Thursday, June 25, 2015

Meet Me in the Sunshine

Now that Summer is officially here it's time to soak up the sunshine! Whether you're hitting the pool or beach, this card is super easy to recreate and send to friends and family as an invitation to Meet in the Sunshine. I used supplies from the American Crafts Party! collection and Amy Tangerine's Rise & Shine collection.

How to:

  • Create a tag using a sheet from the Ticket Memo Pad. Adhere to the front of a vellum bag and add the chipboard frame over the top. It doesn't have to be a functional pull out tag since you'll be including tags with party details inside the bag. 
  • Create the medal ribbon using the Dear Lizzy Fine & Dandy die cuts. 
  • Hand cut additional layers around the medallion and adhere over the chipboard frame and tag. 
  • Add a little bow and additional embellishments to your liking. 
  •  Next, insert large tags with party details inside the bag. 
  • Last but not least, have fun in the sun! 
Supplies: Rise & Shine collection: (370004) – Ella Paper, (370010) – Lily Paper, (370022) – Monroe Paper, (370045) – Ticket Memo Pad, (370054) – Chipboard Frames, (370034) – Remarks Epoxy Stickers; DIY Party collection: (369829) decorative trims, (369840) treat bags; Fine & Dandy collection: (370111) – Die Set - Bow and Prize Ribbon

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

All About Daddy Mini Book Tutorial

Happy Tutorial Tuesday, everyone.  I have a fun little project to show you today, as seen on the American Crafts blog. I just love reading what kids have to say when given a questionnaire so I thought I'd make one and turn it into a little book for them to give to their daddy this Father's Day. Of course, you can tailor it to any theme you'd like.




Step 1: Select 7 coordinating pattern papers and trim them to 3 3/4"w  x 5 1/2"h. Select one to be your cover.


Adhere sheets from the notepad to the inside pages of the book but not the cover.


Print 4 starter sentences on white cardstock. You can download the ones I used HERE. Cut to 2 1/2" w x 1" h and adhere over the words "I Just Want to" that are printed on the note pad sheet.


Now you have your starter sentences and a place for the child to write. Add a few embellishments but leave plenty of room to write and / or draw.


To decorate the cover, I started with pattern paper and added the banner, the "i love you" sticker and "to the moon and back". Then I added an overlay. I adhered the "love you forever", clouds and wood button on top of the overlay. The book is held together by gold binder clips.

I can't wait for the girls to complete this book for their daddy.

Supplies: Shimelle True Stories collection: (370703) – English Breakfast Paper, (370704) – Grey Floral Paper, (370705) – Lemon & Ginger Paper, (370713) – Americano Paper, (370714) – Berry Infusion Paper, (370721) – Orange Pekoe Paper, (370722) – Cinnamon Roll Paper, (370723) – Croissant Paper, (370734) – small sticker book, (370736) – Enamel dots, (370737) – stamp and notepad, (370742) – photo overlays, (370743) – Die Cut Cardstock Shapes, (370746) – tags with vellum, American Crafts Party collection (369832) decorative trims, Heidi Swapp Minc collection (370211) Binder Clips

Monday, June 15, 2015

Sunshine & Lemonade

Hello friends.  This is the last blog hop with the 2014 - 2015 Gossamer Blue team and I know you will be totally inspired by these gals' amazing projects.

I'm happy to say that I will be staying on for a 3rd term with Gossamer Blue! More to come on that soon!


My little entrepreneurs have held two lemonade stands so far this year.  They saved their own money to purchase the goods, did some of the baking and outsourced some of it too. They made a lot of money that they used to save up for some mermaid tails they've been wanting to buy.


I made the fabric banner to add some color to the lemonade stand, which was made last year by my dad.  I also pulled out some American Crafts DIY Shop 2 (chalkboard signs) and #summer (Two Sweet & Sassy Sisters banner) supplies.

Pink Paisleet Citrus Bliss, Seven Paper by Studio Calico supplies for the layout are from Gossamer Blue June main kit, main add-ons 1 & 2, Life Pages add-on. 

Your next stop is to the fabulous Jill Cornell.

