just your average scrap blog

you're fabulous!

2011-12-03T09:00:00.000-08:00

hello crafters,
the inspiration for this card came from the sentiment. which is from hero arts essential messages stamp set. I immediately thought of my hampton art graphic 45 cling vintage ladies stamp set.

doesn't this lady look fabulous! i really felt this sentiment was the perfect complement to this stamp.
i stamped her on a light white and yellow designer paper page from my minds eye's stella and rose collection hattie 6x6 paper pad, using distress ink in walnut stain. i cut out the image leaving a thin white border around the lady, adhered to teal designer paper and trimmed out the lady again.

the card is a standard A2 sized card, but i covered the front with designer paper and free hand cut a curved edge into the front flap of the card. the scallops strips were cut using fiskars scalloped sentiment punch. the flowers were cut using my cricket, the cartridge used was the george and basic shapes and they were cut at 1 inch. the pearls are recollections. i stamped the sentiment on designer paper using moment ink in tuxedo black.

thanks for checking out my blog, please comment and leave any questions below as well.
blog ya later,
avgscrapgirl

noel

2011-12-01T10:30:00.000-08:00

it's the most wonderful time of the year. . . it's finally december and the official countdown to Christmas has begun.

this simple Christmas card was made using k&co's yuletide chrismas collection. the card base is black recollections cardstock, i purchased the sheer shimmery gold ribbon and the black velvet ribbon at michaels. the tree is a chipboard sticker, that i embellished with red and white recollections rhinestones. for the sentiment i adhered a sticker to black cardstock and cut a thin border to help it stand out from the designer paper.

thanks for stopping by my blog. hope you're enjoying your countdown to Christmas as much as i am.
happy holidays :)
blog ya later
avgscrapgirl

the first christmas card of the year

2011-11-29T08:00:00.000-08:00

hello crafters,
here it is, my first christmas card of the year. christmas is my favorite holiday, and breaking out my christmas supplies always give me a little thrill. i just love this time of year, and the sentiment of this card perfectly describes how i feel-joy :)

i started with kraft cardstock, and layered black cardstock, and designer paper.

this is a very simple card to make, the designer paper is from K&Co's yultide collection, and the ornaments are chipboard stickers that i had in my stash from last year. not sure what brand.

the embossed sticker that i used for the sentiment is recollections. i adhered it to black cardstock and cut it out. the black border really helped it pop off the background paper. the ribbon is from my stash. i added a few rhinestones to the center of some of the snowflakes in the background paper as a finishing touch.

thanks for stopping by.
blog ya later,
avgscrapgirl

mini me

2011-11-26T12:43:00.000-08:00

hello crafters,
brace yourself, this is going to be a long post. . .
i made a coaster mini album using coasters that i purchased at michaels. i named it mini me becuse it's a mini album that's all about me (clever right-lol!)

so let's get right into the mini.
the first thing i needed to do was cover the coasters.

COVER THE RAW EDGES OF CHIPBOARD USING DISTRESS INK IN WALNUT STAIN (YOU CAN SKIP THIS STEP IF YOU WANT, I'M GOING TO EGGE THE SIDES AGAIN ONCE I COVER WITH PAPER)

USE A CROP A DILE TO PUNCH A HOLE

I CHOSE DESIGNER PAPER FROM MY MINDS EYE'S STELLA AND ROSE COLLECTION THE GRETTA 6X6 PAPER PAD

TRACE THE SHAPE OF THE CIRCLE AND CUT OUT THE DESIGNER PAPER WITH SCISSORS

TRIM EXCESS PAPER WITH A CRAFT BLADE

SMOOTH EDGES USING BASIC GREY'S PRECISION FILE SET

USE DISTRESS INK IN WALNUT STAIN ON EDGES

CIRCLES CUT USING COLUZZLE AND EDGED WITH DISTRESS INK IN WALNUT STAIN. FLOWERS AND RHINESTONE FLOURISH BY RECOLLECTIONS, VELLUM DIE CUT K&CO ABRIANNA COLLECTION

BANNERS CUT FROM DESIGNER PAPER, FLOWER CUT ON CRICKET USING GEORGE AND BASIC SHAPES, BUTTERFLY IS MARTHA STEWART 3 IN 1 PUNCH, VINE GLITTER STICKER IS RECOLLECTION

CUT SIMI CIRCLE AND ADHERE TO MAKE POCKET. TRIM BY RECOLLECTIONS ADHERED WITH HOT GLUE. FLOWERS BY RECOLLECTIONS. CUT TAGS FROM DESIGNER PAPER. RUB ONS ARE K&CO ABRIANNA COLLECTION

I LOVED THIS LEDGER PAPER AND REALLY DIDN'T WANT TO COVER IT (SO THIS WILL BE A PERFECT PAGE FOR JOURNALING) SCALLOP BORDERS CUT WITH MARTHA STEWART PUNCH, FLOURISH IS A LEFT OVER SCRAP

CUT LEFT OVER SCRAPS INTO STRIPS, DISTRESS WITH WALNUT STAIN DISTRESS INK, USE FISKARS SCALLOPED SENTIMENT PUNCH, STAMP IN CORNER OF JOURNALING BLOCK IS INKADINKADO, BUTTERFLIES ARE MARTHA STEWART 3 IN 1 PUNCH, RHINESTONES ARE RECOLLECTIONS

CUT STRIP AND 1 1/8 INCH AND 1/4 INCH WIDER STRIP TO MAT THE PAPER. PUNCH CIRCLES WITH CIRCLE PUNCH, EDGE WITH DISTRESS INK. FLOWER AND RHINESTONE FLOURISH ARE RECOLLECTIONS

CUT SEMI CIRCLE LAYER FISKARS SCALLOPED SENTIMENT PUNCH. FLOWER CUT ON CRICKET USING GEORGE AND BASIC SHAPES, RHINESTONES ARE RECOLLECTIONS, BANNER CUT FROM DESIGNER PAPER.

I really enjoyed making this mini. I'm hoping that I'll get a new tripod and some new video editing software for christmas and i'll do a video tutorial on the next mini that I make.

Thanks for stopping by my blog, if you have any questions please leave them in the comments.

blog ya later,

avgscrapgirl

my craft journey part 3

2011-11-26T08:37:00.000-08:00

hello crafters,
welcome to part three of my craft journey. this is all about mini albums and altered projects. i group these two paper crafting style projects together because they use similar supplies. what i love about altered projects and mini albums is the dimension that you can put into your projects. with standard albums that have page protectors it's best to have supplies that are flat, for me when it comes to mini albums the thicker the better.
transitioning from scrapbooking and cardmaking to altered projects was interesting for me because it really expanded what i considered a craft supply. i was no longer limited to the "scrapbooking" isles in michaels. i was now browsing in the wood section and even the wedding section of the store looking for supplies. when it comes to altered projects you can alter or embellish anything you'd like.

this part of paper crafting is all about thinking out of the box-you're no longer restricted to a 12x12 layout or an A2 sized card, the possibilities are endless.

common altered projects include: picture frames, cigar boxes, jewelry boxes, notebooks, favor boxes, stick pins and tags to name a few.
mini albums: as the names imply are smaller than the traditional 12x12 or 8x8 albums. Usually they're 6x6 or smaller. you can use a 6x6 album, but it's more fun to grab some chipboard and make your own album. it can be square or a circle or any shape you can die cut.

the other thing i love about altered projects are swaps! you can join a swap site and enjoy making new friends and exchanging beautiful projects with each other.

so here are the tools you'll want to add to your collection to get into altered projects and mini albums
tools

glue gun-a wonderful adhesive that's strong and quick drying and helps secure heavier items.
kraft mat-if you didn't get one for cardmaking you're for sure going to need one now. to keep your cutting mat or work surface from getting stained.
paint-perfect for coloring natural wood any shade you'd like
paint brushes
distress inks-another item you may already have if you picked it up while cardmaking. i primarily use walnut stain and vintage photo, but you can collect and use as many colors as you'd like.
medium and lightweight chipboard. most scrapbooking stores sell 12x12 sheets of medium weight chipboard. i purchase mine at www.bluemoonscrapbooking.com. you can SAVE MONEY on lightweight chipboard by using cereal boxes-you're going to paint over or cover them with paper so no one will ever know it used to be a cheerios box.

now for the splurge items.(check out part 1 of my craft journey for tips on stocking up on splurge items)

die cutting/embossing machine like the big shot, vagabond, or cuttlebug
embossing plates and dies.
sewing machine

cinch or bind it all

supplies

textiles: fabric or felt
feathers/leaves/sprays
charms/jewels/pearls
trims/ribbons/sequins/twine
tags
rhinestone flourish
border stickers/chipboard stickers
bookplates/nameplates
dimensional sitckers
glitter/shimmer : perfect pearls, glimmer mist, smooch spritz, and stickles.
crackle paint

brands that i love

graphic 45
7 gypsies
recollections
tim holtz
websters pages
sizzix

now for a little inspiration, check out these youtube channels for amazing inspiration.

thank you so much for traveling along with me on my craft journey. the best part is that once you get to the end you can cycle back and start all over again, mixing and meshing different techniques and skills you've learned from each phase along the way. it's all about having fun and enjoying this hobby i love.

youtube layout hop

2011-11-18T10:28:00.000-08:00

if you've been following my blog for any amount of time you know i'm a youtube-junkie. my subscription list full of paper crafters. i used to watch primarily cardmakers and as i'm now transitioning into doing more scrapbooking i've been actively using the search box to find great layouts for inspiration. . .
. . . and i stumbled upon a youtube layout hop! which i certainly recommend you all check out.
the hop is for the month of november, there are 12 amazing scrapbookers, and be sure to leave comments on each page for a chance to win prizes!
start hopping here. . .

blog ya later,
avgscrapgirl

k&company abrianna recipe box

2011-11-11T10:00:00.000-08:00

hello crafters!
for my latest altered project. i altered a recipe box that i purchased at michaels with k&company's abrianna collection. you can watch the video below or over at youtube. . . enjoy!

thanks for watching
vlog ya later
avgscrapgirl

a new toy. . .

