More Paper Please

Come take a Look and Win Elle's Studio!!!!

2012-01-08T16:15:00.000-08:00

It's Make it Sunday over on the Elle's Studio blog! I was very excited to have the chance to work with Elle again, she is a fabulous graphic designer and really knows how too capture current design trends. yet create timeless journaling spots. I was on the Elle's Studio design team a couple of years ago and I really loved working with the products, I still use them as a staple in my lay outs and projects. For those of you working on Project Life, Elle's Studio has tons of unique journaling cards that were created with you in mind.

If you leave a comment over at the Elle's Studio blog, you will have a chance to win a pack of everything I used on my lay out! Click HERE to leave a comment at Elle's Studio.

Pretty Awesome Shopping News Folks

2011-12-22T08:44:00.001-08:00

Are you having a wonderful December? I have been savoring each day of this winter vacation. My girls are behaving and we are really loving this time we get to spend together. I had the chance to craft with some pretty vintage paper from Riddersholm Design, they are from Denmark and this week May Arts teamed up with them on the blog, click over to see more projects!

Now for great news. You can now purchase the entire line of May Arts Ribbons by the spool from Amazon! And at fabulous prices.
Raise your hand if you love these May Arts Jute strings? They are fine enough to thread a large needle, you have seen this string on every other project I make and it is less than $10 for a spool of 400 yards people! For the natural burlap string click HERE and the chocolate brown, click HERE.
Best of all, free shipping when you spend $25 or more. By the way, I am addicted to Amazon.

Shutterfly Cards

2011-11-24T22:00:00.000-08:00

Picking pumpkins with Emma, age 5

The winners for the free card codes are Bripolo 12, Jen (Shears), and Rhonda Miller! Please email me at samandsib @ hotmail. com for your codes.

Finding Time

2011-11-13T20:05:00.000-08:00

I have been scrapping again. For a little bit there I was struggling with when will I ever have time for this hobby that I love? But you know what? I found it. I found it on Saturday morning, the girls get me up at the break of dawn anyway and they like to sit around in pj's and a) color

b) mess around with play dough

c) watch cartoons and eat waffles

So I have found a little bit of time to get creative without forcing myself to stay up past ummm 10 PM.

A sweet gal that I know invited me to a crop this past Friday and at the last minute I was freed up and able to go...but then I thought, the crop is until midnight! What will I do without my sleep? So I didn't go..Boo to me. Makes me feel old!

This woodgrain paper is pretty awesome. Glad I have 2 sheets of it. It is from the Crate Paper Christmas line and yeah, it is fantastic. All my scrappin is from photos of the summer still! One of the "Momma, I'm bored" projects with Emma Jane. I grabbed some felt, cut, pinned it and handed her a needle and thread. So let me tell you something that was very not smart of me. I threaded her large-ish needle with crochet thread. I thought it would be smart to use this thick thread so that she could easily see her stitches. And since it was so thick, I needed to leave the thread only pulled through a bit and not doubled over and knotted. So, I don't know every three to four minutes, her thread would come out of the needle and I would have to thread that thick string thru the eye again. And I never got smart about it! Til she was finished of course!!!

That cute journaling tag is from Shabby Chic Crafts, but I think the company is now Chic tags? Anyway, love em.

Anyone have the Canon EOS T3? I have ben reading good reviews and that it is a simple camera to use, I am interested in the simple! Don't have time for classes. Let me know if you have one, I would love to hear a mom/scrapper's/blogger's ideas on it.

xxooox

Not Gonna Do It...

2011-11-10T19:09:00.000-08:00

I made the very early decision last spring that this would be the first year in 11 years for me to purchase our Christmas cards. Knowing that I would be back at work full time and coming home everyday to two beautiful and active girls, I knew that there would be no time to bang out 85 homemade cards complete with a picture of my elves. Shutterfly to the rescue! I must admit that I have been loving their graphic designs these past few years and I really like the clean look of a photo card. Besides that, I am excited about not having to pay extra postage for the first time in years, my homemade cards are usually bulky creations.

So far I don't have one great pic of the girls together. And I am disappointed about this. Thank goodness Shutterfly has many different options for one, two or more photos per card. I have a cute picture of each girl we recently took at our mini vacation to the beach. Here is one of my choices HERE. Now deep down I would prefer just one great photo of the two of them, in fact I prefer the card choices that are for just one pic. One of my favorites for a single picture is this ONE . Love the whimsy of it, don't you? You have to admit, Photo cards have come a long way over the years and the designs available make it hard to choose! I am going to try one more photo session, for the perfect Christmas photo. I will have to get my bribes in order, any suggestions?

See any cards that you would like? Leave me a comment by Wednesday, November 16 at midnight Pacific and I will pick three winners ...winners will get a code for 25 free Shutterfly Cards!!!! offer code will expire on December 31, 2011

Christmas cards http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-cards
greeting cards http://www.shutterfly.com/greetings/index.jsp
holiday gifts http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-gifts
holiday cards http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards
photo books http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-books
Christmas photo cards http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery

Catching Up~

2011-11-07T19:02:00.000-08:00

Epiphany Crafts is blogging these days! Indeed, if you are looking for a ton of fun ideas for your Epiphany Crafts tools, you will want to check it out. I have seen jewelry ideas, cards, a cute Christmas card holder and a fun craft for older kids (owl tic tac toe). I used my much loved Epiphany Crafts Round 14 Epoxy tool. It was my very first EC tool and I still use it all the time. Can't go wrong with circles can you?

I took these photos mid summer at the Del Mar Races Family Day. We loved it, the girls got a free horse Webkin, there were pony rides, face painting and a fun place to make your own Derby Hat ( as seen on the model above). I would definitely go again next year.

Can't go wrong with pictures of a grandad and his youngest grandchild. Love taking pics of Lily and my father in law.

I broke my sewing machine. Thought I would fix a little hole in a new pair of pants and somehow, the metal button snap thingy on the pants snuck its way under my needle and well, it didn't end very well. I hope to take it in soon to my local shop but....the owner, he always laughs at me and tells me to get a real machine! He doesn't care for my $125 Brother that I picked up at Costco in 2003.
Still teaching. I have moved schools and I am now teaching second grade to inner city students. I am so tired all the time! I love the curriculum, seems so interesting compared to kindergarten! I like my grade level team, in fact I might even say that I adore them and that is very important to me since I enjoy collaborating. I have never used so much technology....I wear a microphone to teach and my voice comes out in surround sound....I finally have my own document camera and laptop, that makes teaching easier for sure. Oh and get this, in a few weeks this school will be air conditioned.....um that is a big deal friends. BIG. I am the biggest heat wimp around...everyone knows that. I dislike all the warm weather in San Diego...

And 99% of my school district is not air conditioned. It's true! So if it is 100 degrees out, well the policy is to turn off your class lights, keep the students indoors and drink lots of water. There is no such thing as a heat day...there are no days off for extra hot weather, it is an urban legend!

So Sammy is super happy about the AC.

It's a Good Thing

2011-09-25T21:27:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to lie, I love the tools from Epiphany Crafts. If you want to pick up the STAR, SCALLOP CIRCLE or SQUARE, then now is the time to it. They are available on line right now from HSN and they are a great deal. If you want to see the tools in action, Brian Fogg, the owner of EC will be presenting tonight at midnight and again tomorrow at 7 pm Pacific time. Click HERE to get to HSN!

Scallops Too!

2011-09-20T21:36:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have the HSN information for you. This card was made with the brand new Epiphany Crafts Scallop Circle Shape Studio. This tool, the new square and the fabulous new star will be available for purchase on Monday, Sept. 26 at 6 AM and early Tuesday morning at 1 AM. The past two shows have sold out of items quite quickly. Here is a link to the items online, perhaps they will be available for purchase ahead of time....I am not sure.
I made the ruffle from a fabric scrap and the pretty twine is from May Arts, of course! All the paper is October Afternoon. If you pick up a few tools from HSN, let me know!

