Thrifty Thursday!

I am so proud that I am still sticking to my daily posts! I hope everyone has enjoyed reading them and found some inspiration here! Today's post is going to focus on thrifty crafting. Each Thursday I am going to make a project incorporating found objects, bits and pieces, or homemade embellishments. These posts will help you save money or create one of a kind projects!
For the first week of Thrifty Thursday I decided to get a jump start on my card for my sister-in-laws baby shower! This card turned out super soft and pretty. Many of the things I used gave it a vintage feel which I love. Here is the card I created:


I started out with a white card base. I then cut a piece of cream paper from the Basic Grey Basics manilla line.(I am totally loving the white/cream/tan color combo lately) Then, I haphazardly cut a rectangle slightly smaller than the manilla from a vintage McCall's pattern. Next, I torn a square off the Dear Lizzy Magnolia Manor fabric paper. I attached a small piece of vintage lace, knotted, near the bottom of the card. I recently found a tutorial for my flower on October Afternoon blog by the wonderful Amy Heller! She is so talented and makes many unique embellishments! This flower uses only paper, punches, glue, and a button. (punches are optional if you can hand-cut). They do not take very long to assemble. I have pre-made several now in several colors to use on projects in the future!

I finished off my card with a scrabble tile from a game I bought in a thrift store for 50 cents!!! You may have noticed that this project was created using many of the left over pieces from previous projects this week. A great tip to stock piling cards to use on future holidays and occasions is: any time you create a project, while your supplies are still out, use the left over pieces to create a quick card or two! If you get yourself in this habit you will be amazed at how many cards you can add to your stash! We all love sending handmade cards, however, often times we do not have the time to create them when the occasion presents itself. By creating cards in advance and storing them it is easy to pull out what you need!!
I hope you guys enjoyed today's post and will give thrifting a shot!! Join me tomorrow for 52 Friday!!

52 Friday

Welcome back! TGIF! What a week. I didn't think I would ever make it through that hectic schedule...but here I am at the weeks end finally! Still a busy weekend working ahead of me as well as a birthday party for a friend. On the bright side, I am not having the time to ever be bored!
Today's project is going to be influenced by the Creating Keepsakes book, 52 More Scrapbooking Challenges by Elizabeth Kartchner! Each Friday I will work my way, front to back through all 52 of the challenges in the book! I would love to have you join me! The first section is all about inspiration. Challenge number one is to "Get inspired by an outfit!"
My outfit inspiration came from none other than pinterest! I find a lot of my inspiration on this site.

I really love the yellow, navy, and brown color combination in this outfit! I may even have to go on a shopping hunt for something similar! ;) These colors are excellent for the fall season. I also like the texture that the feathers add to the ensemble!
For my project I really wanted to focus on pulling this color combination. I am really digging the chevron trend going on right now so I also wanted to incorporate it somewhere in my layout. Here is the project I came up with:




1.I started my page by cutting a half an inch to two sides of a paper from the Basic Grey Basics Manilla collection. I adhered this to a kraft cardstock base.

2. Next, I cut a zig zag(chevron) pattern from my patterned papers using a ruler and marker as a guide. My patterned papers were My Minds Eye Lost and Found Everywhere Mirrors, Hambly Woodgrain, Pink Paislee Daily Junque Tabs, My Mind's Eye Lost and Found Two Rosy "Love" Blossoms Paper B side,and My Mind's Eye Lush Brown Houndstooth.

3. After adhering my chevron background, I added an October Afternoon flash book page.

4. I mat my photo with a 1/8th inch border from the yellow paper.

5. I created my yellow flower using a punch from EK Success. I love the dimension that this punch makes!! I created another layered flower from earlier this week to add to my grouping. The tan flower is by Prima. The white flower, brown leaf, and feather are all things I had laying around. The flower and leaf were pulled from fabric flower stems from hobby lobby.

6. I created my letters using old basic chipboard letters, paint and spray mists. Here is a tutorial on how to make them!! (Please excuse my subtitles, this was my first video tutorial and I wasn't quite ready to talk. ;)

Words of Wednesday

For today's word of Wednesday we are going to talk about inspiration. Inspiration can come from many different sources. I find inspiration on websites such as Pinterest, Etsy, and many blogs. A few of my favorite crafting bloggers include:
Nichol
Ali Edwards
Papertrey Ink
Lizzy K
I also find a lot of inspiration in magazines. I love finding trendy color combinations in both scrapbook magazines as well as fashion magazines. What is your favorite go to inspiration spot??
I created an inspiration notebook for me to house the inspiring things I find both on the internet as well as in magazines. I find myself flipping through the pages when I'm in a rut. I include scrapbook inspirations, home decor, as well as fashion all in one spot! I purchased a simple, cheap sketchbook at Walmart and covered the front. I used products from many different companies including American Crafts(thickers, washi tape, remarks stickers, Echo Park (back ground paper, number tag, "ME"), SEI(yellow flower), Making Memories(pink journal spot), Martha Stewart(butterfly punch), Bo Bunny(ornate frame), and spray mists from Tattered Angels and Studio Calico.