2011-11-07T10:00:00.000-08:00

. . .who doesn't love a new toy! i know i do.
i was at my local scrapbooking store A to Z Scrapbooking and i decided to pick up a corner chomper. i've been wanting one for more than a year now, and honestly what was keeping me from getting one was that i didn't have any complaints about my fiskars corner rounder-so i felt a little bad replacing it.
but while shopping for my corner chomper i was surprised to find out that the corner chomper also does more than just round corners, they also have decorative edges!
so then i considered buying just the decorative edge corner chomper and staying with my little fiskars corner rounder. but eventually gave into the lack of self control that usually grips me when i'm in a scrapbooking store and i got BOTH!

so here's what the original corner chomper does. give you rounded edges in both a 1/2 inch and 1/4 inch.

the decorative edge gives you a stub (which i LOVE- and used on a recent post) or a deco edge

thanks for stopping by. . . leave any questions in the comments
blog ya later
avgscrapgirl

give thanks

2011-10-30T16:26:00.000-07:00

hello crafters!
i hope everyone is having a great weekend. in the crazy busy schedule that is my life now that i'm a full time working adult who decided she should go back to school. i've managed to carve out a little time for the hobby i love and my poor neglected blog. (which got a facelift today!!-i love the new look, hope you do too!)

there were two inspirations behind todays cards. recently kristina werner did a youtube series called friday focus, and the focus was patterned paper. so i decided to challenge myself to make a card using all pattern paper-no cardstock!
which can be a little tricky because you can end up having a visually overwhelming -hot mess- of a card. but if you follow the rules of mixing patterned paper, which kristina explains so well-check out the link. you get a really great card!

the second inspiration came when i looked at the colors of patterned paper that i choose (all from my minds eye's stella and rose mabel 6x6 paper pad). they made me think of thanksgiving, which is a holiday that's coming up in the states.

so let's get close up and see what i did. . .

i had some fun rounding the corners of the card with my new making memories corner chomper with the stub corner.
the paper bird is a recollections die cut i purchased at michaels earlier this summer for only $0.99!
i added some twine tied into a bow with a mini glue dot.
i created the rosette flower with patterned paper
and the rhinestone flourish are by recollections as well.
the scallop border was created using fiskars scalloped sentiment punch
the stickers used to spell out the word "give" are making memories (super teenie tiny-perfect for cards)

i embossed using versamark ink, a hero arts stamp (from the bird, tree and messages stamp set-an oldie but a goodie!) and white american crafts zing embossing powder

thanks for stopping by the blog. if you have any questions please leave them in the comments. and please feel free to comment-they make my day a little (ok-a LOT) happier!

blog ya later

avgscrapgirl!

it's been so long. . .

2011-10-25T20:15:00.000-07:00

. . . and i thought i should at least drop by my poor neglected blog and explain myself. just in case anyone cares to know where i've been all these months.
i started school, online i'm offically a phoenix. and i knew that starting school would cut into my free time, but i didn't realize how much by scrapbooking would suffer.
since i'm not ready to completely abandon my beloved blog, i will do my best to pop in every now and again. but if you're wondering where i am-i'm doing homework, and will be for a couple of years.

i am however, making time to do an 8x8 album for my new niece, just born sept 30th! when i finish i will be sure to post pictures of her album.
it feels great to get back to my scrapbooking roots, and to sit at my craft desk, and to SHOP for scrapbooking supplies again. honestly it's amazing how much changes when you're away for just a short while.
speaking of which, if anyone knows of a good scrapbooking line for a Baby Girl album, please leave it in the comments.
blog ya later
avgscrapgirl :)

one stamp two ways part 2

2011-08-07T18:10:00.000-07:00

hello crafters,
it's been a while. . . but i'm back to share part two of my one stamp two ways series.
for this card i decided to break out my copic markers. wanting to use a similar color scheme i reached for blue and orange.
I stamped my image with memories tuxedo black ink, which is a recommended ink for copic coloring.

the floral stamp is inkadinado, the sentiment is hero arts, the orange woodgrain paper is from Basic Grey's Life of the Party 6x6 pad, the scalloped border was created with fiskars scalloped sentiment punch and the rhinestones are recollections.

thanks for stopping by,
blog ya later.
shawnte, the avgscrapgirl

one stamp two ways part 1

2011-07-11T21:16:00.000-07:00

hello crafters
i've been working on a lot of altered projects lately, it felt good to sit down at my craft desk and make a couple of cards!
i purchased this inkadinkado individual clear stamp at my local big lots, and i was so excited to get started using it.

i used white embossing powder on recollection white cardstock. then used my ink essentials blending tool, and distress ink in wild honey, spiced marmalade, barn door, broken china, & stormy sky.
after coloring the flowers i cut them out. and layered them on the cardfront.
i added designer paper from stella and rose's mabel 6x6 paper pad. and punched a scalloped border, using fiskars scalloped sentiment punch.
i stamped the sentiment using a hero arts stamp anytime messages stamp set and momento tuxedo black ink.

i layered the orange flower using a glue dots craft dot.
then finished the card by adding rhinestones to the center of the flower

thanks for stopping by
blog ya later,
avgscrapgirl

cards blog: animal shaped cards

2011-06-27T09:40:00.000-07:00

happy monday crafters!
guess who was featured on the cards blog. . . ME! :)

the challenge was to create an animal shaped card. I used my cricket gypsy wanderings cartridge to cut out a bunny rabbit shaped card using papers from my minds eye's stella and rose collection.

blog ya later!
shawnte, the avgscrapgirl

youtube tuesday: lilypadcards

2011-06-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

hello crafters,
ok, so i'm back with another youtube tuesday feature. this week i recommend subscribing to LilyPadCard's.

what you'll love about this channel:
if you're a card maker looking for a little inspiration this is the channel for you. vicky's craft style is so original and creative, and her tutorials will make you want to break out your embossing powder or your scissors and get to paper piecing!

hope this helps expand your youtube subscription list!
vlog ya later!
avgscrapgirl

using my scraps: thank you card set

2011-06-20T00:16:00.000-07:00

hello crafter's
i recently purchased my minds eye's stella and rose collection 4 set of 6x6 pads. and couldn't wait to get started using them.
one thing i always find challenging is using my scraps, so i started making my first card and then made the second one from the scraps that came from the first.

i thought i was going to use those butterflies, but then i didn't

so i pulled out the papers and selected the print i wanted to use. cut the card to a square shape 4 1/4 x 4 1/4.

then i used my gypsy to cut out the (i'm not sure what to call that shape) & flower on my cricket.

i used mini glue dots to adhere a button to the center of the flower, then added martha stewart dimensionals to the frame and layered on the designer paper.

the stamp set is american crafts, and the ink is martha stewarts. one of the things i've learned from watching two pea's from start to finish class with nichol magourik is to use colore more when stamping my sentiments, instead of always using black, so it was nice to stampe the frame and sentiment in teal and olive green.

then i cut out the frame, and adhered it to the front of the card. and that's how i finished the first card, and then i realized that i had great scraps left over, and instead of storing them away in case i wanted to "use them later" i began using them to make the second card.

i started by trimming down the paper that i cut the frame from, so that it was square, and adhered it to the designer paper.

i used my 3/4 circle punch to create a center for the flower. i finished the card by adding glossy accents to the center, and stamping another frame and sentiment from the american crafts stamp set, and the martha stewart ink.

thanks for stopping by my blog!

blog ya later,

shawnte, the avgscrapgirl

picture frame for my niece

2011-06-17T09:30:00.000-07:00

hello crafters.
today i'd like to share a picture frame i altered for my niece.
here's a picture of the before. . .

and here's a few pics and a video of the after. . .

thanks for watching!

vlog ya later,

shawnte, the avgscrapgirl

mini album swaps dt call

2011-06-16T10:32:00.000-07:00

hello crafters!
i just found out about this great swap website, mini album swaps. you can swap not only mini album's but tags and altered picture frames, cigar boxes and more.
it's such a fun website, you have to check it out!

AND. . . they're looking for design team members!
DESIGN TEAM CALL: Okay MAS members are you ready......to craft? We are having a design team call for Mini Album Scraps...So you are wanting to know "How can I become a design team member?" Well I'm going to tell you! It's really simple, you must make TWO ORIGINAL PROJECTS: The first project can be anything you like, for e.g: an altered project, wall hanging, canvas...the options are limitless. Okay, the second item needs to be a mini album (it's only appropriate to represent our site, Mini Album Scraps). We would like to see your mini no bigger than is 8 X 8 ....if you want to create a 1x1 mini, awesome!!, then so be it. The mini can be made from anything of your choosing (chipboard, wood, cardstock, canvas board, burlap) and it can be any color or theme. You have free creative control over what you decide to do. You also must post projects on your blog, facebook & youtube(if you have any of these) and must have a link back to MAS and please be sure to mention that it is for the design team call over at MAS. Okay, creations will be featured here as well on Lisa's, Kimi's and Beverly's blog. We will also feature it on our youtube channels. So, now, here is how the process will work. Lisa will be placing entries on the front page of the site and setting up a poll to help narrow down the results. Then, site administration will choose from there...THE DESIGN TEAM CALL WILL CLOSE AUGUST 10TH. If you have any questions please feel free to ask Lisa, Kimi, or myself and we will be happy to answer them...We look forward to seeing your submissions.....HAPPY CRAFTING

do you have a favorite site you like to go to for your swaps? if so leave me a link in the comments i'd love to check it out!
blog ya later,
shawnte, the avgscrapgirl

julienne butterfly tag

2011-06-15T10:44:00.000-07:00

hello crafters,
this is the first altered tag that i've ever created. i had so much fun working on this. i used k&company's julienne collection to alter this ranger tag.

the white ribbon is tim holtz, the butterfly is recollections, i created the flower using prima flowers, and added a recollections yellow mulberry paper flower to the center. the bling is also recollections

i love the torn and rolled edge technique-it gives the tag a shabby chic feel. and i distressed the tag with rangers worn lipstick. tucked under the torn paper are flower die cuts by k&company

i did another torn edge across the top middle of the card, it's a fun way to layer, the pearls are recollections,and i really love the gauze behind that tim holtz ribbon it's so delecate and dainty-really adds a beautiful touch to the tag.

i had a lot of fun making this, if you haven't tried making tags give it a shot, its really fun to try something new.
thanks for looking.
blog ya later,
shawnte, the avgscrapgirl

k&co abrianna collection (a birthday gift 2 me)

2011-06-15T10:15:00.000-07:00

hello crafters! on monday i celebrated my 26th bday by shopping at Michaels :) (i recieved quite a few gift cards from friends and family to michael's-perhaps they've picked up on the fact that i'm a bit of a scrap-a-holic lol!) i'm going to do an actual haul video but did want to quickly share the k&company abrianna collection that i picked up.
i consider myself an 'eclectic crafter'. i prefer to mix and match brands and collections. so i've never purchase so many different items from the same collection before. but i fell in love with this collection and had to have everything.
so here's what i got. . .

12x12 paper pad and the 4x6 photo mat stack

embellished chipboard stickers and grand adhesion (dimentional) stickers

chipboard, die cuts (inlcuding some vellum die cuts which are really beautiful) and layered dimensional stickers

they had 2 sets of border stickers for this collection-they're all really gorgeous

embossed stickers and rub ons!

as you can see many of the products have been opened, as i started working right away on a altered project. below are a few sneak peaks. this collection is beautiful and i'm having so much fun, can't wait to share this project with you guys.

thanks for looking!
blog ya later,
shawnte the avgscrapgirl

what scrap-store do u want to WIN a GIFTCARD from?

2011-06-07T11:26:00.000-07:00

for my last giveaway i did an e-gift card, and i found that was the easiest way to for me to do a giveaway since i didn't have to worry about remembering to pack anything up and ship it out. not that i won't still do that kind of giveaway, but for the times when i decide to do an e-gift card i want to know where you guys like to shop.

so. . . if you had to choose

WOULD YOU RATHER WIN A GIFT-CARD TO:

two peas in a bucket
simon says stamp
scrapbook.com

or is there another site that you shop at often that offers gift cards?

let me know by leaving your choice(s)- you can pick more than one!- in the comments below. i've got a giveaway coming up, so i'm be looking at these votes carefully to decide what store the gift card will be to.

blog ya later!
avgscrapgirl

memorial day shopping

2011-05-31T09:46:00.000-07:00

i hope everyone had a wonderful memorial day weekend. i sure did.
michael's was having a sale, and they had a coupon on their website for 25% off of your entire purchase INCLUDING sale items. which made me so excited, because i love those craft storage cubes that you can buy at michaels, but they're really expensive, and the most i've ever seen them on sale for is 40% off, and with this coupon i knew it would give me a 65% discount!
so that was my motivation for going to michael's and as you'll see in my haul video i also found tons of other stuff that was on sale that i couldn't resist buying!

thanks for watching. i'll be back soon with some more project posts. i got some crafting done this weekend and i'm looking forward to sharing it with you guys. i started my very first altered tag, as you saw in the video i purchased those manila tags, and had a lot of fun with that.