Post Number Four Hundred

2011-09-18T08:04:00.000-07:00

Stars I tell ya! Epiphany Crafts has created my favorite shape this time around. The star. It is a lovely star, the perfect size and I adore it. I had been wishing for this one to be manufactured and here she is!! This photo is Emma and her dad getting a haircut, in fact it was Emma's very first haircut and we took her to a fun little place called Pigtails and Crewcuts. They do parents as well. I love that girl's hair and wasn't sure about getting a trim for her, but they took her pretty hair and with about 7 minutes of trimming they made it gorgeous.
Close up of the fabulous stars. I made a mistake with this lay out. The top right corner with the red scrap of paper left over from punching stars. Underneath that scrap is my mistake, wish I had a photo to show you. I tried to do a few random lines of machine stitching and it just looked awful. Bad. And I fretted because the lay out was done, all was glued and I liked it before my mistake. So, the scrap was added and I am okay with it. You know how it goes.

This Epipany Crafts Shape Studio Star WILL be one of the shapes available on HSN (Home Shopping Network) later this month, in fact I think the show will be on in a week, next weekend. I will find out the details and post here and Facebook. If you have not already "friended" Epiphany Crafts on Facebook, do so now! You will have the latest product updates and there are often giveaways of these wonderful tools.
School Update...

This past Friday was a crucial day for all schools in the district, enrollment will be closely looked at and school reorganizations will soon be taking place. There is a ratio of teachers to students that they will stick to and move students and teachers as needed. I am pretty sure that primary grades will be organized at my site. This will look like closing my kinder class and moving me. There is a sub in a fifth grade class, so there is a very big chance that I will be replacing her. I would replace her before the district moves me to another school.

hope you have had a beautiful and productive weekend.

i have missed the crafty world for the past few weeks.

I am hoping to find some balance.

xoxox S

Squares, Scallops and Stars..Oh My!

2011-09-12T20:48:00.000-07:00

Epiphany Crafts has been hard at work. There are three brand new epoxy tools being released this month and you are going to love them! Today I have an 8.5x11 lay out featuring the square epoxy Shape Studio and I love it.. There are also silver charms that coordinate with this size, you can make jewelry charms or just add them to your pages. This tool and the other 2 new shapes are going to be featured on HSN this month! As soon as I know the ate and time I will post it here. You can also keep up to date with Epiphany Crafts by finding them on Facebook.
I used my favorite Sassafras alpha stickers and just applied them to white cardstock and then used my new Square Shape Studio tool to punch them out with the epoxies.
I have beyond crazy busy with teaching! For now I have been assigned a kindergarten class. I am on the same school schedule as my children so we will have the summer off together and that was most important to me. I will know by the end of the month if this is the class and school that I will stay in. The district has a formula for how many teachers per students at schools and currently we do not have enough primary students enrolled to keep me on staff. I do have a job, I am contracted and protected and will not lose my job, it's just a matter of where I will end up. In the meantime, my kinder class is looking sparse! I am not buying anything until I know where I will end up! I would hate to spend a bunch of money and find out on Oct. 1st that i will be teaching third grade across town. I did spend $30 on colored duct tape. I just had to tape out some rows on my awful gray carpet that the kids sit on. There was no order...they were just sitting anywhere and everywhere...I couldn't take it!

Good news, this is a wonderful class. They still need a ton of training by me, but underneath their squirmy talkative touch everyone and everything bodies, there is a respectful class that is smart and very capable.

Time to Say Goodbye

2011-08-30T09:30:00.000-07:00

This is it, my very last Pebbles post. My two years of being on their design team has come to an end. I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to work with the wonderful people at Pebbles. It really was a fun experience. Pebbles was one of the first manufacturers to give me a chance and I will always be grateful for that. Making chevrons was a little tricky for me, you can find the tutorial I made over at the Pebbles Blog right HERE.
Today is also my very last day of being a stay at home mom. (heavy heart). I will return to teaching tomorrow. I got a letter from my district yesterday stating that I should be prepared to answer the phone between 8 AM and 9 PM today. They will be trying to reach all unassigned teachers. It would definitely be nice to know where to report tomorrow!

I will not whine about returning to work. But gosh I am sad. If only the economy hadn't plummeted... but, I am grateful to have a job to return to....

I will keep you posted!

17 Years Ago

2011-08-27T12:37:00.000-07:00

17 years ago I was recruited to teach swim lessons and life guard at a summer camp in the Poconos, sounded like a fun summer job. Well the girls in the cabin I bunked in were nightmares, I think they were nine year olds. The counselor or their chaperone that also slept in my bunk left after a few weeks of camp, she couldn't handle them. Luckily for me I wasn't with the girls during the day since I was down by the lake...but at night.....

Alison was in the cabin next to mine, we shared a wall. She was recruited from England to coach track. She had 9 year olds too, and they were angels, really.

17 years later she is still a dear friend of mine. We don't see each other as often as we would like but she is often in my thoughts. Happy Birthday Ali!

A Few More...

2011-08-24T18:53:00.000-07:00

Easter pics of my favorite girls. Almost done scrapping them...I think! played around with some punched out butterflies. I like the way a lot of scrapbookers are using multiple punches to create a dimensional element. Sure, it will smoosh down in a page protector, but it's fun while it lasts and I am all about the fun!
I've been experimenting with circles, I always struggle with them and I love the way others use them so I keep trying.

Did you know that Epiphany Crafts has created STAR shape? I don't have one in my hands YET, but i have a feeling that this might be the BEST TOOL EVER! And it's going to be on HSN in September! I will hopefully have this baby by late next week!

Speaking of next week, seven more days until I return to work! Still no assignment. The girls started school this week. They both are very happy and love school. I lost it when I dropped Lily off. Way too many tears from me. It's hard to drop off my baby!

30 Minutes or Less, Can You Do It?

2011-08-18T20:05:00.000-07:00

Over on the Pebbles blog, there are regularly scheduled themes like ''Dear Pebbles''-features cards and ''Product Parade''-features one particular product . This week I participated in ''Whip it Up''. We were asked to complete a project with our Pebbles products in 30 minutes or less. And yes, this is a challenge for me. I would say that a lay out takes me about an hour to complete. My strategy for this challenge was to use an old lay out of mine and just copy it! So I got out a couple of albums and looked for one I liked and that would work well with two photos. That was it, I picked out a few papers and just copied my lay out. The flags were a last minute addition.
When I am home visiting my parents, we always make time for a trip to Avila Beach. I love it there, it's a small sleepy beach town and the home of The Custom House, a fave restaurant of mine. I even bumped into a San Diego friend while I was having lunch there on this particular day. Small world isn't it.

Scrapping On the Go

2011-08-15T08:01:00.000-07:00

Whenever I go out of town I like to bring a little scrapping along with me, you know , just in case! I went home to my parent's a few weeks ago and I brought along a couple of Studio Calico kits...I tend to pull supplies from several kits at a time, I think I used March-June for these layouts.
When the girls went to sleep or when they were busy in my mom's art studio, I got cracking on these. I didn't bring any photos with me so I looked through pictures from my childhood. In fourth grade my mom and I traveled to Taiwan together. It was my first time and I finally was able to meet my many aunts and uncles along with a long visit with my grandparents. I am very grateful for that experience.

Oops, ot of order, I took my Instax along and snapped a few of Emma And Lily, showing off new school clothes. Plaid dresses from Osh Kosh, they are a bit old fashioned and I love them for it. perfect for hot days now and with tights and a long sleeve tee they will work through our short winter.

I still want to add journaling this one, reflecting on this trip so long ago. I might do it right on the Smash pocket or add it to the pile behind the photo and have it be a pull out.
Last week of summer for us over here. We are going to try to pack in a ton of activities. The girls begin school next week and I begin in two weeks. I still haven't received an assignment. But really , I wasn't expecting one. The district has gone through a lot of changes and it's no surprise that they are unsure of where I should go. They recalled 100 teachers a few weeks ago, so they will return to their previous positions, what a relief to quite a few of my friends.

Right now, I have been praying for a position in a traditional schedule school, it would be so helpful to on the same schedule as my children. A year round schedule would really be a burden for us.

I am calm and know that there is a plan.

I signed up for the free workshop over at Big Picture Classes, did you?

