Monday Moodboard

I had a bit of a busy end to last week. I am not so patiently waiting the arrival of my first niece...any day now! Along with the anticipation from that, I had to help get ready for a baby shower for my cousin. It seems like everyone around me is expecting little ones! :) I missed last Friday's post for 52 Friday, a post where I follow through Elizabeth Kartchner's book with Creating Keepsakes, 52 More Scrapbooking Challenges. However, following another one of my 2012 resolutions not to stress I am going to try not to beat myself up over it.

It actually put me on track for the year with the book. Last fall when I started posting daily inspiration and projects I began with week one. This Friday will be the second week in 2012 so we will begin with week 2's challenge!

For today's Monday Moodboard I have pulled several images from Pinterest to get inspired by. I really like the geometric pattern I have been seeing all over. Here is the moodboard I have created:



(This mosaic was created using this flickr mosaic maker).

I recently stumbled across a background design in my Silhouette Studio store that was the same pattern as the geometric design in the moodboard! I decided to create my own background by cutting this pattern out of white cardstock and adhering it to a piece of kraft cardstock. I really liked the mix of white, kraft, and teal in the moodboard as well. I decided to use this color combination for my layout. These colors were also used in a previous post last week with pictures from the annual float trip last year. I still had some photos from this event so decided to create another layout to correspond with the first. Here is the layout I created:

Supplies Used:
kraft, brown, and white cardstock
Silhouette Cameo
Yellow embossed cardstock (Bazzil)
Yellow polka dot PP (My Minds Eye)
vintage book paper
felt flower ribbon (Creative Cafe)
"Summer" & "2011" (Studio Calico)
"fun" (American Crafts)

I hope you were inspired by this weeks Moodboard and will use it create your next project. There are many different companies that have patterned papers in this design on the market now! Use one of those or create your own like I did.

Technique Thursday

Hey guys I decided to switch it up a bit from last fall for the Thursday post. For 2012 I decided I would do a technique Thursday. There are many great techniques using tools and products in different ways that I also think "Oh! I want to try that" but then never get around to it. I decided to inspire me to finally get to it, I would dedicate a day for it!

One tool that I bought awhile back was the Martha Stewart scoring board. I just knew that this product was going to be my go to tool on my pages and cards. In reality I tend to forget about pulling it out when I am creating. Oh but not today!

This tool can be used for more things than just the ordinary creasing cards and envelopes. For this layout, I used the scoring board to create these darling flowers! I also used the tool to create an accordion insert for additional pictures! Here is the project I created:

Supplies Used:
Kraft, brown, and pink cardstock
Basic Grey Manila patterned paper
Vintage music sheet
fiskars punches (sm. heart, circle)
Martha Stewart butterfly punch
Marvy Uchida XL heart punch
Martha Stewart scoring board
Cuttlebug houndstooth embossing folder
small letter stickers("open") by Echo Park
Echo Park pattern paper(pink plaid)
pink polka dot paper by unknown? old from stash possibly DCWV
silhouette die cutting machine
bakers twine
vintage lace

I hope you have been inspired to create something using your scoring board!

Words of Wednesday!

For today's Words of Wednesday post I am going to focus on mixed material titles. A big trend right now is making a title that covers a large portion of your page using different materials and colors. I really love the interest and texture this creates so I decided to give it a try! Here is the LO I created using this technique:

I challenge you to create a LO or project of some kind using a large mixed material title.
Supplies used:
Kraft cardstock(staple in my scrapbooking)
Woodgrain PP by Hambly(cut in Chevron pattern)
Script PP by Basic Grey(cut in Chevron pattern)
"We" "A" letters by Darice
"Enjoying" by American Crafts
"Lazy" by American Crafts
"Day" by Studio Calico
"on" by American Crafts
"the"by American Crafts
"water" paper by Echo Park cut with silhouette
heart paper by My Minds Eye cut with Marvy Uchida XL punch
Washi tape by American Crafts

You Betcha Sketch Tuesday!

Sketches are always a great starting place when I am having trouble feeling crafty and inspired! They are so versatile! Many times my end project looks nothing like the sketch I started with, other times it is clearly similar. For today, I pulled a sketch from Studio Calico to start me off. Here is the sketch:

As you can see from my final project, I stuck pretty closely to the sketches layout. I really liked the design from this one and wanted to keep the main setup. Here is the LO I created about my 2012 resolutions:

Most of the supplies I used came from the Echo Park Happy Days collection. I also added in some American Crafts Thickers and Martha Stewart glitter for my title.

I hope you were inspired by today's project and sketch and decide to join in on the fun!

Moodboard Monday!

Hello new year! I started my daily blog posts last October with good intentions. I was off to a good start the first week, but as most of my crafty ideas go, life became busier than I could keep up with. I decided after several failed attempts to try and get back into it I would wait until after the holidays and my mom recovered from surgery and restart with a clean slate in January and give it another go. I am going to change up a few daily topics from last fall and keep the others.

We are going to start the week off with Moodboard Mondays again! Like many other crafters, I am inspired from many things around me. I like finding a photo or group of photos that spark my interest to challenge me for my projects.

This Monday, I have found many things to guide my crafting. I hope you will join me in creating something inspired from this moodboard.

Images from Pinterest
From this moodboard I was really drawn to the color combination of red, yellow, and brown. These colors had a very outdoorsy feel to me which worked great for the photos I had from my family's annual float trip last summer. Here is the LO I created!


For this project I used a wide assortment of label stickers and journaling and accent squares from many different manufactures to copy the graphic "collagey" feel from the first picture in the moodboard. I hope you enjoyed today's project and are inspired to create one of your own.

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. ;)