ALSO, i'm keeping an eye out for swaps that are going on, i had so much fun doing the vintage purse swap that i'd love to participate in another swap for tags, cards, or mini albums, etc. so if you hear of anything like that let me know in the comments.

vlog ya later,
avgscrapgirl

what's in your vintage purse swap

2011-05-22T20:11:00.000-07:00

hi crafters!
ok, so a few posts ago i gave you a sneak peak at the recent project that's made my craft desk a collosal mess. i participated in a swap hosted by bona, who is livelovescrap on youtube.

the wait is officially over, check out my video below. . .

thanks so much for watching. i worked really hard learning the vintage shabby chic theme, and i hope that my swap partner really loves her purse.

i also sent some bonus goodies with her purse that i didn't include in my video, so when she posts her video i'll be sure to link, in case you want to see what she got in her RAK. and if you don't know what a RAK is-well, first you're not watching enough youtube, and second it's a Random Act of Kindness :)

vlog ya later,
shawnte, the avgscrapgirl

bridal shower card

2011-05-13T18:16:00.000-07:00

one of my best friends will be getting married this june, and i created this card for her bridal shower is this weekend.

i used k&co's julienne collection, which is so lovely and just perfect for a wedding themed card.

supplies used:

k&company's julienne 6x6 specialty paper

cristal sticker pearls

spellbinders nestabilities label's one

recollections dimensional sticker (wedding dress & veil)

to decorate a craft room

2011-05-10T11:14:00.000-07:00

i'm pretty easily excited when it comes to scrapbook shopping, but when i saw this on Jennifer McGuire's blog I had one thought: i want, I WANT, i want!!!
my husband and i moved to a bigger apartment this year and now i have my very own office as my craft room. i'm not really good at decorating, and this book seems perfect for giving me some ideas on how to design my craft space. i'm entering the giveaway, and even if i don't win i'm going to have to pick up this magazine, i need it!
blog ya later,
avgscrapgirl!

happy NSD & a sneak peak

2011-05-07T22:16:00.000-07:00

happy national scrapbooking day!
i spent my day working on my vintage shabby chic purse for Bona's purse swap. it was a perfect craft day. i have just a bit more work to do and i'll be finished.
i made the purse using graphic 45's curtain call collection. here's hoping i nailed the vintage shabby chic theme! i should have a video posted next week. until then. . .
here's a sneak peak. . .

hope you're having a great NSD!
blog ya later,
shawnte, the avgscrapgirl

a shabby chic education

2011-05-06T10:06:00.000-07:00

hello crafters,

i'm an avid youtube watcher. i love finding great craft channels to subscribe to. one of my favorites is livelovescrap, which is Bona's channel. i fell in love with the beautiful page swaps and tag swaps and mini album swaps she would host and feature on her channel. and i thought one day, i'm going to participate in one of her swaps.

now i have to pause and say-i don't like doing multiples. i loathe making the exact same thing, the exact same way more than once. i did invitations for my cousins birthday party once and it was torture-i don't know why i'm like that i just am. . . anyway back to the point. . .
given my despise of making multiples i jumped at the opportunity, when i saw that she was having a what's in your vintage purse swap. i only had to make one purse and ten unique items to go inside. PERFECT! i was so in.

side note. . . i have a tendency to jump into things without always thinking them all the way through. LOL! so what hit me like a ton of bricks after i'd signed up is that, the theme of the purse is vintage shabby chic. . . which is gorgeous, and beautiful, and so NOT my style.

so i had-not a problem, but an opportunity. to learn vintage shabby chic, and that's what i've been doing all week: studying.

here's what i found out so far. . .
-lace is a BIG deal. these shabby chic-er's love their lace, and it truly does make their projects look delicate, beautiful and romantic.
-vintage trinkets: keys, bookplates, buttons, cameos-all vitally important
-pearls-oh the beautiful pearls :)
-doilies-which are pretty trendy right now, even if you're not a shabby chic-er.
-flowers, flowers, and more flowers. and don't forget to adorn them with sprays and swirling rhinestones, and to coated with glimmer mist so they have just the right shimmer.
-certain companies are perfect for vintage shabby chic: graphic 45, prima, webster's pages to name a few.

so what am i going to do with all this information?
hopefully make a really cute vintage shabby chic purse! i'm going to spend all day tomorrow working on it. and i'll be back with a video to show you how i did.
wish me luck!
shawnte, the avgscrapgirl

cosmo cricket everafter altered box and mini album

2011-05-05T20:39:00.000-07:00

hello crafters,
today i'd like to share the very first altered box and mini album i've ever created. i made this box back in february, but because of technical difficulties i'm just now uploading it to youtube.

i owe a big thank you to bona at livelovescrap and arlene at mybutterflykisses12. i'd never thought of altering anything until i happened across their youtube channels. these two ladies are so talented, and i've really been inspired by their hard work.

as you'll see in the video i did give them a "shout out" LOL! :) however, since making this video bona is now following my blog! and my youtube page!! and i'm participating in her what's in your vintage purse swap!!! (if you can't tell i'm so super EXCITED)

i hope you enjoy the project

thanks for watching!
vlog ya later
shawnte, the avgscrapgirl

and the winner is. . .

2011-05-04T20:25:00.000-07:00

the winner of my gift card giveaway is . . .

2Peas in a Bucket Giveaway
Min:
Max:

Result: 8
Powered by RA

i numbered each new subscriber/follower from 1 to 41, i began counting with my youtube subscribers and then twitter lumping into one big batch and then had the random number selector select a number.

and number 8 is. . . youtuber: CreateMePink
she has an great youtube page so check out her videos!

thank you so much to everyone who followed/subscribed, i really appreciated it. i will be having more giveaway's in the future, so if you didn't win this one hang in there for future opportunities.

i've got some great video posts coming up including my first baby steps into altered projects. i'm really looking forward to sharing it with you all.
blog ya later!
shawnte, the avgscrapgirl

a new arrival

2011-04-30T21:13:00.000-07:00

hello crafters!
today i have a little bit of a throwback post. i'm going to do a photo tutorial, i was going to film myself making the card but i didn't have time to edit, so i decided to take some pics.
i purchased this inkadinkadoo stamp set at michael's. they were having an amazing clearance sale on stamp sets, and i couldn't pass this up at that great price!
the stamp set was the motivation for the theme of the card.

for the cardbase, i used kraft cardstock cut to a standard sized card, and i ran the white cardstock through my big shot with an embossing folder.

i started by stamping the image on white cardstock, and cosmo cricket's garden variety designer paper, using colorbox chalk ink in black.

next i cut out the baby blanket from the designer paper.

then i paper pieced the blanket to the bunny rabbit, and colored the rabbit in with a pale yellow copic marker. and cut our the rabbit, leaving a thin white boarder, so that the stamped image would stand out from the print background.

i used my coluzzle circle cutter to cut out the circle piece that i wanted to use behind my stamped image.

next i punched a scalloped border strip from the same cosmo cricket paper pack, using martha stewarts border punch. i'm sorry i don't remember the name of this punch, if anyone knows please leave it in the comments, i would really appreciate it :)

then i began assembling my pieces on the card, i adhered the embossed white cardstock, scalloped border, circle piece, and wide yellow ribbon that i tied in a bow.

then i added some swirling pearl accents

lastly i stamped the sentiment on white cardstock, and cut it down to a small rectangle, and adhered right unter the bow, then added yellow queen and company rhinestones.

here's a close up shot of the card.

thanks for looking, enjoy the rest of your weekend :)
blog ya later!
shawnte, the avgscrapgirl

cardstock and creative problem solving

2011-04-25T21:45:00.000-07:00

hello crafters!
i hope that you all had a blessed Easter weekend. i had a wonderful time with my family, and today i decided to get back to crafting.
for this card i challenged myself to use only cardstock (no designer paper).
the card base is recollections black cardstock cut and folded to a standard sized card. i layered white cardstock, and used a scalloped martha stewart punch (sorry i don't know the name of the punch).
the ribbon is just regular ribbon that i purchased from wal-mart.
i started to stamp a hero arts "thank you sentiment, stacked multiple times, but it came crooked and uneven, and looked horrible.

i had a big problem that i needed to fix. . .

so i took more cardstock and covered the bad stamping,then added another scalloped border strip across the top, and stamped the thank you sentiment using a technique tuesday stamp, which actually looked a lot better than on this card than the orignal stamp i'd planned to use. the font is fancier and better suited for this card.
i finished the card by adding a recollections flower and faux stiching with a white gel pen.

what i learned from my mistake?

sometimes fixing a mistake can lead to a better design that what you originally had in mind.

don't forget that i my current giveaway ends this Saturday! for more info check out this blog post!

happy scrapping!
blog ya later,
shawnte, the avgscrapgirl!

stamped image mini notebook

2011-04-19T07:04:00.000-07:00

hello crafters!
a stamped image mini notebook is a fun and easy way to share some of your favorite stamped images with your friends!

crafty tip: becuase this is a small project, it's a great way to use up your scraps! so dig into your stash when decorating the cover. :)

supplies used:
lily bee vintage poppy designer paper
recollections white cardstock
recollections kraft cardstock
hero arts stamp
basic grey brads
k&co die cut

thanks for watching
vlog ya later!
shawnte, the avgscrapgirl!

two peas in a bucket gift card giveaway

2011-04-17T11:37:00.000-07:00

hello crafters!
i'm moving my youtube and twitter accounts, because i wanted the names to be in sync with my blog which will make it easier for people to find me.
i really appreciate all of you who follow me, and i'm hoping you will join me at my new youtube and twitter pages.
as a little incentive, i'm having a giveaway

the prize
$30 giftcard to twopeasinabucket.com

how to win
subscribe to my new you tube page avgscrapgirl and/or my new twitter page @avgscrapgirl

contest ends
April 30th!
good luck to all :)

altered picture frame

2011-04-17T08:48:00.000-07:00

i'm still pretty new to altered projects, and it's so different from standard scrapbook pages and cards-and i'm really loving it.

you may remember this picture frame below from my michael's haul video, and it's amazing what a little paint and a few embellishments can do.
check out the video below, and don't forget to check out my new youtube chanel avgscrapgirl! and if you've been following me at m1y4l3o please switch over :)

vlog ya later,
shawnte the avgscrapgirl

thank you card

2011-04-16T22:10:00.000-07:00

it's been so long since i've been at my craft desk, and when i sat down to make this card, i just wanted to do something simple to get myself back in the card-making-groove.

i used k&co's ancestry paper pack, cricut george & basic shapes cartridge for the flower, a sandy lion fabric brad, a creative memories heart shaped punch, ranger glossy accents, recollections butterfly, and fiskars scalloped sentiment punch.

i really like the way it came out, thanks for looking
blog ya later,
shawnte the avgscrapgirl

new-tube, new-tweet

2011-04-16T20:18:00.000-07:00

i'm in the process of changing my youtube and twitter page, so that they'll match my blog better. when i started using youtube it wasn't for crafting, so my channel name had nothing to do with my love of scrapbooking or cardmaking.
i gotta be honest with you i agonized over the decision to make the change or not. would my followers actually re-subscribe to me? -i really hope so.

soooo, if you're one of my youtube or twitter followers please check me out and follow me at my new youtube channel avgscrapgirl, and my new twitter @avgscrapgirl!

blog ya later,
shawnte, the avgscrapgirl :)

so out of the loop

2011-04-13T11:58:00.000-07:00

it's been a long time since i've posted anything on my poor neglected blog. my only excuse. . . life happens. but now that i'm trying to get back into the swing of things, i'm feeling like so much has happened since i've been away.

like the fact that i just checked jen mcguires blog and i'm all: when did she update it?!-it looks amazing! and believe it or not i haven't watched vicky's weekend video for the last month-crazyness! i don't know what collections are hot, what embellishments are trending, or what new product has the craft world buzzing-all the things i would have been able to tell you in an instant two months ago. crazy how a two month hiatus has me so out of the loop.

so, i'll be hitting my craft table this weekend, and hopefully i'll find my way back into the loop.