The Great Raccoon Rescue of 2011

2011-08-09T22:05:00.000-07:00

Took my girls to the tide pools today, I have lived here since 1993 and I have never been to the tide pools at Cabrillo National Park in Point Loma...shameful. Couldn't get them to look or really smile for the camera, even though I was threatening to never bring them back unless they smiled and looked at momma's camera. NOPE.
We explored, checked out the sea life, picked up a few sea snails. But all the excitement was right here, the cliffs right next to the tide pools.
You see, 2 raccoon youths managed to come down the cliffs and gt themselves stuck down on the rocks during low tide and high tide was back on its way.
So a few park rangers quickly organized a rescue effort, a raccoon rescue that is. This ranger went down , very close to the animals and clapped his hand and a made a big ruckus...trying to scare them up the cliff. They tried, but were obviously in distress, I could her them crying and chattering from up where I was observing.

Look at his cute mask!

This is my point of view, where I was standing.

Things started to click with the furry rascals and they began to make their way up the steep climb.
There was a quiet cheer from the onlookers as the first one emerged.
They both came up, but seem kind of confused with all the people around, so the ranger had everyone move back.
And it was a happy ending for everyone involved. These two were well on their way back to their home and momma.

Friends

2011-08-08T09:51:00.000-07:00

I made this little card a while back, as I have mentioned before, I love the look of prize ribbons, I would love to have a collection of them...someday. Friendship has been on my mind lately. It was my my high school reunion this past weekend and I missed it. I am not full of regret, I went to a big birthday bash with all of our friends...but I have been feeling nostalgic lately. It is crazy how quickly the time passes!

This card was made from 2 Studio Calico rub ons, my vintage typewriter and a Jenni Bowlin prize ribbon.

Cream and Sugar

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

Remember my coffee spill? I spilled an entire cup of coffee across my stack of beautiful American Crafts papers. :-( I rinsed them off in the sink( thank goodness they are so thick and durable) and I hung them out on my clothesline. They ended up pretty wrinkled and there was a little discoloration ~coffee stains, but I managed to make 2 lay outs! I used an array of punches here and hand cut the flags.

Friendship Week at Pebbles and a Fabulous Giveaway!

2011-07-23T22:33:00.000-07:00

Over on the Pebbles blog, we celebrated friendship, with cards, lay outs and mini albums. I would love for you to check out the amazing projects. While you are there, leave a comment on this POST,( Pebbles blog) the winner will win the Pebbles line of their choice!! This giveaway will close Monday, July 26 at 9 pm pacific time.
I made two cards for this theme, both with my new favorite, Floral Lane. I love the bright colors and clean patterns. Love! For this card I hand cut a few doilies and popped them up.
Have you checked out the new Pebbles Dots that are mini self adhesive buttons? I adore these.

I used the Martha Stewart embossed button punch for the polka dot button on this card. I think this punch is totally under rated, I think it is a great basic.
There is one more week to get your application in to Pebbles Inc.

They are having their design team call! This is a great company to work with and I have really loved my 2 years with them. Just do it!!!

Papercrafts Magazine

2011-07-20T09:10:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to have this simple card published in the current Papercrafts magazine. All the dies are Spellbinders and I covered the butterfly in glitter. I was lucky with this magazine call, I only sent in this one card and it got picked up! I have sent in about 20 other cards since then with no luck!

Right now I have about 8 sheets of 12x12 patterned paper hanging on my clothesline. I spilled a cup of coffee on them! So I rinsed them off since they were already wet and now I hope I can salvage a little from them. I am thinking they might still be ok to use with my butterfly punches. Fingers crossed.

I tried to be like Amy Tan...

2011-07-18T08:25:00.000-07:00

A very dear friend of mine had a sweet baby about 7 weeks ago and to celebrate his birth, I made him a couple of shirts. I wanted to try out a reverse embroidery technique, like Amy Tan, you know, first cut the image away from the tee shirt, back the the cut out hole with a coordinating fabric and last stitch around the hole( negative image). I did this with the shirt above that bears his name. Oh my gosh!!! I am not sure I will ever do this again! I have to say that was some hard work. I think I started that shirt thinking it would take me an hour and I think it took me close to 3 hours to complete and my fingers, oh dear my fingers were so tender, aching the next day...at the shower. I LOVE how it turned out, but next time I want that look, I think I will buy it from the expert! The second shirt I made, new, was waaaaay easier. I used the iron on backing for the Slice, cut the letters with my Slice, ironed them on and stitched around. This one was done much faster.

I do love making things for this friend, I know she gets it, knows that I put my heart into the projects that I make....i should add that I have quite a few friends that are very appreciative....they read this blog. :-)

Milk and a Jelly Donut

2011-07-15T09:28:00.000-07:00

click on photo, so you can see it!

Double lay outs are not easy for me to photogragh. They always come out wonky. Any tips would be welcome! Lily had her first visit to a donut shop on my birthday. We were supposed to go to the DMV, my license expired on that day, but when we drove into the parking lot and I saw the line wrapped around the building ten minutes prior to opening, I knew that wasn't going to work so we left and got donuts instead! I ended up making an appt. online and went in a week later. A little late.
I used the white Mr Huey mist from Studio Calico here, it reminds me of milk splashes. I love this product, it goes on like paint. I also used a doiley stamp set from SC.
I added a few cross stitches here and there to add to the homespun feel of this lay out.
One favorite thing (technique) that I always love on other scrapper's lay outs is when the title is a combo of fonts. So I used my fave Doodlebug loopy alphas and American Crafts Foam Thickers. Foam is my most favorite from the thickers, they are repositional and they don't fall off. I wonder if Doodlebug still makes the loopy letters? I was sad to see that Studio Calico did not continue the Addy Stickers that are near and dear to me. No new colors.

First One

2011-07-12T20:12:00.000-07:00

This is my very first project for We R Memory Keepers! I recently joined their first design team and I am very excited to be working with them. I love the colors and graphics of this line, Friends Furever and the paper is a perfect match for me and my new puppy!
We R MK has a ton of embellishments to choose from with each line they put out, they give you plenty of choices. I stamped the woof woof in grey ink (by the way that stamp comes with a dog and is 99 cents at 2 Peas). This was my very first try with the We R Memory Keepers Sew Easy and I loved it, I would never attempt that loop de loop on my own, but the tool made it easy, quick and fun.

*this is a sweet little photo of Beau, his first day with us.

Weekend Getaway

2011-07-11T09:57:00.000-07:00

We escaped this weekend. We left San Diego for a quick little trip up to Riverside...
If you aren't familiar with Riverside, well it is not a destination spot. In fact our friends kind of laughed when they heard about our mini vacay. I did have my reasons. A month or so ago while blog surfing, I came upon a blog post about a retreat sponsored by Pink Paislee and the blogger posted tons of photos from the most amazing looking hotel. I have no idea what blog I was reading, sorry. So I decided to investigate and I decided that I needed to go to this hotel and stay there. My husband was expecting me to plan a weekend somewhere, like Palm Springs, but I switched things up a little bit and Riverside is less than 2 hours away.
The Mission Inn and Spa in Riverside is a National Historic Hotel and it is a sight to see. I think I read that Richard Nixon had his wedding reception there. It was modeled after the Missions in California and it reminded me of the beautiful Hearst Castle in San Simeon. The architecture is unique and gorgeous.
Casey's Cupcakes is in the building and we had to go splurge. My husband was confused about the $25 bill at the cupcake store....

but look at the cute bag!

If you click on the photo it will enlarge. I added notes to this one. The S'mores cupcake had melted marshmallow on the inside.

Delish!

there were so many beautiful spots to take photos...too bad my girls weren't interested.

Finishing the cupcakes on the fourth floor.

3 days of swimming at the pool.

The view from our room's door.

We loved it. We stayed in the hotel the entire time, they have quite a few restaurants to choose from and we relaxed by the pool. It was exactly what we needed.

Stars and Stripes Week

2011-07-06T09:49:00.001-07:00

It's Stars and Stripes Week over at Pebbles, please check out the blog for great ways to use your paper with a stars and stripes theme. Emma participated in Field Day with her preschool. She loved it. We have some old pillowcases laying around and the girls love having sack races in the back yard. Sooo, Emma was a ringer when it came to the potato sack race on Field Day!