I really love how this book turned out and enjoy adding to it when I come across something!

You Betcha Sketch Tuesday!

Today I found a sketch at Fiskars This is from an older post on there blog (August 2008). I loved this design and still wanted to use it for today's project! Here is the sketch for this week:

I wanted to incorporate many of the layers into my own layout using the sonogram pictures from my brother and his fiance's second visit. I really liked the color combination that I used in yesterdays moodboard and decided to stick with that. Here is the layout I created:




I used a back ground paper from Basic Grey. I also used burlap and a vintage sewing pattern. The yellow fabric paper is by American Crafts Dear Lizzy line which happens to be on sale right now on Two peas! The rose ribbon, washi tape, and thickers are by American Crafts as well. I incorporated the same butterflies into this layout as yesterdays to keep with the theme in the album! I used my sewing machine around some of the layers in this layout. I really loved all the different textures used in this project. I hope you enjoyed today's post and will join me next time!

Moodboard Monday!

Hey everyone! Welcome to my first ever Moodboard Monday. In these posts I am going to create a moodboard using images that inspire me on the web. A lot of my images will probably come from pinterest.com since I am a complete pinning addict!!! I will then use the moodboard that I create to inspire a project for that day! Some weeks I may create a full 12x12 page or double layout, other weeks I may create a flower or accessory for my accessory business A New Deja Vu I may on occasion make a card or other small project as well. I hope you will join me each week as I get inspired and create fun projects. Be sure to leave a comment and link any projects you create!!
It is going to be a very full week this week. Every day this week I have a community service project, work or a test. I am going to try my hardest to keep up with my daily posts. For this Monday Moodboard I have pulled many pictures from pinterest. I was really loving all of the yellows and pinks that I was seeing. Here are the images I pulled for this week:





(all images can be found on Pinterest)
Last week I met my brother and his fiance for their sonogram! We discovered that they are having a girl!!!! I am very excited. I am putting together a scrapbook for them of the pregnancy and the babie's first year. I knew that this color combination would be perfect for the sonogram pictures! Here is the project I created today:




Another guilty pleasure of mine is the free montly classes on Two Peas! Last week I was catching up on my videos for last month. When I came across the 4x6 Photo Love class for September, I was very excited to give it a try. You can find a step by step video tutorial here on how I assembled my layout. Shimelle is such a talented artist. Be sure to check out her other classes this year while you are there! I used mostly products from the Echo Park line, Victoria's Garden. I love the soft, girly colors in this collection. I also combined a pink heart overlay from Hambly for my pocket.
I have decided throught the babies album I am going to incorporate music note butterflies using the Martha Stewart butterfly punch and some vintage music sheets somewhere on the page. To create a 3D effect I layered several of the punch outs together and staple them together. This allows me to lift some of the wings up from the page.
I hope you have enjoyed this weeks moodboard and will join me in creating some projects!

Surge of Inspiration

The last few days I have been spending a lot of time cruisin' around on the web, looking at different blogs and sites. In my browsing I have inherited an strong surge of inspiration. I really admire all the ladies who keep up with there blogs regularly. I find myself returning to these sites daily for my own dose of inspiration. I always think to myself, "Man, these ladies are really awesome and dedicated. I wish I could do something like that!" It never really hit me until recently...Why can't I?!?!
With my almost obvious epiphany I have decided to set myself a daily schedule for my blog. Each week day I am going to focus on one theme or topic for my creativity. I am going to make a project each of the days that follows my theme. I am going to make anything from a card on busy days to a layout or two on days that I have more time. I hope to include inspiration, tutorials, and bits of life to share with others. The tentative schedule of posts are as follows:
Monday Moodboard
You Betcha' Sketch Tuesdays
Words of Wednesday
Thrifty Thursday
Fifty-Two Friday
Each Monday I am going to create an inspiration board using images I find on Pinterest,Etsy, and the web. I will then use my inspiration board to create a project using color combos, patterns, or textures from the things I find that week!
On Tuesdays I am going to create a project based on a sketch that I either create or find on another site that I will link back to. I will try on occasion to give a few different variations of how to use the sketch in different ways!
Wednesdays I am going to draw inspiration from words. It may include a quote I find or an individual word that captures the feeling of my project.
Each Thursday is going to be about saving money. I am going to vary this day between creating your own personal embellishments for your projects, using found items on your crafty things, and raiding your stash to use up older product.
I am going to focus each Friday on working my way through Creating Keepsakes 52 More Scrapbook Challenges. Each week I will complete a new challenge in the book!

Yo Mama Loves Echo Park!!!

Many of you may not know, I am the co-owner of an online accessory boutique called A New Deja Vu. Recently I started adding little girl's tutus to our list of available products on etsy at www.anewdejavu.etsy.com.

This week I invited the girls over to have a little fun with the tutus. I let them play around the yard in the garments and took some photographs for my etsy shop. I even caught them settled down long enough for a few posed shots. When all finished I realized these pictures were just too darling to not scrapbook and who better to turn to than Echo Park Paper!! I had the opportunity to go to Scrapfest this year at the Mall of America. The Echo Park table was definitely one of my favorite! Jody and Madison are always a hoot and a lot of fun to talk to and joke around with. (I actually ended up selling one of my tutus to Jody for his little girl!) This project was also just in time for Octobers Fresh Face Designer Campaign. I thought I might give it a go.