3 years ago. . .

2011-02-23T09:23:00.000-08:00

i married the best friend i've ever had.(yes, i'm one of those people who's head over heels in love with her husband-i'm really blessed and i thank God for him daily :)

so i thought i'd share a few photos from our wedding.

mr & mrs parks all kiss-y-face :)

my little cousins, i LOVE them so much. chrissy giving me smooches and my

justin who was an adorable ring bearer

father/daughter dance. this is the first time i've ever danced with my dad

turns out, he wasn't so bad

throwing my bouquet. which was kind of a dud. it hit the cieling and

landed barely a two feet behind me, so it was a

bad throw, and they wouldn't let me have a do over

my cousin brandon, who caught my garter

and my husband brandon

posing like they're in a rap video

these two are comedy when they get together

cutting the cake! it was delicious

out photographer wanted us to smash cake on our faces

there was no way i was ruining my makeup over cake

compromise: a lil cake on our noses :)

sparkling cider toasts! (no champagne cause we don't drink :)

random fact-everytime i see this photo i think

wow my nails looked amazing! lol, seriously it was the first

time in life that i'd been completely happy with a manicure and it

couldn't have happened for a better occasion

february is a special month for us, we met in February 2004, began dating February 27th, 2005, and got married February 23rd, 2008. so i'm spending my day with the one i love and i hope you do the same

blog ya later :)

Sassafras Sweet Marmalade Cards

2011-02-15T09:44:00.000-08:00

hello crafters,

today i wanted to share a few cards that i made using Sassafras' Sweet Marmalade 6x6 paper pad. I purchased this pad about a year ago, and never used it. i bought it online and then when i saw it in person i was so UN-inspired-i didn't know how to use it, i wasn't sure it was my style, and i was overwhelmed by how busy some of the prints were. so I set it to the side, thinking I'd probably end up giving it away.

this past weekend i pulled out some kraft cardstock and decided to give the paper pad another try. i wanted to challenge myself to step out of my craft-comfort-zone, and here's what i came up with

what i like about this card is the detail on the butterfly that i added using ranger's enamel in white, and the half circles that are 'faux stitched' to the card using rub on stitching. the numbered border strip is from k&co's cut and paste collection and i love how the pop of green really complements the browns, oranges, and cream tones on this card.

on this card i used the print that intimidated me, and what i found is that by cutting the paper up, and using it as an embellishment instead of trying to use the full page i wasn't so overwhelmed by it. the flowers are really bold, and the details that i added to this card are what i really love. the faux stitching, the enamel accents on the basic grey chipboard letters, the glossy accents on the hearts. the ruler border strip is again from k&co's cut and paste border strips, those accents really worked well with this paper pack.

this card is smaller than the first two, it's 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 and i love the crossword puzzle sentiment. because of its small size and how busy this paper is i wanted to leave some space on the card where you could see the kraft background so that it wouldn't be so overwhelming to the eye. i love the little doggy.

i had so much fun making these cards and i hope this inspires you to challenge yourself to use a product you don't feel is your craft style.

if you have any questions please leave them in the comments!

blog ya later :)

big lots haul plus giveaway!

2011-02-02T21:50:00.000-08:00

hi crafters,
shopping at big lots for crafts is like shopping for clothes at a thrift store. things are always changing and sometimes you stumble across something really amazing. that was the case on my latest trip to big lots- i found a bunch of basic grey stuff!

basic grey has been one of my favorite companies for years and so for my february haul giveaway all you have to do is share one of your favorite companies with me and you'll be entered to win this month's prize.

the giveaway ends on February 28th!

thanks for watching
vlog ya later!

youtube tuesdays

2011-02-01T07:00:00.000-08:00

hello crafters,
i've decided to add a new feature to my blog. i love youtube, and i spend (probably) way too much time on that site. but it's totally changed/influenced/developed my craft style. also its a great way to reach out and connect with other crafters, since i don't have friends who are into paper crafting, & that's a big plus for me.
wither you're looking for inspiration or entertainment youtube is perfect for staying plugged into what's going on in paper crafting.

so for youtube tuesdays (which will be featured every other tuesday) i'm going to recommend a youtube-er you should be subscribed to.

my first subscription reommendation has to be twopeasinabucket. below is the very first cardmaking video i ever watched. it is the reason i began making cards.

channel features
two peas channel is packed with several different types of videos: tons of free classes on scrapbooking, cardmaking including one of my favorite weekly features the finally friday cardmaking series. their weekly warehouse walk shows off the latest products and their hot products videos keep you up to date on the hottest products in the industry. it doesn't matter why type of crafting your into: cardmaking, scrapbooking, mini albums and more, you'll find inspiration for it on this channel.

you have to check out. . .
their classes! here are two video series that taught me so many new techniques the thinking inking series taught by jennifer mcguire and the my new & current favorite the from start to finish series by nichol magourik.

hope this helps expand your youtube subscription list
vlog ya later

2 peas's finally friday challenge: buttons

2011-01-24T07:20:00.000-08:00

happy monday crafters! i hope you had a great weekend
i made this card for two peas in a bucket's finally friday challenge. the challenge was to make a card using buttons.
REMINDER: my giveaway closes on January 31st, for more info click HERE!

supplies
cardstock-recollections
designer paper- k& co ancestry
tag- k& co julienne tag pad
border strip-k& co que sera sera
button- autumn leaves
embroidery floss-white
corner rounder-fiskars
adhesive-glue dots craf & tombow mono tape runner

thanks for watching!
vlog ya later.

michael's haul video plus a GIVEAWAY!

2011-01-13T09:30:00.000-08:00

one of my scrap-resolutions for the year was to incorporate a monthly giveaway on my blog. this month's giveaway is really easy to win, simply subscribe to my youtube channel, and you're entered to win!

check out the video below, which is a haul video from my latest trip to michael's, and the giveaway items are shown at the end.

thanks for watching

vlog ya later!

bee mine

2011-01-09T15:08:00.000-08:00

i usually laugh at store decorations that seem to jump from one holiday to the next, but here i am, coming fresh of of christmas cards, and making valentines day cards, with no regard for the full month of january in between the two. oh well-at least i had fun making it LOL! :)

check out the video below on how i made this card, i'm really sorry because my camera ran out of memory or something the end of the video is cut off. but you really only miss seeing me add the two small butterfly's in the corner.

thanks for watching,
vlog ya later!

trendspotting: rosette flowers

2011-01-08T17:47:00.000-08:00

last summer it was all about banners, they were on cards and layouts everywhere. the latest trend i've noticed: rosette flowers. you can buy them pre-made

american crafts has a cute set that's just perfect for valentines day. kristina werner's used these stickers in this weeks macm.

they're also fun and easy to make. plus when you make you own embellishment you can customize it so that it's perfect for your project.

i used a rosette flower on this valentines day card. i'll be posting a video tutorial soon showing how i made my rosette flower, and used it on another valentines day themed card.

there are some great tools that you can get to make creating a rosette flower easier. if you have a big shot, be sure to pick up tim holtz's die. check out his video on how to use it HERE.

if you don't have a big shot or the tim holtz die my tutorial will show you how to create it with your bone folder and your paper trimmer.

hope everyone is having a crafty weekend!

blog ya later :)

my craft journey part 2

2011-01-08T15:22:00.000-08:00

hello crafters!

this is part 2 of my craft journey, giving tips on moving from scrapbooking to cardmaking to mini albums/altered projects. in this segment we'll cover cardmaking. for tips on getting started with scrpabooking, click here to read part 1

stepping into cardmaking can seem oddly familiar to a scrapbooker. you have all these tools and supplies, but you've got to look at them a little bit differently. and then you realize there are some tools you still need. the biggest difference for me personally-STAMPS. i didn't own a single stamp before i became a cardmaker.suddenly i was in love with this new hobby and purchasing stamps became a major part of my scrapbook shopping budget. to speak in scrap terms photos and journaling are to layouts what images and sentiments are to cards.

so let's go over the tools that you'll want to add to your collection when shifting into cardmaking

tools
stamps

sentiments: start with a generic "everyday or any occasion" stamp set, as well as birthday and thank you cards. then add seasonal sentiments

images: should be personalized to your style of cardmaking. if you have a playful style find character images, if you have more of an elegant style find large flowers
background: background stamps are usually sized to fit the full front of a standard sized card (5 1/2 x 4 1/4).

stamping surface

a grid mat is great for measuring, but when stamping you need a surface you can easily wipe clean. i recommend ranger's kraft mat or inkadinado's stampin surface.

inks

begin with basic colors: black, brown, and then begin adding colors that you like.

bone folder (you may already have, especially if you bought a tool kit!)
scoring board
embossing folders
dimensional adhesive
baby wipes

an inexpensive way to clean your stamps!

heat tool
embossing powders

now for the cardmaking splurge! copic markers. they're alcohol based markers, that blend beautifully, and make your coloring look amazing.
(check out part 1 for my tips on how to pay for splurge items)

like with scrapbooking you're going to have cardmaking supplies (embellishments you're going to buy, use, and need to replenish, unlike most of your tools which you'll only need to buy once)
there are so many different kinds of embellishments out there i'm going to touch on a few popular ones for cardmaking, but i'm sure i'm not going to get them all. (if you'd like to add something to the list leave it in the comments :)

supplies
glimmer mist
perfect pearls
gems
UTEE (ultra thick embossing enamel)

brands i love

hero arts
ranger
inkadinkado
tim holtz
tattered angels

now you've got all your supplies, it's time for a little inspiration, check out these blogs and youtube pages, and you'll be making beautiful cards in not time.

blogs you'll love

youtube channels

thanks for reading along, in part 3 i'll we'll go into mini album's and altered projects!

youtube

2011-01-04T12:37:00.000-08:00

lately i've been trying to. . .

come up with a name for my youtube videos. i've been thinking about this for the last three weeks, and today i think i finally found name that i like. . . drumroll please . . .

scrappy girl studio or SGS for short. i think i like it. (i've changed my mind so many times already, i think i'm just going to make myself stop here)

so the plan is . . .

to pick a day, and i think it'll be thursdays, that i have my weekly scrappy girl studio video come out. so i'll get started today filming, and hopefully i can make a card that i like and get it posted by thursday (wish me luck :)

in case you're wondering. . .