For the hand stitched banner, i used the We R Memory Keepers Sew Easy tool with the Banner head. Have you tried this tool out? I love it and it really is a time saver.
Pebbles has a preview of their new lines up right HERE, looks fabulous to me. They are also having a give away of the collection if you leave a comment on that post. If you have ever been interested in joining a design team, Pebbles is having a a call right now. I have loved working with this company for the last two years and they just keep getting better and better. Go for it!! if you have any questions about being on this design team, let me know.

xoxoxo

Samantha

Is it Really July 1st?

2011-07-01T08:22:00.000-07:00

Are you scratching your head, wondering where June went? I really can't believe how quickly it flew by. Makes me sad. I was a a scrappin fool this past weekend. I went on my very first scrap retreat, 2 nights and 3 days of uninterrupted fun. My husband called it Scrapapalooza anytime he referred to it. I went along with a dear friend that I met when I was teaching preschool a long time ago. My friend that invited us, Kay, I met at a friend's house, Kay was the demonstrator for DOTS (now Close to my Heart) . Back in the day, we used to meet every other month with Kay and she would show us new products and stamping techniques. I was a very simple cardmaker so I would always ask Kay to just make my card for me, I couldn't focus on too much coloring or technique! Let's just say she totally laughs at me these days.
I made 8 lay outs and 5 cards, not too shabby for me. My freind Anne? Umm she made 66 layouts and finished off 3 rolls of adhesive for her Scotch ATG. Takes me 3 weeks to finish off one of those rolls!!!!! The lo above is something new for me, no pics of people, but of a few of my fave things that I had photos of on my iphone.
This is my BFF's middle son, he is a gorgeous blonde haired, blue eyed boy. When we visitied them in Hawaii, he showed us how to make his favorite waffles. He did not hold back on the butter. I had fun scrappin this page and I did something new for me. When I scrap multiple photos, I keep them touching each other or else very close. In this lo I separated the 2 from the one, with a space between...do you see what I mean?
Have a beautiful and long weekend friends!

xoxooxox

Samantha

Did You Know...

2011-06-24T08:48:00.000-07:00

that the Pebbles Inc. blog is updated every single day Monday-Friday? Sometimes Saturday too. Did you know that many times a month, fabulous prizes are given away to readers who leave a comment? Danielle Flanders is today's guest designer and there is a giveaway as a bonus! Click HERE.
This past week had a Summer theme and I created this lay out of Emma. She is wearing my most favorite dress and we were in one of my most favorite places, Coronado. Lots of circles and that fabulous punch from Martha!
May Arts partnered up this week with Petaloo and I created a few gift tags right HERE.

By the way, did you know that May Arts is also extremely generous with their giveaways? Go ahead and LIKE May Arts on Face Book and follow the May Arts Blog, you could be the next winner of whole spools of the ribbons of your choice.

Have a beautiful weekend. xoxoxo

Last One

2011-06-23T09:20:00.000-07:00

This is the last of my June gallery for Freehand Scraps and my last month with this wonderful kit club. I really think the owner Elaine knows how to put together a fun kit that is budget friendly and truly lovely to work with. Freehand Scraps is looking for a few monthly guest artists! This could be you and I promise you will love her kits! All the information can be found right HERE.
I misted the alphas from the kit to make them stand out a little more. These photos of Emma are from our spring trip to Hawaii. Miss it already!
When editing these photos I cropped out some of Emma, I don't know some of the shots reminded me of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. Ok, I guess that is weird.

Have you had an Epiphany?

2011-06-20T10:01:00.000-07:00

HSN coupon!! Right Here ! You can use it to get your Epiphany Crafts Oval Shape Studio for 15% off! That is a heck of a deal!

Still playing with the oval epoxy Shape Studio from Epiphany CRafts. Last time I checked, HSN still had the circle shape with 2 refills for a fantastic price...

Mr Beau Jangles....almost 10 months old and almost 100lbs. He is one BIG puppy.

Dad's Day

2011-06-19T08:53:00.000-07:00

It's Father's Day.................

and somehow my husband has slipped out the door and gone golfing. Hmm. Actually we went ahead and celebrated the day yesterday. The morning began with haircuts. Both dad and Lily got haircuts at Pigtails and Crew Cuts in Point Loma. Yep, they do adult cuts too! I noticed after poking around on their website that this is the most expensive Pigtails and Crewcuts in the country. For example a kids cut in Springfield, Missouri is $14 and here it is $20. But I suppose that makes sense...can't you get a house in Missouri for $150,00 and here that house would be half a million.

The card above was sent to my dear dad, made with love and Pebbles Inc. :-). I love the card, but the whole yellow/grey thing did not photograph well for me and I was disappointed with that.
Part of Emma's preschool curriculum was learning sight words. It was self paced and honestly I didn't push it. I think it is fine that it was a part of her class and we casually worked on it at home. She has plenty of time next year in kindergarten to get these under her belt. I pulled this list out of our puppy's mouth.

I am returning to teaching full time. Word on the street is that there will be 30 kids per class in the lower grades. The 8 years that I taught kindergarten, I had 20 students from 8 AM to 2:45 PM. Never any aides or parent volunteers! Umm...I really hope I get a first or second grade class! Not kinder!!!

Have a great day! Gotta call my pops.

Reminder

2011-06-14T13:02:00.000-07:00

To set your clocks, DVR, TIVO...

Wednesday, June 15 (tomorrow)

HSN 8AM and 3PM Pacific

**Epiphany Crafts**

I suppose this is a reminder to myself as well, since I will be dropping one of the littles off at school.
This lo features the brand new Shape Studio Oval!! There is also a new square that I have not yet had my hands on.
The lay out below is one that was featured on the last HSN show, it got a lot of screen time, I showed the taping to my husband and he had a good belly laugh.
And there is still a marker ban in this house. 2 months ago I bought the other one a $1 marker and coloring sheet from Target and Lily got a hold of the purple markers and wrote all over my brand new kitchen cabinets that are WHITE! I love my kids.

Heading to HSN...

2011-06-13T07:53:00.001-07:00

Epiphany CRafts will once again be featured on the Home Shopping Network! Set your clock for Wednesday, June 15, 8AM and 3PM Pacific time. FYI, last time Epipany Crafts was on, all the tools sold out in minutes, it was quick! I think it will be scrapbooking show, the last show also included Pink Paislee, not sure who else will be on during that hour. I do know that the Shape Studio Epoxy small and large round will be for sale and maybe, a new shape! I will have to confirm that.
In addition to my Epiphany Crafts Shape Studio rounds, I used a great polaroid stamp from Studio Calico and my new fave alphas also from SC. The stamp worked great for me here because my photos from Lily's birthday celebration at Build a Bear were less than great. Cropping them down for the stamp helped crop out all the noise/busyness, without being left with a teeny unusable photo.

For the stamp I used a textured white paper and honestly, I wish I had used a smooth white paper for stamping, but I had already starting cutting them out and I didn't want to do it again

New Baby

2011-06-10T09:09:00.000-07:00

One of my dearest friends had a baby boy 2 weeks ago. Like my Emma, he was early, baby S was 7 weeks early. This week he was able to go home! He is a strong little boy and this weekend a few of her friends are gathering together to celebrate his arrival! I made this little album for baby S's first pictures. There are more photos of this project over on the

MAY ARTS blog, hope you will hop on over and check it out. Leave a comment on the May Arts post and you will be entered to win a prize from May Arts and Creative Imaginations.

He Plays

2011-06-07T10:03:00.000-07:00

What's funnier than watching your 6'3'' husband go down a standard size slip and slide? I could watch this all day, but someone would probably end up with a lot of grass burns. We haven't busted the slipe and slide out yet this year, this pic is from last summer. What do you think is it time?
Lovely Epiphany Craft buttons here. I used the flower shape and round 20 (large) and round 14 (small). My little bunting is tied together with jute string from May Arts.

