  They are awesome and hold the color so well.  The only items I used, not included in the Kit, are the wood veneer hearts, Mister Huey's Spray Mist, doily, and the circle Authentique alphas.

If you are looking into Kits, I definitely recommend, checking out the November Kit at Artful Delight.  You won't be disappointed.  And you still have time to play along this month, with our Sketch Challenge!!



 

Friday, November 9, 2012

Trend Talk: Talk Bubbles

Have you noticed a trend in Talk Bubbles lately?  They are popping up everywhere!!  You can get some very cute patterned papers with talk bubbles, that are great for fussy cutting and using on your layouts or projects.  How about using your electronic die cut machine to create your own custom made talk bubbles?  And Studio Calico even has some adorable wood veneer talk bubbles that are really hot right now!

Yesterday, Get It Scrapped! featured a great article on this trendy motif!  I was really excited to be able to create a layout for this assignment and fell in love with the page once I finished it!!




 
I used the negatives for the words in the title and then backed them with patterned papers.  I made the journaling talk bubble with the clip art in my desktop publishing program.  Once I had it sized and added the journaling, I printed it out and fussy cut around it.  Both of these techniques were really quick and easy, but they are great for adding a fun element to your pages.

Make sure you check out Get It Scrapped!, to see how the other Creative Team members took on the challenge of this fun trend!

Products Used:  Cardstock: The Paper Studio; Patterned Paper: American Crafts; Flair Buttos: Ormolu; Wood Veneers & Spray Mist: Studio Calico; Washi Tape: Love My Tapes & My MInd’s Eye; Sticker: Jenni Bowlin; Fonts: Abadi MT Condensed & Impact Label; Other: Metal Tags & Button