i'm just getting back into the swing of things at work, now that the holidays are over, it's so much easier to have time to craft when you're not tired from work and driving through crowded LA traffic. but i think i can work a weekly video into my schedule, and i'll have Part 2 of my craft journey posted tomorrow- it's all about cardmaking!

until next time . . .

blog ya later :)

my craft journey part 1

2011-01-01T22:42:00.000-08:00

happy new years scrappers!

my craft journey started with scrapbooking, then i delved into cardmaking, and now i'm getting into mini albums & altered projects. each craft comes with its own joys but transitioning from one to the next can have it's challenges. in this three part series i'm going to give you some tips on how to get started, the supplies you need, and some helpful inspiration.

so let's start with scrapbooking

we're going to break our materials into 2 categories: tools & supplies

tools

cutting mat 12x12

paper trimmer

cardstock

-get started by purchasing a pack of cardstock in assorted colors. make sure

you have neutrals like black, white and kraft

scissors

adhesive

-tape runner adhesive, liquid glue, & glue dots for small embellishments
like buttons or metal embellishments

craft knife/paper piercer

-i recommend purchasing a tool kit like the one making memories sells, you'll

get a great range of tools all at once

punches

-i recommend starting with circle punches, purchase in a range of sizes

& get the scallop punches to complement them, then do the same with

the square punches, then you can branch out into other shapes

-border punches come in a lot of different patterns, start with a general

scallop that you like, it'll be versatile and you can use it on a lot of different

pages, and then you can get seasonal punches as well.
crop-a-dile
corner chomper

these next tools i'm going to call splurges. they're a little pricier than the previous tools listed, but they're worth the investment.

tips for purchasing pricier items-

take advantage of holiday sales
have your family members get you scrapbooking gift certificates for your birthday and use those to offset the cost
get michael's newspaper coupons they often have coupons that allow you to take 40% off of your purchase
and check out ebay.

splurges

die cutting machine
-like the cricut expression or silhouette. they allow you to cut out letters
and images which can save you money on embellishments

now that we've covered tools lets move on to supplies. supplies are different from tools because these are the items that you're going to continue purchasing that will change often.

supplies
designer paper
-this can be purchased individually or in collection packs.
stickers
rub-ons
ribbon
flowers
die cuts
eyelets
snaps

brands that i love

american crafts
making memories
basic grey
cosmo cricket
bobunny

now that you have all of your supplies it's time to get started. remember when you're scrapbooking that the primary focus is the photos and the journaling, everything else is just decoration. you're preserving your memories and there's no wrong way to do that!

inspiration

blogs you'll love-if you've got all your supplies and still aren't quite sure how to get started check out these blogs, you will be inspired!

youtube channels

basicgrey -check out their basic inspiration classes!
nicholM15 -Nicole Magouirk's youtube channel shows a range of amazing techniques that are sure to get your creative wheels turning
aboverubiesstudio-this channel has a wide range of craft information that will help you in all craft styles, and they have great tips on using your cricut in your scrapbooking

so now that we have our starting point covered, in part 2 i'll tell you how to transition from being a scrapbooker to a cardmaker!

happy birthday (5 in 5 sketches class)

2010-12-27T20:56:00.000-08:00

today's card was inspired by a class i took back in October. right before i got so crazy busy and had no time to craft at all i took an online class taught by Latrice Murphy called 5 sketches in 5 days. it was an great learning experience, and i still have the PDF's from the class becuase i knew when i signed up i didn't really have time but i would eventually come back to them.

i was also a winner of one of the giveaways that Latrice had for the class, as you'll see in the video the designer paper i'm using is one of the beautiful papers i won (along with some ranger paint daubers, ribbon & fibers & some other scrap goodies :)

thanks for watching & be sure to check out Latrice's blog-she's super talented

vlog ya later!

merry christmas!!!

2010-12-25T11:14:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas crafters!!!

just want to wish everyone a fun & safe holiday. enjoy it with family & friends.

my husband and i have a Christmas tradition (based on the fact that we have no patience) we open most of our gifts well before Christmas day. but we always save 1 gift to give each other on Christmas morning. (well i'll be honest, we made it to 8:30 last night-we're terrible i know-lol!)

so here's my Christmas day gift . . . a 36 set of Copic Markers!

i'm so EXCITED about & i can't wait to learn how to use them!

Merry Christmas

blog ya later!

we thank God for you card

2010-12-24T08:52:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Eve!!!

yesterday i really wanted to make a card, and i had really no idea what kind of card i wanted to make or what i wanted to do at all. the best thing to do in that situation is pick up your favorite things, tools/embellishments that you know you love, and you know you've used in a variety of ways and that way you'll be happy with the outcome.

i picked basic grey's indian summer collection. if you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that when that paper came out i fell in love with it, it's still one of my fav's from BG. and i also picked HA's heart winged butterfly.

so here's the video of what i came up with. i'm getting a little bit better with my video editing software (taking baby steps :)

thanks for watching

vlog ya later!

blue moon scrapbooking haul

2010-12-23T11:54:00.000-08:00

happy holidays scrapper!!!
i'm finally on winter break, and i'm SO happy. i have all the time i want to craft to my hearts content. today i want to share my recent purchase from blue moon scrapbooking. i LOVE this site. if you haven't checked it out you have to.

thanks for watching
vlog ya later :)

my grown up christmas list

2010-12-15T10:55:00.000-08:00

it's that time of year again. time to pull out the christmas lights, decorate the tree, watch holiday movies and of course drop not so subtle hints to the hubby about all the cool scrap stuff i'd love to see under the tree on christmas morning.

so what's on my scrap-christmas-wish list this year. . .

tim holtz bracket sizzix on the edge die

maya road kraft purse envelopes

tim holtz distress ink (this is one of my fav. inks and i want to keep adding to my color collection)

lately i've been watching a lot of mini albums and altered projects on youtube, and i've been so inspired by two scrappers in particular mybutterflykisses12 & livelovescrap. i definitly want to get into mini albums next year and that thought inspired the next few items on my list

maya road wavy layer chipboard book

i'm looking forward to the new year and all the new products that will come out.

blog ya later. (:

merry little christmas card

2010-12-14T22:15:00.000-08:00

i'm back! and with a video tutorial. . .ok, it's not the best editing in the world. i'm willing to admit that. but, i spent all weekend trying to learn how to use my new video editing software (it was a long and complicated process for someone with no video editing experience ever), so even though this video is totally amateur, i'm kind of proud of myself. and it's only going to get better from here going forward. i promise

let the vlogging being :)

thanks for watching,

vlog ya later

i started today with the best of intentions. . .

2010-12-06T21:18:00.000-08:00

. . .really i did. i got a new video camera and video editing software (Christmas gifts-yes i know it's not Christmas yet, my husband and I have no patience, and we figured that since we don't have kids it wasn't such a big deal. when we have kids we'll force ourselves to actually wait for the 25th of december before we start opening our presents). but anyway back to the video part.

i filmed myself making a card!!! yes, you heard it here first, i'm on my way to vlogging (video blogging). but i'm a total amateur and i have SO much to learn about filming and editing, and so my good intentions have met a few road bumps. i doubt highly i'll have this posted by tonight, so the plan is to get it posted before the week is out and that way i won't feel so bad about myself.

i appreciate your patience.
vlog ya later (hopefully sooner than later :)

an update. . .

2010-11-18T07:21:00.000-08:00

hi!
ok, so i haven't blogged in what feels like forever. but i'll be back soon i promise.

in life things come up, and October was a crazy busy month. but i've got some excited things in the works, and as soon as i can find my camera (we just moved and now i can't find it-driving me NUTS) i'll be back up and running with new cards, AND some scrapbooking -yes i finally started scrapbooking again, and some great giveaways.

and i'm working on redoing my scrap-wall. so i'll probably do a before and after post on that. since we moved i have a much bigger wall (oh the possibilities :)

also i'm hoping to get a video camera for christmas, and hopefully by next year i'll be video-blogging or vlogging (as i'm sure i'll want to call it) the camera on my wish list. . .the sony bloggie! is that not the coolest camera you've ever seen? love that built in usb port!

so that's what's going on and what's coming up.

by the way if you're looking for christmas card inspiration! check out Jennifer McGuires thinking inking Holiday class and Kristina Werners 25 days of Christmas!

blog ya later!

ivarai's scrappy blog card challenge 9-13

2010-09-19T10:59:00.000-07:00

today's card was made for ivarai's card challenge. when i start a sketch challenge the first thing i do is draw the sketch in my sketchbook, that way i have it sitting in front of my at my desk. it also helps get the sketch in my head and helps me start formulating ideas.

the next thing i did was decide my theme, i decided on a baby card, and picked my fiskars sweet pea baby stamp set. i decided i wanted my sentiment to be sweet pea, and immediately thought of cosmo cricket's garden variety papers-a perfect match! for my cardbase i used kraft cardstock cut to a standard sized card 5 1/4 x 4 1/4.

i cut my papers out to create the three square panels for the base part of the sketch then started adding my layers. i used my fiskars scalloped sentiment punch to make a scallop from black cardstock. (it's so funny as i'm writing this i'm realizing just how much fiskars product i used on this card) then used my fiskars paper trimmer to cut the cardstock so that i had a really thin scallop edge.

next i began distressing my designer paper. i used rangers distress ink in peeled paint, and also went around the edges lightly using vintage photo just to give it definition.

then i began working on the sentiment. i cut a 3 inch cylinder shape using my cricut and the george and basic shapes cartridge. then i stamped my sentiment on the cylinder shape using peeled paint distress ink, stamped it on white paper to cut out the body of the little pea-baby, then i stamped his little face on kraft cardstock to give him a skin tone face, and then i stamped the little baby hat on the cosmo cricket paper and cut it out.

because i was doing a baby card, buttons felt like the perfect embellishment. the three green buttons i purchased at wal-mart. i used white ribbon, tied it in a bow, and used a mini glue dot to attach it to the button. then adhered all three buttons using craft glue dots.

because i'd distressed all of the papers and used such dark colors on a baby card i decided to do some faux stitching with my white gel pen to brighten the card up.

as a final touch i added recollections black pearls.

i love this sketch, i'm definitely going to use it again, and i had a great time playing along with this challenge. if you want to play along all the info can be found HERE!

thanks for looking!

blog ya later

boo treat bag

2010-09-13T21:37:00.000-07:00

halloween can be such a fun holiday for kids. nothing better than trick or treating-getting dress up and of course getting free candy!

and so for my first assignment as a glue dots dottie (a halloween theme project) i decided to make a monster themed treat bag. which would be perfect as a halloween party favor or for kids to take to school and pass out to their classmates.

i started with a small treat sak, i purchased it from target for $1. the treat sak is 6 1/2 in tall x 3 in wide. i used my t-square ruler and bone folder to score the top of the bag at 1 1/4 inch. i purchased the monster stickers at michael's arts and crafts stores. but if you're looking for similar monsters you can purchase them HERE

then i got started on the decorative part of the bag. i cut black cardstock to 5 x 3 inches, and cut purple cardstock 4 3/4 x 2 3/4 inches.

i cut a strip of designer paper 1 1/4 x 3 inches, and matted on black cardstock 1 1/2 x 3 inches. for the sentiment i used maya road chipboard letters. looking for similar chipboard letters, you can purchase them HERE

i used colorbox chalk ink in lime green to color the raw chipboard letters. i inked the letters on top of rangers kraft mat, which it perfect to ink on, because it wipes clean so easily.

next, i cut a 2 1/2 inch circle on my cricut, using the george and basic shapes cartridge, with black cardstock. i adhered it to the purple cardstock, with about a quarter of the circle hanging off, and trimmed that part off with tim holtz tonix scissors.

then i began adhering my layers together. i used glue dots memory book dot n go adhesive. to attach the chipboard letters i used mini glue dots.

then i added the little monster sticker to the simi circle, and used a white gel pen to add faux stitching detail.

next i wanted to add star shaped brads as embellishments. i cut off the prongs on the back of the brads, and used glue dots to adhere them. then i adhered all the layered pieces to the treat bag.

at this point i added the candy, because i was getting ready to close the bag.

i folded the top of the bag over, and marked with a pencil where i wanted the ribbon to go through, and used my we r memory keepers crop-a-dile to punch two holes, and string the ribbon through, and tied it in a bow.

as a finishing touch i added rangers purple stickles to give the stars a purple glittery shine.