$7

2011-06-06T09:23:00.000-07:00

That sweet hawaiian dress was a mere 7 bucks. Before I even arrived in Hawaii, my bff let me know that I was not going to buy any souvenirs until she took me to the swap meet. She was right. Coconut bras to the left and Seashell lamps to the right, it can all be found at the swap meet! Located in the big stadium where the Pro Bowl is held, it is a giant parking lot full of vendors.

The girls got dresses and for myself I found a very unique vendor, he sold aprons and totes made from cotton Hawaiian rice bags. I got both and I love them. They are very well made, will have to snap a picture and show you.

This layout was made with my June Freehand Scraps Kit, ''Air Mail'', I told you I did a lot with it. I love the brightly colored flags on the wood grain.

More with Freehand Scraps!

2011-06-04T08:13:00.000-07:00

I told you that I did a lot with Freehand Scraps! Here are three cards I made, I really got a ton out of June's kit. I still have lay outs I want to share. The design team at FHS did a beautiful job with "Air Mail" you can see it all in the gallery HERE.I had fun with the next two cards. Both bike cut outs are included in the kit and I knew I wanted to create cards, but I didn't have any fun ''bike'' sayings off the top of my head. So, I went over to the Paper Crafts magazine Facebook page and posted a request for bike sayings. Well, within a few hours there were quite a few to choose from! I think even the editor got involved with suggestions!

This one says "Keep calm and ride on". Love it. Wish I could say that it was my idea, but I can't. Thanks PC fans.

My Own Emma Jane

2011-06-02T17:02:00.000-07:00

This is lay out #2 from my Freehand Scraps June kit , "Air Mail." LOVE the colors this month.

It's another shot of Emma on Easter. I printed it up in both color and black and white, not sure which I liked best and I ended up using them both for this page. I love that finding an egg filled with sugary jellybeans is such a thrill for her.
Isn't this fun, Crate Paper named their paper line after my sweet girl. Ok, maybe not, but her name is Emma Jane!
Thought I would show you a quick tip, another way to stretch your supplies.
To make the small sunburst circle frame, start by punching a small hole in your paper.

With a slightly larger punch, center the larger circle around the punched out smaller one. Punch out your little frame!
I know, kind of simple, but sometimes I find it so helpful when I see how things are made.

Freehand Scraps June Edition

2011-06-01T21:41:00.000-07:00

Get it while you can!! "Air Mail", the scrapbook kit for June from Freehand Scraps is available today, right now. This kit is packed full of beautiful papers and way more embellishments than you could ever use on just one kit. Please check out the gallery this month and see what Holly, Jaime and Suz created, they are a talented crew.
Isn't this the most gorgeous woodgrain? I just saw a mug on etsy that reminds me of this paper. I really want it, but have no good reason whatsoever to buy myself a faux bois mug. Well maybe one reason, it is my birthday today....speaking of which, I can't tell you how fun it was to read my facebook birthday messages. I have had a huge smile on face as I have checked in today and found sweet messages from high school friends, college buddies, dear work colleagues, new friends and kindred spirits from the world of scrapbooking. I have loved the attention.

I have plenty more to share with you from Freehand Scraps, see you tomorrow friends!

xoxoxox

Wanna Win All of These?

2011-05-31T16:22:00.000-07:00

May Arts is having another amazing giveaway. This time it is for all 7 spools in the 332 series, pictured above. My friends, that is a lot of ribbon. What would you do if you won all that ribbon? I have an idea, you could have fun making THIS! Leave a comment over on the May Arts blog and you will be entered to win!

The link I am providing takes you to my project. If you leave a comment for me, it counts for my chances to continue on the May Arts team and it enters you to win the Ribbon! Don't forget to check out all of the great ideas while you are there!

Lily and her Grandpa Jim

2011-05-26T13:20:00.000-07:00

I would love for you to check out this lay out, it's a favorite of mine. I had the honor of creating it on behalf of Epiphany Crafts for Scrapbooking and Beyond magazine. Click here to see it and the directions to make your own.

I Want One!

2011-05-25T09:04:00.000-07:00

I have a quick and easy tutorial up over on the May Arts blog. Go from this....

To this....

Coming Soon

2011-05-24T10:03:00.000-07:00

June 1, 2011, Freehand Scraps June kit will be on sale!! I made 4 lay outs and 3 cards! Loved this kit.

Scrap, Scrap Scrappin' Away

2011-05-23T11:50:00.000-07:00

I have been using my Epiphany Crafts tools like mad! The more I use them , the more I love them, it's true. Couldn't tell you why Emma has lost it here, I know that she recovered in about a minute. She was never a super emotional or dramatic child, but lately the water works have been coming quite freely and frequently. I am surprised that she still looks lovely , even making that terrible face....ahh.. youth.
OOOOO, look at that, I think the wood grain from Crate Paper looks SO good under The Epiphany Crafts Shape Studio. Of course that is May Arts jute twine right there, did you even have to ask?
Any one else out there obsessed with these Studio Calico alphas? I am hoping they come out with more colors this summer!
More pics from Hawaii, I will be scrapping Hawaii and Easter for another month, bear with me! I really like using wood grain papers for lay out base and this aqua and white wood grain from Lilybee is a beauty. Seriously, I may go back and pick up a few more. The little numbers and starburst are from Shabby Chic Crafts.

There they are, My Epiphany Crafts Shape Studio. I used Crate Paper again. have the Emma's Shoppe 6x6 paper pad. The smaller graphics are perfect with the Epiphany Crafts tools.
Thanks again for stopping by today. And thank you for the comments, I love reading every single one of them. Have a wonderful week.

Two Winners

2011-05-22T17:07:00.000-07:00

Thank you for the sweetest comments and taking the time to say hey! I picked a winner for the ribbon and twine, congrats to Toni! I went ahead and put together another lil' prize, 10 yards of twine and that will be mailed out tomorrow to Kim. Ladies, please send me an email! samandsib @ hotmail . com

Something Different & a Giveaway

2011-05-20T09:14:00.000-07:00

This paper crafting blog is being interrupted by a super easy and cute tee shirt makeover. May Arts is great at keeping up with current trends and this gorgeous grey ribbon (391-58-31) proves it. Yellow and grey look beautiful together and I thought they would look great on a tee for Miss E. I dug through her shirts and found this white tee with a little stain on it, perfect! One thing that I did that is not mentioned below, is after each snip with the scissors, I ran the ribbon tip over a flame. I kept an "Aim n Flame" next to me while I worked. I did this to seal my ribbons ends so they wouldn't fray in the wash.

Supplies

May Arts ribbon 391-58-31

tee shirt

thread

buttons

sewing machine is optional

needle

Emma's awesome pose, we call this the Fashion Robot. You can see I added in an extra random yellow button....I meant to sew on a SPRAY of buttons here, but my fingers were tired, so I called it done.
Oh, um Emma's preschool decided to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with nachos and this amazing sombrero. I really love it.
That's it! I can see these ribbon flowers on barrettes, a necklace, maybe a denim mini for Emma...by the way I have washed it quite a few times and it holds up beautifully, I do air dry it.

The May Arts blog is updated daily with ribbon tutorials for all crafters and if like May Arts on Facebook you will be able to see the weekly giveaways of spools of ribbon!
I love this ribbon and I want to share it with you! How about 5 yards of this ribbon and 10 yards of my most favorite twines? Leave a comment and I will pick a winner on Sunday night!

Have a beautiful weekend!

xoxox Samantha

First Timers

2011-05-18T10:37:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite assignments from the Pebbles team is to use products from both Pebbles and their parent company, American Crafts. The two mix well together, both have bright colors and a clean graphic style. So with a huge stack of photos from our very first trip to Hawaii, I knew a mini had to be made!
Seems like it has been a while since I put one of these together, I love making them too.
I have something not smart to say....I was surprised at how hot it was at the beach. you could really feel the sun penetrating your skin....and yes, I live in So Cal.

