Thursday, October 13, 2011

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!!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

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!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

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!

Monday, October 10, 2011

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!

Sunday, October 2, 2011

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!