I wrote this blog post while participating on the Glue Dots design team

thanks so much for looking

blog ya later!

i'm a dottie!!! whoo hooo!!!

2010-09-12T17:29:00.000-07:00

on april 9th- just my second post on this blog- i posted about the dt call for glue dots. short, and to the point it simply said. . .

exciting news! glue dots is having a design team call. dare i apply? i think i will. if you're interested here's all the information you need to apply HERE.
wish me luck! :)

and then three days ago, i got the announcement i'd been waiting to see since april. I was surprised, i was thrilled. i was . . . a little unsure if it was me. see the list said shawnte park, missing the "s" at the end of my last name. and i had the scary thought that maybe that wasn't me. but then i thought, it can't be possible that someone else could have a name that close to mine. (but i emailed glue dots to double check before i let myself get too excited about it).
once i got email confirmation i shouted my joy from the mountain top- more commonly known as twitter. :) LOL!

i'm looking forward to getting to know all the wonderful ladies on both the dottess and dottie teams.

if you're on twitter let me know so i can follow you. you can find me on twitter at @mylo143, also please leave a link to your blog in the comments. i'd love to check it out.

so that's my exciting news.
blog ya later!

woof!

2010-09-10T05:08:00.000-07:00

if you've been reading by blog for a while you know that i started as a scrapbooker and evolved into a cardmaker. as a scrapbooker i considered myself a scrapper, but cardmakers call themselves stampers. and this is the first card i've made that made me truly feel like a stamper. i didn't use any patterned paper on this card it was all about the stamping, which before felt foreign and weird, but this card felt completely natural. now that i've made this wonderful leap in the craft world i think i'll call myself a scramper, LOL! maybe not :) anyway, enough of my random humor, on to the card.

banner cards are huge right now. they're EVERYWHERE. and they're adorable. and i purchased this new stamp set and my first thought was hmmm. . . .how cute would it be to make a doggie banner with bones instead of flags strung between the fire hydrants. so that's where the idea for this card came from.

the other thing that different for me with this card. it's a square card! 4 1/4 x 4 1/4. this is a really fun size to play with, you have an even smaller space, so if having too much space is a little intimidating for you, i highly recommend this size, it's like a mini card, very non-intimidating.the inks are rangers distress inks in shabby shutters, spiced marmalade, and broken china.

that white cardstock is cut to 4 x 4, and i used the doggie paw print and stamped my background. making a diagonal line with each ink color. until i had the background covered.

then i cut a strip of cardstock that was 2 x 4 (which i later cut down to 1 3/4 x 4 because i mounted it on black cardstock). i stamped the fire hydrants on each end. then stamped them again on another piece of cardstock and cut them out. i used tombo mono removable tape runner to adhere the hydrants to the cardstock to create a mask.

i used inkessentials blending tool, and rangers shabby shutters, and broken china distress ink to create grass, and the sky behind the hydrants, then removed the masks.

i stamped the hydrants again, and colored them with regular markers. (i can't wait till i get copic markers. they're so amazing and they blend beautifully and make your projects look so cool. but i don't have any yet, so i used regular bic markers that i got on sale at staples :)

then i stamped and colored the doggie. i was going to use the poodle at first, but she felt a little fancy, and i wanted this card to be more playful. i colored him with a brown bic marker, just adding some brown spots, and i made his collar orange and red (to match the hydrants.) and gave him a pink nose.

then came the part that i made much more complicated than it needed to be. ok, a normal banner card just has the string running behind the pennants.clean. simple. easy. i don't know what i was thinking, i decided to wrap the string around the bones. which was so hard to do.

problem: the string kept slipping and moving, and i couldn't get the spacing right, and i couldn't lay it out and see exactly how i wanted it before i had it adhered down, it was cardmaking chaos. solution: glue dots!

i attached each bone to the string using mini glue dots, had to figure out how far apart i wanted them placed, and secure them to the card with dimensional adhesive.

it's really sad, but i felt so acomplished after i finished that doggie banner. LOL!

so i had all the parts and i layed it out on the black card base, and realized it needed a little something more.

i used the speech bubble from a hero arts christmas stamp set. i believe it's jolly christmas. stamped with walnut stain distress ink. then stamped the word woof in spiced marmalade distress ink. and cut it out. glued it all together, and i was done.

thanks so much for looking, if you have any questions leave them in the comments.

blog ya later!

B2B Giveaway winner!!!

2010-09-08T12:02:00.000-07:00

wow, the last two weeks have been so crazy. my poor neglected blog. i hope to spend more time with you soon.

anyway. i wanted to pop in really quickly to announce the winner of my back to blogger giveaway! the winner is Karen B.

Karen B. said...: Glad you are back to blogger, wordpress is cumbersome to comment on-just my opinion. Love your card here, with the distressed clouds! And my most recent purchase-Glimmer Mist! Love it too.

Thank you so much to everyone who commented. and again Congrats Karen :)

please email me at saparks13@gmail.com with your shipping address.

blog ya later!

finally friday challenge-thank you card

2010-08-20T11:41:00.000-07:00

i made this card for two peas in a bucket's finally friday challenge. which was to make a thank you card.

i started with beige cardstock, cut to 5 1/2 by 4 1/4 landscape style card. i used paper from BG's origins collection, and the stamps are HA's.

i started by stamping the word thanks, then used my ruler to measure out how much space i needed for the stamp, and drew lines with my t-square ruler, and pencil. then stamped all over, staggering the word.

then i added the designer paper, and stamped the sentiment on white cardstock.

i rounded the corners of my card with a fiskars corner rounder.

i took a brown, yellow, and white paper flower, and attached them to each other with a BG brad. and used a glue dot to adhere the flower to the card.

then punched butterflies with martha stewarts 3 in 1 butterfly punch.

i didn't take as many pics as i usually do for my tutorials, for two reasons. the first-the card is really simple. second- i didn't stray much from the way kristina werner made her card. to see the video of her card click HERE.

thanks so much for looking

don't forget: if you haven't had a chance to hop along the Lawn Fawn/Cards for kids blog hop, check out the info HERE, there are prizes for commenters!

plus my current giveaway, for more info click HERE!

blog ya later!

lawn fawn (hearts) cards for kids blog hop

2010-08-18T03:00:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to the Lawn Fawn Hearts Cards for Kids Blog Hop! We have all come together today to make cards for a wonderful cause, Cards for Kids! We hope to encourage you to also make cards for this great cause and have fun along the way, too! So please hop along with us, and make sure to leave comments as there will be prizes for commenters and participants! So let's get going! Also, if you are lost in the hop, you can always start at the beginning at the Lawn Fawn blog. Thank you so much for hopping along with us today!

hi. thanks so much for hopping to my blog. if you've just hopped here from marilyn's blog i hope you had fun! if you're staring on my blog click HERE to go to the beginning of the hop!

i wanted my cards to be happy/fun/silly, and here's what i came up with. . .

ready to keep hopping? click HERE to hop to mary pat's blog.

If you are lost in the hop, here is a list of all of the participants!

Lawn Fawn http://lawnfawn.blogspot.com/

Meredith www.papercanteen.com

Tiffany http://tiffguam.com

Mandy www.limelightpapercrafts.blogspot.com

Nichol www.nicholmagouirk.typepad.com

Ayana http://www.ayanaposadas.typepad.com/

Brit http://artismysunshine.blogspot.com

Christiana www.penciledwhimsies.blogspot.com

Banu http://stampingwithpassion.blogspot.com/

Vera www.lingshappyplace.blogspot.com

Lisa http://sideoatsandscribbles.wumple.com/

Laurel www.laurelbeard.wordpress.com

Kelly http://kellybertram.blogspot.com/

Jennifer http://hydrangeahippo.blogspot.com

Scrapbook Royalty http://scrapbookroyalty.blogspot.com

Tina www.travelingmama.net

Beth www.stinkinsweetscrappin.blogspot.com

Mary Dawn http://mypinkmexico.blogspot.com

AnitaRex http://craftygrldesigns.blogspot.com/

Lucy http://hedgehogsandladybirds.blogspot.com/

Brenda www.sweetpapertreats.com

Anthonette http://chavezdesigns.blogspot.com/

Tanis www.scrapcardsbytanis.blogspot.com

Jessica www.canyoupixelthis.com

Sudie www.unKit.com

Bonnie Rose http://alifeunrehearsed2.blogspot.com

Sarah Martina http://sarahmartina.com/blog

Michelle http://pagemasterdesignsonline.blogspot.com/

Jennie www.jenniekader.blogspot.com

Jennifer http://jennifersland.blogspot.com/

Carly http://carlyrobertson.typepad.com/paper-in-bloom/

Joy http://dustypenny.blogspot.com/

Latrice www.latricemurphy.blogspot.com

Lai-Yoke www.walchowDesign.blogspot.com

Dana www.relivingtomorrow.blogspot.com

Kazan nunutoolies.blogspot.com

Jana http://www.janamillen.typepad.com

Dawn http://dawnscrafts.blogspot.com

Kristie www.thekristiesessions.blogspot.com

Rhonda bluepoohbear753.blogspot.com

Donna www.3umbrellas.blogspot.com

Jess basicjess.blogspot.com

Marilyn littlethingmemoryartist.blogspot.com

YOU ARE HERE

Mary Pat http://www.siehledwithakiss.blogspot.com/

Lynsey http://www.lynseyreadswritescreates.blogspot.com

Ashley http://hearthugsdesigns.blogspot.com/

Libby http://stampinlibby.blogspot.com

Sherri http://www.sherrithompson.blogspot.com/

Tami http://journeyoflifetamijo.blogspot.com

Linda http://elendae.wordpress.com/

Lynnette http://nettersnotables.blogspot.com/

Kathy http://thedailymarker.blogspot.com/

Cindy http://cre8ivecindy.blogspot.com/

Deneen www.simplydeneen.typepad.com

Heather http://www.scrapbookbakery.blogspot.com/

Jenn doublendesigns.blogspot.com

Tenia http://jazzypaper.blogspot.com

Lori http://inkingaloud.blogspot.com

Deb http://sideshowdeb.blogspot.com

Angela http://makingmayhem.blogspot.com

Stephanie http://stephaniecastrodesigns.blogspot.com

Lynn www.themangoboysandme.blogspot.com

Shemaine www.scraptasticdesigns.blogspot.com

Latisha http://crafteebee.blogspot.com/

Deedee http://stampingsunshine.blogspot.com/

Kristina http://kristinaisonehappymama.blogspot.com/

Nicky http://craftcoffeecat-nicky.blogspot.com/

Leigh Ann www.stampingwithannieb.blogspot.com

Gretchen http://gscrapbooks.blogspot.com

Erin http://www.homemadecardsbyerin.blogspot.com

Laurie www.soapboxcreations.blogspot.com

Beth http://www.runswithscraps.blogspot.com

Michelle www.hotwheelsandglueguns.blogspot.com

Jessica www.Itsallaboutglitznglam.blogspot.com

Clare http://bearydocardsinc.blogspot.com/

Carol http://www.lifecreativewithcarol.blogspot.com

Grace http://gracehester.typepad.com

Clouds http://cloudscolorgarden.blogspot.com/

Hannah http://sherbetblossom.blogspot.com/

Laurie http://lalybi.blogspot.com

Terri http://terriearley.blogspot.com/

Jennifer jennifermcguireink.com

Lawn Fawn http://lawnfawn.blogspot.com/

have a great day!