My first project featured many papers from their A Walk in the Park line. I loved the bright cheery colors. I wanted to pull in a few other things so I combined some pieces from other collections, such as For the Record. I thought the black accents brought out the tutu from the picture.



Echo Park Products Used:
From A Walk in the Park
WP2004 PICNIC FUN (Paper)
WP2009 FLUTTER (Paper)
WP2011 PLAYFUL STRIPES (Paper)
From Dots and Stripes Metropolitan
DSM1015 ALPHA STICKERS (black title)
From For the Record
FTR12014 ElementStickers F (flourish and black border)
From Country Drive
CD16014 ELEMENT STICKERS (heart and butterfly)
CD16018 PICKETFENCE DANDELION (circle)
Other products used:
Tag(vintage)
Bingo Card(Jenni Bowlin)
White Cardstock (Bazzil)
Kraft Cardstock

My next photo featured more pinks and browns. I realized that the Life is Good collection would work perfectly!



Echo Park Products Used:
From Life is Good
LG3006 SIMPLE STRIPES (paper)
LG3007 HONEYCOMB (paper)
LG3009 BOLD STRIPES (paper)
LG3012 HAPPY BORDERS (paper)
LG3011 SET THE TABLE (paper)
LG3014 12X12 ELEMENT STICKER (flowers, border, flourish)
From Dots and Stripes Candy Shoppe
DSM2015 ALPHA STICKERS (title and subtitle)
Other Products Used:
Kraft Card stock
Border Punch (Fiskars)
fabric border strips (Pink Paislee Mistables)

I found some pictures from my recent new haircut that had been waiting to be scrapped. I love the color combinations in the For the Record collection and knew it would be perfect! I made this into a 2 page layout.




Echo Park Products Used:
From For the Record
FTR12006 Fabric Store (paper)
FTR12007 Vintage Linen (paper)
FTR12005 Advertisement (paper)
FTR12010 Apron Strings (paper)
FTR12014 ElementStickers F (flowers, border, title)
FTR12015 AlphaStickers F (label and border)
FTR12013 Noteworthy (journal card)
Other Products used:
Kraft Cardstock
White cardstock (bazzil)
washi tapes (7 gypsies and SMASH by K and Company)
paints (making memories)

In order to get the splattered paint look on my page that mimics spray inks:
1)mix dime size amount of paint with a couple drops of water
2)load end of paint brush and flick towards page
It's that easy! Be sure to cover photos before flicking and cover work service. Paint drops can be slightly controlled but overall are unpredictable.

While I had my supplies out I decided to make one more project for my craft room.



Echo Park Supplies used:
From For the Record
FTR12007 Vintage Linen (paper)
FTR12014 ElementStickers F (bird and flower)
From Dots and Stripes Metropolitan
DSM1015 ALPHA STICKERS (title)
From A Walk in the Park
WP2005 SUNSHINE (cloud)
Other Products used:
Kraft and White cardstock (Bazzil)

I love the versatility of the Echo Park lines! I know I will be soon collecting more and using them frequently in the future!

Etsy Update!!!

I am so excited to announce that the online etsy shop for A New Deja Vu, the accessory company I co-founded, is now open! We are still in the process of getting our product listed. There is more information on the A New Deja Vu blog at www.anewdejavu.blogspot.com. The shop can be found at anewdejavu.etsy.com. Here is a sneak peak at some of the super fabulous accessories we are offering! Be sure to check the shop frequently as more products become available!

A New Deja Vu

It has been awhile since I have last posted something. This is due to my hectic schedule. I have been working a lot, back in classes, and working on a new project. My mother, myself, and our friend Kellie have started up a new small business called A New Deja Vu! We are handmaking hair accessories and flowers. We have started selling our creations in 2 local salons and hope to get them up on etsy in the next week or so!!! I am so excited at what we have done so far! Be sure to check out our blog for new products and ideas coming soon! www.anewdejavu.blogspot.com

Scrapbook Room

I just added some more touches to my scrapbook room. It is almost complete. Still have to finish the curtains and hang some pictures on one wall. Also need to get my ribbons reorganized. Still deciding how I am going to do that. Let me know any ideas that work for you!

This is my newest addition. I plan to organize ribbons in the drawer.

I use a cheap bookcase for magazines and books.



I store my stamps in an old cabinet I repainted and destressed from my Grandma. My pens stay in this cheap tool organizer from a flea market. The bins on the wall hold letter stickers. I keep tools in the canvas magazine rack from IKEA.


I repainted our entertainment center to store boxes of supplies and fabric. I keep my die cuts in the cabinets.

I am still finishing up my new curtains.

The IKEA expedit shelf holds soo many supplies.

I also purchased my desk in the middle from IKEA and the cubes from Target.

The cubes hold stickers, rubons, flowers, and other supplies.



I keep my Cricut and Sizzix on a garage sale find rolling cart to be able to move them around easily.