Emma buried my bff's son....up to his neck. so cute.
Lily and Joshie, catching a break from the sun.
Emma and Ben again, these two often held hands and really enjoyed their week of playing together.
ahhhh.
My bff watched the kids so that we could go to Pearl Harbor sans kiddies.
All the kids slept together and they loved it. And they really did fall asleep, they were exhausted by bedtime!
Lily fishing at the Polynesian Culture Center, the girls loved the dancers there. No fish was caught to my relief.
Can't remember this beach, but they are building a Disney resort nearby and Angie took me over to see where the Pirates of the Caribbean's ship is docked! And it is AWESOME.

Loved the luau at Paradise Cove. Lovely , lovely trip and I can't wait to go back next Spring.

Cousin K

2011-05-16T21:00:00.000-07:00

This beautiful girl is the daughter of one of my husband's sweet sisters. My girls adore their big cousin and love , love, love when she is in town. She is an amazing ballerina and it looks like she will be able to dance professionally if she decides to. She is just as lovely inside as she is out.
I hand stitched a few of the butterflies and wanted to show you the template. I used the left over negative space from the butterfly that I cut with my Slice. I held it down and used a paper piercer to make the holes.
Do you spy my fave thickers?
I thought the Making Memories Paper Reverie Noir was the perfect paper to scrap this photo, I wanted something a little sophisticated and demure.
Love that Slice. Do you use an electronic paper cutter? Would love to hear about what you use and how you like it.

xooxxoo

Lots of these

2011-05-11T11:31:00.000-07:00

I really loved what the girls were wear ing for Easter. Yellow and grey, so trendy and pretty on them. So...I have quite the stack of photos. I used a great sketch from Your Scrapbook Stash and Once Upon a Sketch to make this lay out. In fact that is also where I purchased this Studio Calico paper. I am CRAZY for the SC alphas! I bought loads.( the green cursive ones) You will be seeing them on many many lay outs, just like those American Craft foam Lullaby alphas that I spelled out splendid day with.
This woodgrain paper is a new favorite, it works like a neutral background, love it color.

Some Shopping Updates!

2011-05-07T07:41:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would share with you my work area.

This is what my desk looked like after I finished the mini with Pebbles and American CRafts!

I promise, it looks better a little better today, not a lot, but a little.

National Scrapbook Day may just be some sort of scheme to get us to shop a little more....

Well, it's working over here!

Here are my favorite deals so far today...

Over at 2 Peas in a Bucket

Free shipping on orders over $30 use code NSD511

Free 6x6 paper pad on orders over $25

Extra 10% off all clearance and sale!

Click Here.

Elle's Studio

Free Shipping on any order over $10!! International too, use code NSD2011 Click HERE.

Freehand Scraps

20% off all 2011 kits (except May)

30% off all 2010 kits that are left!!! (cute stuff)! Click HERE.

Pebbles

You have until Monday to enter a fabulous giveaway! A prize pack that includes the best of Pebbles and American Crafts!! Click HERE.

Tomorrow is Almost Here!

2011-05-06T14:17:00.000-07:00

Made with the fabulous and new Pebbles felt embellishments which I spied at my local Michaels!

Have you made your plans for NSD? I have! In addition to driving over to Paper Tales, I plan on checking in over at Freehand Scraps!

Fun Activities All Day Saturday!!

Join us for National Scrapbook Day

There will challenges, tutorials, and giveaways all day Saturday on the Freehand Scraps blog. Stop by to help us celebrate the day devoted to our hobby/obsession.

Schedule (all times CST)

10am Royal Wedding challenge
11am Tutorial
1pm Mother's Day card challenge
2pm Tutorial
3pm Spring challenge
4pm Tutorial
5pm Quote challenge

Hope you can join us!

NSD sale

Sale Sale Sale!

If you've been eyeing any of the past kits, now's your chance to stock up!

20% off 2011 kits (excludes May kits)
30% off 2010 kits

This is Fun!

2011-05-05T16:24:00.000-07:00

My latest project, a mini album that I made with Pebbles Inc. and American Crafts is featured over in the gallery at Two Peas in a Bucket!! I am so excited! Click HERE to see the rest!This has been a great week over at the Pebbles blog, the projects have bee inspiring and just fun to look at! Click here to see them all.

OH, and click HERE to see where I was guest designing yesterday! Hint: initials are MM and every scrapper in this country has used their wonderful product before!

Butterflies, Freehand Scraps and Catherine Zeta Jones

2011-05-01T08:21:00.001-07:00

May Kit is up for sale right now! A gorgeous collection of papers and embellishments and I think I only used about 60% of the kit for these lay outs. I made a 2 pager (8.5x11) of Lily opening gifts with me on her third birthday. I used a frame stamp to accentuated the number 3 on the patterned paper. I used the fun fabric tickets and butterfly punches and stitched down a quick and easy banner.
Used the punch out scraps for the lay out too! Below, I used the awesome Jenni Bowlin stickers for the flags. They came with numbers on them and for this lo, I just sliced them off with my paper cutter for a more generic look. I traced around each flag so they would stand out a bit more.
The clouds were made from a dictionary page that is included in the kit. I cut them out by hand and then used a pen to outline the cloud shape. I attached them to my page with my favorite dimensional adhesive. The flowers are from some packaging that I was throwing in the trash! Yep, the Basic Grey fabric flowers had this pretty graphic on the back, so I cut it out and popped it up. I made all of these lay outs and my parents this month. I just grabbed my kit, a few fave tools and got to work on their dining room table. I think my mom really liked the idea of a kit, all you need in one simple bag, ready to go.

A photo of our recent trip to Oahu. Wish it were closer...

Loved the shave ice. But I never saw a sugar free version.
Before I forgot to mention it, DO click over to the Freehand Scraps Gallery to see the beautiful projects by the design team. There were so many pretty papers and cute embellishments and I didn't use them all.And finally a picture of Emma and Ben from a few years ago, we visited Ben's family while in Hawaii. I have some great shots of him, he is one beautiful and photographic kiddo.
On Friday I worked at the Del Mar Scrapbook Expo for Epiphany Crafts. Met the owners/inventors of the products, Tricia and Brian, lots of fun those two. I have to say the Epiphany Crafts Button Studio and and Shape Studios were a gigantic success, crafters were buying them up so fast, I was very very busy! A few of my projects were on display and I overheard a lady call to her friend that a little girl in the lay out looked like she could be Catherine Zeta Jones' daughter...

I had to walk over and give her the bad news that no, I was her mommy!

Epiphany Crafts + Glue Arts= Happy Crafter

2011-04-25T10:49:00.000-07:00

Epiphany Crafts and Glue Arts paired up this week to bring you crafts, scrapbooking and cards. Have you ever tried the Glue Glider from Glue Arts? It is one of my favorite adhesives for my lay out pages. I have never ever had a problem with the refill cartridge malfunctioning. It always goes on without waste. They have another Glue Glider now, it is the Glue Glider Max, it holds a lot more adhesive and I love the looks of it, but haven't tried it yet.

I am also a big fan of the Extreme Adhesive Squares. For the first time, I tried the Micro size, these are smaller than the regular .5 inch size. They worked perfectly with my Epiphany Crafts Button Studio 14.
Here are my 2 lil' bugs at the zoo a few months ago. Our passes have expired :( , so I am saving up for some new ones. Like the big scalloped border punch? It is one of my favorites and I use it all the time.
The paper I used came embossed with the leaves, it is by Bazzill.
A couple of finishing touches from Epiphany Crafts. One more Shape Studio Round 14 and My favorite, Button Studio Round 20.

Check out the Epiphany Crafts Face book Page all week, there will be tons of ideas with EC and Glue Arts.

Have you seen this? 2 Peas is offering Free Shipping with orders over $30!! This offer expires May 1. The code is listed to the right.......

May Arts and Little Yellow Bicycle are teaming up for a fun fun week of projects and Giveaways!! Click HERE to see what is up for grabs!

Coming Soon

2011-04-23T12:57:00.000-07:00

Sooner than we know it, May will be upon us. With a new month comes a new and fabulous kit from Freehand Scraps. One more week and this kit can be yours!

Anyone going to the Scrapbook Expo in Del Mar? I would love to know if you are going.

Have a Happy Easter friends.

xoxoxoxo

Fabulous Pebbles Giveaway!