blog ya later.

i(heart)2stamp-sfytt

2010-08-15T14:14:00.000-07:00

i made this card for i(heart)2stamp's sketch for you to try (that's what sfytt means) challenge.

i'm not sure why i'm in a "lovey" mood, because i made a love card yesterday, and another one for todays challenge. and it wasn't intentional. there were just 3 blocks in the sketch, and when i looked at them the first thought that came to mind was-i love you. so that's what i decided to go with.

also again for this card i decided to use BG's indian summer 6x6 paper pad, however the stickers are from bobunny.

i started by cutting out the papers to the sketch shape. then added a scalloped boarder strip from the bobunny stickers.

i used a pencil to trace the middle rectangle. then cut it out with my fiskars cutting knife. cutting tip-press softly and go over the same line 3 or 4 times it gives a cleaner cut than trying to press hard and get the knife through thick cardstock with one cut.

the ribbon slide is really old, i think it's making memories but i bought it so long ago i'm not sure. the container is making memories small embellishment organizer. the ribbon is american crafts. i used regular scotch tape to secure the ribbon behind the paper.

i cut a 1 inch heart using my george and basic shapes cartridge on my cricket. then ran it through my xyron sticker maker to adhere the pink heart to the black shadow heart that i cut on the cricket as well.

i used my making memories paper piercer to punch a hole through the tag sticker and the brad is BG. then i used the bobunny letter stickers for the sentiment.

i used my gel pen to do a double faux stitch line around the cutout.

i felt like the background was a little plain, so i used ranger distress ink to sponge the edges. and a swirl stamp from HA's tree's, birds, and messages clear stamp set. i stamped off on the kraft sheet, then stamped onto the cardstock so that the swirl wouldn't be too bold in the background.

to add the rhinestone swirls i drew the swirl pattern with a pencil then used my MM craft blade to add the rhinestones.

to finish the card i used martha stewart foam dimensional to add the heart. then decided that word you didn't quite work, so i removed the "y" and "o", and left just the "u" so that the eye could travel in one straight line down the sentiment.

thanks for looking!
blog ya later

love

2010-08-14T19:40:00.000-07:00

i hope everyone is having a great weekend! i actually had a really relaxing saturday, and enjoyed my scrap-time :)

so this card started with chocolate cardstock. cut and folded to a standard sized card 5 1/2 by 4 1/4. i cut white cardstock to 4 by 5 1/4 and dry embossed it with fiskars embossing folder. then i used my fiskars scalloped sentiment punch to punch a thin scallop strip. the designer paper used on this card is from BG's indian summer collection. i used tombo mono liquid glue to adhere the scallop to the paper.

i'm really not sure what to call this shape. it's like a square with corners punched out. i cut it out using my cricket with my gypsy, from the gypsy wonderings cartridge. then i added recollections white pearls in the corners.

i used my white gel pen to add faux stitching all the way around the card. the leaves are bazzil, and the flower is by petaloo.

i attached the leaves with ranger's glossy accents. it can be used as an adhesive, and it works really well. i threaded an autumn leaves brown button with white embroidery floss, and adhered to the card using a glue dot.

i used BG's milk chocolate chip letters for the sentiment.

then i added two hearts, from the technique tuesday stamp set. using rangers distress ink in vintage photo.

i thought i was going to use that butterfly, but i've put butterflies on so many cards lately that i decided not to. i think it looks really lovely without it.

don't forget about the giveaway! enter to win HERE!
thanks for looking!
blog ya later.

giveaway on lucy's blog

2010-08-08T09:24:00.000-07:00

hey scrappers
lucy has reached 500 followers on her blog and is celebrating with an amazing giveaway!

what she's giving away?

Hero Arts 'Be Happy' stamp set is one of my favourite sets from the 2010 catalogue. I adore the bees and have used them for loads of different cards, including an engagement card, Valentine's card and friendship card.

The 'Love me Do' collection by My Mind's Eye has my favourite cloud patterned paper in. So I thought I'd giveaway the whole set. :)

The brand new 'Kiss the Cook' set by Hero Arts has me salivating with anticipation... I've been wanting it for AGES, have finally got it, AND got an extra to give away. :)

Hero Hues Layering Papers are the BEST cardstock I've used. Love love love them. And the envelopes are cute too.

And finally, my favourite gemstones. Perfect for dew drops on leaves, or to add a touch of shine to a more sophisticated card.

Wanna see a peek of the pile of stuff???

Here it is, all ready to be boxed up.

And you KNOW I'll throw in some ribbon, buttons and other little extras.

And a card. :)

how to win?

go to her blog and leave a comment HERE

letting her know what you love! simple right. good luck to all (but i'm secretly hoping i win :) LOL!) i love that be happy stamp.

enjoy the rest of the weekend!

blog ya later

back 2 blogger . . . plus a GIVEAWAY!!!

2010-08-06T22:18:00.000-07:00

ok, so two months ago i switched my blog from blogger to wordpress.

why'd i move?

i couldn't figure out how to work the pages on blogger, and i really wanted pages
i wanted to be able to use that wordpress for itouch app that i saw on kristina werner's blog
i started on blogger and wasn't sure if i'd like wordpress better

why'd i come back?

i figured out how to work the pages feature on blogger :) LOL!
i couldn't find a template that really worked best with my blog style that i liked on wordpress. plus it's less amateur user friendly than blogger. it was overwelming, i think if i understood web design more i would have liked wordpress
plus blogger has changed in the 2 months i've been gone. the template design feature is so cool and the photo upload is much better.

so that's the back story to this card. now for my normal tutorial, i love that word: tutorial-totally make me sound like i know what i'm doing, right? people kept leaving comments that they liked my tutorials, and i went-oh wow, that sounds cool. i'm going to use that.LOL!

this card started with a sketch, as my cards so rarely do. i also knew i wanted to make a card with a banner since it's so trendy right now.

to make the clouds i hand drew clouds on scrap paper, cut them out, and glued them to vanilla colored cardstock with tombo mono removable adhesive.

then i used ranger's distress ink in broken china to color over the clouds to give me the blue sky.

next i used my white gel pen to add faux stitching around the clouds and around the border of the card.

for the banner i used my cricket george and basic shapes to cut diamonds at 1 1/2 inch size, then i cut the diamond in half, it gave me the size triangle that i wanted. i used the diamond because using the regular triangle at 1 inch on the cricket was too big for my card.

then i pulled out three different sticker sets for my sentiment. the large letters are american crafts thickers, and the small yellow stickers on the banner are stickopotumus letter stickers that i purchased from wal mart. (they're really well priced like $1 or $2-something like that. when i'm at wal mart and i see them i try to grab them in a few colors-you can never have too many letter stickers)

then i used pop dots to add the cloud paper to the yellow cardbase.

at this point i realized the card looked a little plain. so i added a butterfly, using martha stewarts 3 in 1 butterfly punch, and recollections rhinestones, and a little green button (also from walmart) and threaded white embroidery floss through the button and tied a little bow.

so i'm back on blogger and very happy to be back, and to celebrate i'm having a little giveaway! the prize is making memories just chillin girl collection chipboard stickers and spiral journaling book!

so here are all the ways to win

re-tweet my twitter post about this giveaway

leave a comment letting me know your most recent scrap-related purchase

make a card with a banner, and put a link in the comments!

the contest will end august 27th

i want to say a big thank you to all my followers, sorry for the back and forth. i won't be changing my blog again any time soon-promise. thanks for sticking with me

thanks for looking!

blog ya later

i'm coming back

2010-08-06T09:43:00.001-07:00

hello everyone. i'm going to do an official post later but i just wanted to say really quick that i didn't like wordpress, and i'm coming back to blogger.
so i'm going to celebrate by posting a tutorial and having a giveaway!
thanks to all my followers-sorry for all the back and forth, and i hope you guys will stick with me.

i've moved!

2010-06-30T06:42:00.000-07:00

sadly i'm saying bye bye to blogger. my blog has moved to wordpress. which actually isn't sad at all it's pretty exciting, because i LOVE the way my new blog looks. it's so modern and sophisticated-in my humble opinion. LOL!

so this card is of course inspired by the move, to see my usual tutorial on how i made it, check out my new blog . . . HERE!

i am always amazed that anyone would think that my blog is worth following, but i'm so grateful for all of my followers. thanks so much for following my blog, and i hope you'll check out my new blog at wordpress.

(i'm working so hard to make it cool and interesting-and i have pages now, yes because one page of my dorky personality just wasn't enough. my new blog has so much more of my goofy-ness.)

if anyone is thinking of changing from blogger to wordpress and you have questions let me know. i'd be glad to share anything i've figured out so far.

as always thanks for looking,

and i'll blog ya later!

yippee!!!