Here's a complete blogger list for today's hop:

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Workspace Wednesday | Craft Room Tour

Hi everyone.  We are in the process of remodeling the entire downstairs of our house. What started out as just getting new wood floors turned into updating the breakfast nook, changing the island in the kitchen, new fireplace, new powder bath and overhauling my craft space.  I plan to show you all the new parts of the house but I thought I'd start today by showing you my craft space remodel.  

I thought I'd give you an overview of the room today and then I plan to go into more details each Wednesday for the next several weeks.  Thanks to American Crafts for requesting that I share my workspace on their blog. It kicked my booty into gear to get it done in lightning speed and it feels so good!

I did some Q&A on the American Crafts blog that is not featured here so if you want to know how long I take to scrap, what time of day I prefer to scrap, what my favorite tools are, and more, head over there to read all about it. 

I'm very fortunate to have a dedicated room for my creative space. It's constantly evolving to fit my needs and it's a great way to escape from the daily grind. My supplies are stored in various bags, containers, baskets and bins and stashed away in cabinets to avoid creative chaos and clutter, while my core essentials are kept within reach. I place my favorite new layouts on the wall next to me, which serves a double purpose for me and my girls.


My old room used to be painted with a faux yellowy brown and had the same colored wood floors so it felt kind of like a dungeon. A fresh coat of white paint on the walls, new floors and a fun rug really brightened up the space. I also had my hubby build a custom desk that hugs 3 of the walls in the room. The long desk now allows for a scrap space, sewing space (or a kids area) and my work desk since I work from home. I just recently got my Raskog and I'm still deciding what to store in it so for now, it holds a basket made from rolled up newspapers which is where I store all my lovely Thickers. Can you spot my dog, Spot?


I keep all my essentials at my fingertips in the little octagon carousel. It used to be black and since everything new was white, I just spray painted it. Now it's just like new! All my favorite paints, mists, pens, scissors, etc. are within reach in all these units on my desk. The same items in different colors that aren't used as much are in the cubbies below the desk. I have a little egg crate and ceramic basket that I put little odds and ends in to keep them from getting lost while working on a project. Once the project is done, I can easily pack everything away.



As we work our way around the desk, my sewing machine is ready for action. This also doubles as a crafts space for the kids or when my mom comes and eventually I plan to set up my video equipment here for process videos.


This is where I work, as in I have a full-time job type of work. I use 2 monitors so I can look at different Powerpoints, email, etc. at the same time. After work hours, I swap out my personal PC and then I can look at photos, Silhouette, Illustrator, or whatever and play my Netflix on the other monitor. The armoire to the right is one of my favorite things in the room. Take a look below.


I got this armoire several years ago from Pottery Barn and it holds all my goodies. Starting at the top, I have all my American Crafts cardstock, paper trimmer and room for more "stuff". The 2nd shelf holds my Minc and Selphy printer. I don't use the printer when I am at home so I may end up packing it in my "scrapping on the go" bag but it sits here for now. The 3rd shelf slides out and it holds my Big Shot and CAMEO. I will probably switch the CAMEO and Minc since I'll need to get to the back of the Minc when I use it. The 4th shelf is all about my beloved HP wide format printer. This baby prints 13x19 photos making it easy when I want to print a large photo for scrapping. In the cabinets below are the storage cases full of American Crafts collections. Like I said above, this makes it super easy to work on projects because everything from one collection is together in a bin. I have 14x14" cases for regular collections and 17x15" bins for larger collections like DIY Shop 2.



The black unit is mostly for my girls. They have their own storage cases full of papers and embellishments and they also have their own tools. It's all kept nice and tidy in the drawers. The door in the middle folds down to create a desk for them so they can pull up a chair and get crafty too! Also in this photo is a typewriter that used to belong to my grandmother. Did you notice the wood map? I just purchased it from Michaels and plan to add all our family's travels to it. The gold and black locker only has one thing in it so far (fabric) and is ready to be filled up with more supplies!

Thanks for stopping by for the tour of my scrap space today. Check back next Wednesday for a detailed view of my scrap deck section.

Several people have asked where I found the items in my room so here you go. Let me know if there is anything else you'd like to know about.