2011-04-15T08:07:00.000-07:00

Leave a comment right HERE for a chance to win the Pebbles collection of your choice!!

(click on the link to go to the Pebbles blog) You have until Monday, April 18, midnight eastern to leave your comment! Do it!

Spring Baby

2011-04-13T08:20:00.000-07:00

~click on the photo to make the image larger, I think it looks way better~

This is my favorite line from Pebbles ever, I love the bright colors! My favorite paper might be the pink and orange polka dots, love that combo. Pebbles is featuring Spring projects all week on their BLOG, I love what the DT has showcased thus far. There is also a little helpful video of the entire line shown right HERE.

This is me sweet little Emma, about 1.5 years old. She was so easy to photograph back then.
I stitched a few of the clouds from the patterned paper. I used a paper piercer and punched the outline of the cloud to make the stitching go a little easier.
My photos came out a bit dark, I think the cloud paper is much brighter in person. That cute brad is also from Happy Go Lucky.
These tissue flowers are a new embellishment that I love! They aren't bulky, self adhesive, light, airy and darling. You can find them right HERE.
Okay, have you seen these flags yet? They are fabulous. The prints are downscaled for the flags, love these, I can't resist them!

Are you ready to start dying eggs? Is it really almost Easter? And it's a late Easter! I haven't picked out the girls dresses, hopefully there is something cute at Target!

Not too Long Ago

2011-04-03T08:08:00.000-07:00

Lily looked like this. I am still stunned at how quickly the months are passing by. Slow down! I am not ready!

On my mind.....my return to teaching this fall...still hoping, praying to find a teacher to share a contract with. I am not ready to put Lily in full time day care/preschool.

I used Freehand Scraps April Kit "HELLO" to make this lay out of my little one. I think it is sweet. She was just starting to walk. Used my new border punch here. I avoided this one for awhile, I don't know why, because I might just be obsessed with it now!

April Already!

2011-04-01T08:20:00.000-07:00

Time seems to be speeding up these days. These girls are growing FAST. Getting older and wiser. :(

Speaking of older, I am married to a genuine April fool, today is my husband's birthday!
Being the first of the month also means the release of another marvelous kit from Freehand Scraps! This kit includes more scrappy embellishments than you can imagine....including Cosmo Cricket Glubers. I used one to make the ribbon flower above. Believe me , the Gluber made it a lot more simpler than the way I used to make em. If you click on the photo, it should make the image larger and easier to see.
Freehand Scraps also has a couple of other options for you to consider. There is a card kit and also a mini album kit, the mini album papers are pre cut for you! I love that, less waste and EASY.
Lily is 3, sigh. One of my favorite products in this month's kit were the Foldies from Sassafras. They are paper flowers that you fold (easy) and it creates subtle dimension to your lay out and cards. I love the floral graphics used.

I love the routine of picking up Emma from school everyday. The quick moment when she spies me from the classroom door, love the look in her eyes when she sees us waiting for her.
This cork heart is fun, I like the texture it brings. The clouds...you will love those.

I have a few more things to show you and I still have a huge stack left over from this Month's kit named, "Hello".

Have a wonderful weekend!

xoxoxoxo

The Mr. & Mrs.

2011-03-30T08:56:00.000-07:00

Wedding season is just around the corner isn't it? In fact my 11 year anniversary will be here very soon. I think the card above will work nicely for my Mr. I used the brand new line "The Mr. and Mrs. "from Pebbles Inc. You can see a video of the entire line right HERE!

I added a beautiful ribbon from May Arts to complete the card.
I haven't been to a wedding for quite a few years now, we went through the wedding phase and the baby shower phase and now we are in the birthday party phase of our lives! Anyway, when I got married, a popular idea was to have disposable cameras at each of the guests' tables...so after all were developed, I had a few hundred photos. Well those photos are still laying around and. The Mr. and Mrs. paper is perfect to get those scrapped. I really appreciate the matching embellishments, took me a whole minute to stick on the pearls and gorgeous flower.

I used a photo of my darling BFF. She had recently become engaged to the love of her life and someone captured her on film making the announcement to a group of our friends.

There are many more ideas for this line of paper right HERE!

Thanks for coming by today!

Ever After

2011-03-29T12:11:00.000-07:00

Ever After is one of Pebbles newest lines and I adore it. Can you see those tiny little pink deer? If you want to see every piece in this sweet line, you can watch a quick video right HERE.

I also used my Epiphany Crafts Shape Studio Epoxy 20 tool to make the the center of the "prize ribbon".
This gift card holder was made with a standard shipping tag and I used THIS border punch on the end for a little more interest. Again I used the Epiphany Crafts Shape Studio and I also tied a bright and sunny bow with pretty ribbon from May Arts.

Around the Corner

2011-03-25T21:13:00.000-07:00

Freehand Scraps has a new kit coming out next week and I wanted to share a few images with you. You will be amazed at how many embellishments come with the April Kit, I didn't come close to using them all and I do like to pile them on. Do you spy the new Jenni Bowlin Prize Ribbons?
How about the new Sassafras Foldies? They are beautiful.
Lookie here, clouds. All the rage these days aren't they.
April's kit is a delight and I hope you will check it out. If you didn't get a chance to see March, you can check it out right HERE.
Okay, a few things you should know about. Pebbles is having a really nice give away, the papers this release are the the absolute best and you can win Happy Go Lucky right HERE.

Like May Arts ribbon? Win some HERE.

Back

2011-03-23T11:30:00.000-07:00

Back to reality, home from paradise. We had a wonderful week, visiting my bff and her family in their newest home. It was our very first trip to Hawaii and the girls' first time on an airplane. They did great on the plane, I packed each of them a backpack and filled it with new coloring books and sticker books, a wipe off board form the $1 section at Target and a brand new game for their Leap Pad Explorer. Did you know that with the Leap Pad Explorer, you can download the Leap pad movies on to it from their web site!! So I had three Leap Pad movies downloaded on to their Explorers as well. Pretty cool.
These two really enjoyed each other's company, he is one year older, so they have lots in common. He is such a beautiful boy. Picked up Emma and Lily's dresses at the Aloha Bowl swap meet. 2 dresses for $15! I might need the BFF to get me a few more for summer.
Our last weekend was spent at the Paradise Cove Luau, it was fantastic, loved the dancers and the fancy drinks!
A couple of weeks ago there was an online crop with Jenni Bowlin Mercantile. I played along with 2 of the challenges and this is the first one. Only I can't remember if it is based on a sketch by Shimelle or something else.......darn. Anyway, I saw this as a chance to dig up all my beloved JBS papers and use them! Course only making 2 lay outs, I really didn't make a dent in it. I have sheets and sheets of those sticker alphas, I have always loved them. And the birdy paper? Yeah I own many sheets of it. I don't know what I am going to with them, but I got 'em just in case!

HSN!!!!!

2011-03-21T11:04:00.000-07:00

Epiphany Crafts will be back on HSN this afternoon, at 4:00 Eastern Time, 1:00 Pacific with the Button Studio Tool! This is a one day only Special Value price, you won't see it at this price again! The Shape Studio sold out this morning, so don't wait and get your Button Studio early!

Winner...no reference to C. Sheen

2011-03-14T11:09:00.000-07:00

Do you play along in on line crops or contests? In January I participated in the 2 Peas in a Bucket CHA online crop. One of my layouts was selected (probably randomly) And this collection of Jillibean Soup was my fabulous prize!!! Thank you 2Peas!
Those little butterfly stick pins are called sugar picks and they are my favorite.
The corrugated cardboard trees came with clouds!!! I wanted to use the clouds here, but couldn't seem to fit them in...this time. I painted the trees with a paintbrush and

Mister Huey, Applejack.

The zoo has a new little area for giant tortoise encounters and while we were taking these photos I grabbed a 2 year old (not mine) who decided to climb over the low boulders and have her own close encounter with the 100 year old humongous creatures! Good news, I am still faster than a tortoise.