2010-06-19T17:25:00.000-07:00

for this card i started with a standard sized 5 1/2 by 4 1/4 white cardbase, navy cardstock and printed paper from cosmo cricket's joy ride collection.

i cut the designer papers to fit the cardstock. as usual for me i didn't measure i just kept cutting the navy cardstock till i had the sections of the card blocked off the size that i wanted them. then i cut the printed paper to fit inside the navy cardstock. (i hope that explanation makes since-sorry if it doesn't)

i used fiskars scalloped sentiment punch to punch a white scallop, and adhered it to the yellow print paper with tombo mono glue.

once i had my panels set i decided i wanted my main image to be a little car. so i sketched a car on the navy cardstock. i used tombow mono removable adhesive to glue the car to the printed paper. i used my fiskars cutting blade to cut out the windows. i used mini glue dots to adhere the buttons for the tires, and outlined the car with faux stitching with a white gel pen. i used tiny strips of black cardstock to make door handles, and attached the car to the card with martha stewart foam adhesive.

i cut the little puff of smoke free hand from white cardstock, and attached with pop dots, because they're not as raised as the martha stewart dimensional adhesive.

then i adhered brads to the card. i marked where they needed to be placed with a pencil, then used my crop a dile to punch the hole.

the card look kind of quirky and fun, and i didn't quite know what sentiment would work best for it. but i found it on a hero arts stamp set, simple quirky and fun: yippee!!!

i cut the star with my cricket, then stamped little starbursts with colorbox orange chalk ink. then stamped the sentiment with black ink.

i used my xyron sticker maker to attach the white star to the navy shadow star. then attached to the card with pop dots.

i hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.
by the way, i just started using my twitter account so if you have a twitter leave a link in the comment below i would love to follow you and feel free to follow me if you want.

thanks for looking
blog ya later!

wishing you lots of everything wonderful

2010-06-13T16:39:00.000-07:00

after starting and throwing away three cards, i realized something was off. i wasn't coming up with anything good. so i decided to just do a clean and simple card.
basic and easy just so i could make one card that was a keeper :)

i started with black cardstock, cut and scored to a standard sized card 5 1/2 x 4 1/4. then i cut a strip of white cardstock.

i tied black ribbon around the white cardstock, then slid the ribbon up to the top of the cardstock so that i could stamp the sentiment, using black colorbox chalk ink. the stamp is hero arts huge hugs stamp set.

the butterfly sticker is from a cute sticker set that i got at target. i love the bright colors and glitter on the flowers and butterflies.

the queen and co. photo turns are an embellishment i haven't used in soooooo long, but i absolutely love them.

i used a glue dot to secure the knot of the ribbon in place. then adhered the white cardstock to the card base.

the brads are recollections rhinestone brads. i keep them, and a lot of other small embellishments in a making memories small embellishment organizer box. i used a pencil to mark where i wanted the brads placed.

simple, easy, and it broke my awful streak of horrible cards.
thanks for looking!
blog ya later

cards blog window card challenge

2010-05-30T08:37:00.000-07:00

there's a new challenge on the cards blog to make a card with a window. inspired by this super cute macm card done by kristina werner

challenge is the best way to describe this card making experience, because i had several of them while making this card. when i began this card i knew it would include 3 things: a window, a flower box outside the window, and a brick background as the outside of the house. but i had no idea what i was going to do for flowers because i knew i didn't have any small enough. but i decided to just start with what i knew and figure out the rest as i went along.

so i started by sketching out my idea. and cut my cardbase to a standard sized card 5 1/2 x 4 1/4

then using the fiskars dry embossing plate with the brick pattern i embossed the front of the card. if you have a cuttlebug or big shot embossing is much faster and easier, but i don't have one so i do it the old fashioned way :)

then i used vintage photo distress ink to shade the bricks to make them look more natural.

first challenge: arched window. i didn't want a square, but i didn't have a template for an arched window. so i cut a 4 1/2 inch oval on my cricket with the george and basic shapes cartridge. and used my fiskars paper trimmer to cut the bottom half of the oval off. ureka!

then i sketched the four window holes on the frame. i used removable adhesive to hold the cardstock in place while i cut out the window holes. i used the fi skars craft knife to cut. i couldn't have make this card without this blade, because it allows you to get close and not accidentally cut something you didn't mean to. i just purchased it on my last shopping trip and i'm so glad i did!

so once i had the template i needed to cover it with the window frame. which meant i had to decide what colors i wanted to use, and for some reason this took forever with this card. the simple act of picking papers-sad, really. i finally decided on grey cardstock, and used the flip side of the fiskars dry embossing plate which had a stone pattern. i used my cricket and cut another 4 1/2 inch oval from the grey cardstock and glued my template to the cardstock and cut out the window.

then i cut clear acetate to make the window glass, and glued to the frame.

next challenge how to make the window box. i cut a rectangle from the grey cardstock, and embossed with the stone pattern. then cut the sides at an angle and added a strip of black cardstock across.

then on to the biggest challenge, i needed flowers! then i remembered watching vickypgr make paper flowers on a mother's day card, and i thought-PERFECT! i'll put roses in my window box.

the first three flowers i tried came out horribly, then i finally got the hang of it. i used my fiskars large circle punch on red cardstock, then cut in a spiral, and then used the small round file from basic grey's precision filing kit to wrap the cardstock around. (you can also use a thin paint brush like vickypgr does in the video). i used glue dots to secure the bottom of the flower.

then i cut leaves from a scrap of leftover green cardstock.

since the window was from the outside looking in, the next challenge was to create curtains and the wall paper. again i cut ovals using my cricket, then free hand cut the curtains, and glued all three layers together.

i finished off the card by cutting strips in green cardstock to make grass, using martha stewarts 3 in 1 butterfly punch to cut out butterflies. i adhered the window box with martha stewart foam adhesive, i added faux stitching to the window box with a white gel pen, and used a hero arts stamp for the sentiment.
super challenging, and a whole lot of fun to make
thanks for looking
blog ya later!

you make my heart happy

2010-05-28T07:22:00.000-07:00

sadly i didn't make the top 20 for gallery idol 2010, but that's not going to stop me from voting and saying a big CONGRATULATIONS to those who did make it, i'm happy for them.

now before i start today's post i must say that i've been shopping! and if you've read my blog before you may have noticed a post with a few things on my wish list, i got some of them :) like the tim holtz scissors & martha stewart punch that you'll see i used on today's card-yea!~

i started by cutting (i'm not sure what to call this shape) with my cricket gypsy wanderings cartridge. the printed paper is from me & my big ideas mat pack, and then i cut a layering piece in brown cardstock.

i used the martha stewart punch on white & brown cardstock, and then on the edge of the card to give it a triple scallop.

i tied yellow ribbon around my die cut piece.

for the sentiment i cut piece of white cardstock, and inked around the edges with vintage photo distress ink, then stamped in vintage photo using a glitz gal script background stamp. then stamped the hero arts sentiment with colorbox chalk ink in black. i thought i'd show how i clean my stamps. i just use a baby wipe on clear stamps. usually i prefer my stamp cleaner on rubber stamps.
then i used vintage photo distress ink to stamp the hero arts heart winged butterfly on the same plaid paper it used to cut my die cut piece. and cut it out using my new tim holtz scissors.

i added recollections pearls to the center of the butterfly.

to give the main elements some dimension. i used 3L double sided foam mounting tap (you can get it at target) for the back of the die cut piece.

i really wanted the wings of the butterfly raised and the center flat on the card. so i put a glue dot in the middle of the butterfly, because they're super strong and i knew it would hold the middle down even with the thick martha stewart foam adhesive pieces on the wings.

thanks for looking, have a happy friday & a great weekend
blog ya later!

thanks for hanging in there!

2010-05-22T15:31:00.000-07:00

this is the last weekend to work on thank you cards for the open auditions for gallery idol 2010. the first thought i had when i found out the open audition card had to be a thank you card was i wanted to make a card that said thanks for hanging in there and i wanted a little monkey on it.

so i sat down today and tried to get that thought out of my head and onto a card and have it not look terrible. usually when i start on a card i've at least picked out what products i want on the card. or i just work till it comes together. but with this card i kind of knew where i wanted the end to be, but i had no idea how to get there. which basically means i kept trying things messing it up and starting over.

i started with a zoo animal stamp set by recollections and stamped the vine on kraft cardstock, and then stamped again on green cardstock for the leaves (which i ended up not using at all).

the papers are kraft cardstock, lime green cardstock, and recollections monkeying around designer paper.

initially i was going to use the little monkey from the stamp set, then i remembered i had a monkey dimensional sticker with cute little google-y eyes. and i changed my mind.

the sentiment was the hardest part to figure out. i knew i didn't have a stamp that said what i wanted. and i'd thought about basic grey's chipboard letters but they were too big. i thought about my cricket, but i don't have the expression so the smallest letters are 1 inch-too big for a card. then it clicked-LETTER STICKERS. haven't used those in so long. i pulled out my stickers, and found some teeny tiny making memories alpha stickers in chocolate brown. perfect!

i used my craft knife to put the stickers on the card because they were so small. scrap tip- staggering alpha stickers makes it less obvious if they're crocked, because it looks like it was done on purpose.

i decided i wanted my monkey to have bananas, so i pulled out my doodlebug jungle stickers, and saw the cute little sticker leaves. and then i went back and pulled up the little stamped leaves and replaced them with sticker leaves.

i tied ribbon around the bottom of cardstock papers, and added recollections pop dots to finish off the card.
here are two more cards i made for the gallery idol open audition.

thanks for looking
blog ya later!

it's a boy

2010-05-21T07:43:00.000-07:00

happy friday stampers/scrappers!
ok, it's been a crazy busy week with no time for scrapping or blogging :(
but i'm looking forward to this weekend-i will make time for me and my addiction.

and i think it's about time for another giveaway. so i may try having a sketch challenge or a color challenge or something.

anyway, enough of my rabling, here's a quick card i made a while ago that i'm just now getting around to posting. it's a baby card for a little boy.

supplies
bird paper-basic grey
stickers-american crafts thickers
brads-making memories small square brad
stamps-fiskars
circle punch-fiskars
scallop sentiment punch-fiskars

thanks for looking
blog ya later.

birthdays are good for you

2010-05-13T18:46:00.000-07:00

hello stampers!
the inspiration for this card came from wanting to try something a little bit different with ribbon. so instead of tying it in a knot or a bow, i decided to create a little loop. (i'm so clever-LOL! just kidding i'm not that clever)

the designer paper if from cosmo cricket's joy ride mini deck. i decided to make a long card. i cut black cardstock to an 8 x 3 1/2 inch card base. this size will fit in a normal envelope. i started by cutting two wide strips of patterned paper.

then i took a craft knife and metal ruler and cut a slit in the fold of the card to thread my ribbon through. i used tombo mono tape runner to to glue down the ribbon and created a loop at the end. i threaded embroidery floss through an autumn leaves button and adhered it on top of the loop with a glue dot.

then i cut a white rectangle, and printed paper to mat the white paper on. i used my fiskars corner rounder to round three sides.

the stamp is from inkadinkado. i absolutely LOVE this stamp. it's what made me buy the stamp set, because when i read it i laughed out loud in the store. it was too funny!

then i colored the turtle with regular markers. and covered him with glossy accents. isn't he a cutie.
i think i should name him. hmmm. . . timmy the turtle? no, too obvious right? hmm. . . tilly the turtle. ok, i think i like tilly.

thanks for looking
blog ya later!

what i want now. . .

2010-05-12T11:28:00.000-07:00

shopping for craft supplies gives me almost as much a thrill as crafting itself. so i thought i'd share a few things i'm currently dying to add to my craft collection.

sizzix big shot -die cuts & embossing-need i say more :)

cosmo cricket delovely mini deck-i love bold bright colors. these papers just scream

sassafrass blossoms -these stickers are so cute and versatile.

martha stewart border punch -love the dots between the scallops

basic grey's origins 6x6 paper pad -after all my raving about loving bright bold colors, i guess i also really love earth tones as well. (i'm a complicated person-LOL-no not really i just love all types of prints patterns and colors. i think the only thing i don't like are pastels)

tim holtz tonic scissors-i'd been wanting some new scissors, and i was considering cutterbee then i saw jenn mcguire use these in a video and fell head over heels.

bo bunny rub ons-i love the colors and the flowers and the swirls. i love rub ons as much as i love stamps and these are just adorable.

we are memory keepers corner chomper -when i bought my fiskars corner rounder i never thought i'd upgrade, and i've been holding out in an attempt to maintain some sort of loyalty to a corner rounder i really love. i have a feeling i'm going to be giving in to the lure of corner chomper soon. sorry fiskars, it's just so cool

if you're looking for any of the items on my list, and can't find them at your LSS, they're all available at two peas, my fav online scrap store.
thanks for looking
blog ya later!