Just a little excited...

I am just a little excited today, Echo Park Paper is featuring some of my December Traditions Mini Album on their blog.

I always found it hard to do a December Daily album as a lot of times I would have nothing exciting enough to journal or photograph for that day so instead I create my December Traditions Mini Albums around our families traditions.  I also leave a few extra blank pages in case a new tradition gets started or something new happens (like last year my son performed in a play). 

Here's a few sneaks of my pages but to see more of a few of them head on over to the Echo Park Paper Blog.

I will be sharing the entire mini album once it's completed.  Thanks for stopping by.

I want candy!

I love peppermint candy, I am so excited when I see it in the stores - it's looks as good as it tastes.  I was even more excited when I saw the new Peppermint Collection from Crate Paper, they had some really cute peppermint journaling cards!

First I made a little brown paper bag that will be filled with peppermints for my son's music teacher:

And here is a little candy jar I made for my son's school teacher - perfect for her desk!

I hope these last long enough to give out :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Gratitude and Grace

It's the American Thanksgiving today - so for all my friends south of the border have a wonderful Thanksgiving full of gratitude and grace!

I made this card with the Scrapbook Star October kit, full of wonderful colors and paper and I loved the feathers too.

Thanks for stopping by!

Scrapbook Star Design Team Challenge

I am in love with Baker's Twine right now and what better challenge than to add some of it to your next project?  For my layout I added twine around the hearts and I also made a small heart and covered the entire thing with twine.  This is now one of my favorite layouts to date :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a Crafty Christmas

Head on over to Scrapbook Star for some Crafty Christmas fun and ideas from the Design Team.  It starts on November 15th and runs through the 26th. Here's a sneak peek at one of the projects I will be posting.

Thanks for stopping by.

Holiday Greetings

I love to hand make holiday cards for my friends and family using my leftover paper from my layouts and scrapbook pages.  This year I started early and made a few cards with last years Echo Park Christmas Collections.

This first card is my favorite!  I die cut the mug with my Slice and covered it with Glossy Accents then sprinkled in a little glitter to give it some shimmer.  To finish it off I added a paper straw, some felt marshmallows and some bakers twine, so cute!

The second card is a rolled paper Christmas Tree which is super easy to do just roll the patterned paper and adhere the rolls to a triangular piece of cardstock.  To complete my tree I wrapped twine around it and added a snowflake star.  I stamped a Hero Arts bird carrying an ornament to the tree then to finish it off I added some glitter snow and glittered and flocked snowflakes.

For the last card I wanted to make a card that was fast and easy so I covered a chipboard snowflake with silver paint then while it was still wet I added some glitter to make it shimmer.  To finish off the card I added a sentiment from the Echo Park Journaling sheet and a button.  Super fast and easy.

I had so much fun making these cards and can't wait to use the new Echo Park Christmas Collections to make even more holiday cards and projects.

Thanks for stopping by!

Winners!!

Thank you so much to everyone who stopped by during the Handmade Holidays Blog Hop and left a comment!  I appreciated all of them! 

The winner of the Zutter Spinner Album kit is:


Chelsey said...

What a neat idea!! I love this and I'll have to try it out myself! Thanks :-)

November 4, 2011 9:16 PM

The winner of the Score-It-All Mini for following my blog is:

Chris - Creations in Bloom said...

Love your album! It's so fabulous. I'm a new follower. Excited to be inspired by your creations.

November 4, 2011 5:53 PM

Congratulations to both of you!  Please contact me with your mailing information.

Handmade Holidays Blog Hop

Welcome to the Handmade Holidays Blog Hop!!!

 Calling all crafters! We’ve gathered designers from some of our favorite manufacturers to show you ways to create something from the heart this holiday season. This 3 day Hop includes over 60 stops with inspiration brimming from every corner. Explore all thoughtful and frugal handmade gifts you could make for the holidays, all in one place on this Hop!

To sweeten to Hop, we’re offering a gift for you! For every comment you leave on the blogs in the Hop, you’ll be entered to win a prize pack from one of the participating manufacturer sponsors!

Visit the list of blogs below and leave a comment on each by Nov 7, 2011 at 11:59 PM PST. Each day we will be sharing a brand new list of blogs with brand new projects for you to explore, be inspired by, and create from!

I love making handmade gifts for the holidays for family, friends and even teachers and coaches.

This year I wanted to create handmade frames for our close family members with photos of our boys inside. For my project I used the Zutter Bind-It-All Cover-Alls in the 4" x 6" size with the curved spine and covered it with the new Crate Paper Peppermint Collection. 

To make these handmade frames cover the entire Cover-All with patterned paper but before adhering the back page completely down add a piece of twine under the paper for the closure. Embellish the cover and add a button for the twine to wrap around to keep the frame closed.

For the inside of the frame I added a photo on each side of the Cover-All and used the words from a sheet of paper and twine to make the banner at the top.  To attach the banner to each side of the frame I used a small snowflake from the Peppermint chipboard. I also wanted to add the cute chipboard Santa from the collection and made him pop out when you open the frame.

These handmade frames would be great to make for anyone on your Christmas list and what better keepsake than a photo of their favorite people.

Thanks for stopping by on the hop.  Don't forget to leave a comment on the blog to be eligible for the amazing prizes.  Here's a link of all the blog participants for today's hop:

Nov 4th
Clearsnap – http://clearsnap.blogspot.com/
Spellbinders http://www.spellbinderspaperarts.com/Community/Blog.aspx
Hampton Art - http://blog.hamptonart.com/
Zutter – http://binditall.blogspot.com/
Graphic45 – http://g45papers.typepad.com/
Donna Salazar Designs – http://donnasalazar.typepad.com/
The Twinery - http://www.thetwineryblog.com/
Authentique Paper http://authentiquepaper.blogspot.com/
Sherry Cheever – Graphic45 http://sherrycheever.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/
Claire Towle– Hampton Art http://studio1975.co.uk/
Emily Leiphart- The Twinery http://www.leiphartonart.blogspot.com/
Andrea Budjack – Glue Arts http://andreascreativepapertrail.blogspot.com/
Lesley Langdon – Spellbinders http://www.lesleylangdoncreative.blogspot.com/
Daniela Dobson – Clearsnap http://danieladobson.blogspot.com/
Natasha Naranjo Aguirre – Donna Salazar Designs- http://mymomentsoftranquility.blogspot.com/
Lisa Day – Glue Arts - http://www.lisaday.typepad.com/
Lynne Forsythe – Zutter http://lynneforsythe.blogspot.com/
Jennifer Priest- Clearsnap http://hydrangeahippo.blogspot.com/
Tifany DeGough – Authentique Paper http://inkblotsbytrd.blogspot.com/
Holly Simoni – Spellbinders http://www.hollysimoni.typepad.com/
Fleur Smith - Zutter http://fleursbydesign.blogspot.com/
Stephanie Johnson- The Twinery http://www.parkersprints.blogspot.com/
Robyn Weatherspoon – Clearsnap http://robynweatherspoon.blogspot.com/

To thank you for stopping by my blog I am also giving away a mini Scor-It-All.  All you have to do is become a follower of my blog and let me know you are following me in the comments by Nov 7, 2011 at 11:59 PM PST and I will draw a winner to win this fabulous scoring tool.

Cheers to creating gifts from the heart this holiday season!

Happy Hopping!

Fabulous Friends

I am so lucky to have some fabulous friends.  I met these ladies while working at my local scrapbook store many years ago and even though it closed down we continue to get together as often as we can.

I love getting together with them and laughing about old times - what could be better?

Thanks for stopping by.