Seeing Pink

2011-03-12T09:33:00.000-08:00

1500 pink slips will be sent out from S-- D---- U------ S------ District, my employer. I have been on a leave of absence for a few years and I am planning on returning to the class his fall. I should be safe, prior to my leave, I worked for 9 years, but I know that my return will displace a newer teacher. I just don't know what to say about the state of our country's education system. When I left, I had a maximum of 20 students in my full day kindergarten class. Of my 20 students, I 'd say 80% spoke another language at home and I was unable to communicate with about 75% of the parents. We had refugees and immigrants from Somalia, Kenya, Burma, Cambodia, Mexico, Pakistan, Russia, Thailand, Vietnam and Sudan. One of my first years, I had 11 different languages spoken by families and 14 out of 20 of my students began that school year at the very young age of 4. (In California you can begin kindergarten at 4, as long as your 5th birthday is at the beginning of December)

Primary classes will now have 30 students. This is why teachers will now be expendable, students will just be packed into classrooms.

I can't wait!

I don't know where I will be or what grade I will be teaching, the district will place me where I am needed. If you are among the pink slipped, I am so sorry.

Another One

2011-03-09T11:21:00.000-08:00

Thought I would show another one of the cards that I submitted to Paper Crafts most recent sketch call. Amber started a fun blog hop for those of us that had cards that didn't make the cut. I have been very slowly making my way through the hop and it is amazing how many beautiful cards that I have seen that didn't make the issue. Tons of amazing card makers out there. I do think it is a fun process. I like making cards, I like the compact space we create in, mine are often 5''x7''. I think Paper Crafts is smart, the way they play up the acceptance emails on Facebook, it is a fun way to use that media.

This card uses both sizes of the Epiphany Crafts Round Epoxies and paper and candy dots from Pebbles Inc.

Looks like I have had a few new blog readers sign up, thank you for coming by leaving the kindest comments, I appreciate it!

Not Today

2011-03-04T12:24:00.000-08:00

Yippee! Picked up by a another magazine!
I submitted a few cards to Paper Crafts for a sketch call they just had. Here is reject #1! And I love it. I love the wood grain paper from A Muse , picked it up at my lss Paper Tales. I think I bought 10 sheets of it about a year ago. I used my Epiphany Crafts button maker for that lil' button on the tag. I really like how it is the exact match with the patterned paper trim I used.I can't breathe. I have been a little sick and my sinuses are going to explode. Or something like that. Blah!

Dog Scrapper, Freehand Scraps Part 2

2011-03-02T15:53:00.000-08:00

Beau, oh Beau. He will truly eat ANYTHING. I had a little scare with him, he ate a magnet, one of the letters from our Leap Frog magnetic alphabet set. He ate the letter L and I destroyed the letter x with a hammer to see exactly what he consumed, I wanted to know the actual size of the magnet and it's force. Well, those are strong magnets. The vet told us to just wait and see and so far he has been fine.I made a little prize ribbon, one of favorite embellishments these days. In the mail, I just received the new Jenni Bowlin "Blue Ribbon" stamp, can't wait to use it.
I used a spray mist on the canvas flower and the Artisan Elements trim that came in this month's kit. I also used a Mister Huey mist for the green splatter, I took the top off and let the paint drip off the straw. Don't forget to check out the whole kit right HERE.

BINGO

2011-03-01T08:08:00.000-08:00

Available right now.....March Freehand Scraps kit "BINGO", I loved every bit of this kit, the papers are beautiful and so easy to use together. Freehand Scraps really goes overboard with the fun embellishments, take a look at all that will arrive at your doorstep with Bingo.

I was inspired by the song Home, by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. Have you heard that song? Once you start listening to it, it will never ever leave your brain, it is so catchy. The lyrics are fun, full of life and make you feel good. The first time I heard it, it was a cover by this cute father daughter team HERE. And my favorite version is this ONE from David Letterman.

Anyway, just love the line "Home is wherever I'm with you"

Everything I used is from this month's kit. I rolled the Maya Road pleated ribbon up into this brown flower.

More lyrics from the song Home.

I have one more lay out to share tomorrow. Check out the whole team's beautiful projects with this kit over at Freehand Scraps.

Fever.

2011-02-27T21:00:00.000-08:00

She has been getting fevers, every 10 days or so, she has fevers for 3 days. February has been a miserable month for this precious girl. Being the scrapbooker, that I am, I thought I would write it down with a couple of Fuji Instax photos.

I used this sketch right HERE for the the lay out. Nothing like a good sketch to get you started!

Coming Soon

2011-02-24T18:42:00.000-08:00

Freehand Scraps has a new kit coming out in just a few days and it is AMAZING. My favorite.

Have a Go

2011-02-23T14:28:00.000-08:00

This little house was made with Donna Salazar's new papers for GCD, it was part of the display at CHA. The pearly wire is from May Arts. Did you know that Donna is having a design team call? The details are right HERE.

The Best Scoop

2011-02-22T11:21:00.000-08:00

Hands down is Baskin Robbins Chocolate and Peanut butter. It has been my favorite for a very long time. I still marvel at the giants chunks of delicious peanut butter...come didn't you ever eat this with a friend and compare who got the biggest gobs of pb? No? Okay maybe that was just a few of my special friends.
Going to BR is usually a trip out with dad for the girls, I don't like the temptation. This time , I went along...to take pictures of course. Each time the girls go, I like to know what they ordered and I noticed that Emma had never tried her momma's fave. Now she also knows that we avoid pb since her lil sis is allergic to it. So this time I ordered up to little pink taste spoons, one for Emma and one for me and she was an instant fan. She is now in the club.
I used an IPhone app for this photo, it's called 100 Cameras in 1. It is from the amazing photographer Trey Ratcliff. I wanted instant gratification so I printed the picture up on what I had on hand...American Crafts cardstock. The title was stamped and then cut out.

Epiphany Crafts is expanding their design team. I love the tools from Epiphany Crafts, they are easy to use and I love the results. The team is great and I if you are thinking about it, I say go for it!! Here is a link to the details.

Thinning out the Paper

2011-02-17T11:21:00.000-08:00

Lily likes to come pose with my lay outs whenever I am trying to photograph them for the blog. ''I help you, momma." I broke out some stamps for this one. I made a mistake too...well, not a mistake , but after I stamped the large LILY, I really didn't like it and was wishing that I had just used stickers instead. So , after staring at it for awhile and finding that herringbone strip of paper in my pile of trash, I laid it over lily and added silly. I still wish nothing was there, but I like this better than the big ol' LILY.

Emma at her second birthday. I have no idea if I have scraped these photos. I know I used them in a mini album, that is why they are printed wallet size. I don't keep my pages in any order. I just stick them in a brown American Crafts D ring album as I finish them. I figure one day I will sit down and organize them, but for now, all lay outs are mixed.

See that frame around the number 2? I use those a lot, it's from Tattered Angels and you get a gigantic set of frames and alphas and they can easily be misted to add color.

The coloring is a bit blue in this photo of Lily and maybe I can see a bit of dried boogie, but I scrapped it anyway, I love it, love her eyes, love this girl who won't poop on the potty for her mommy.
I can't get enough of my butterfly punches. If you said I had to use them on every single page forever, I would say yes. What do you never tire of on your pages?

Freehand Scraps II and Planning Ahead with Groupon!

2011-02-09T10:22:00.000-08:00

One more lay out with my Feb. Freehand Scraps kit. This kit had my favorite colors to scrap with. I love pink, red, aqua and yellow. Okay and orange and white. I punched the butterflies with my Martha punch and trimmed around the punched out butterflies for the negative space ones that you see. Scrapped my mom and the kids, so lucky to have her and my dad, they are so supportive of us, so loving.
For the banner trim below, it is one piece, I had had fun cutting it out in a wavy pattern to create the scalloped look that you see.
Do you use Groupon? I love it. Yes I got the Barnes and Noble deal the other day and yes I used it towards the purchase of my Nook last night! Can't wait to get it connected with my public Library. Anyway, there is another fantastic Groupon today. It is an online company so it doesn't matter where you live. You get $50 worth of product from Mixbook for only....$15!!!!

What? Yes it is true and I have already purchased mine. I looked up the prices and I can get 75 high quality photo Christmas cards on nice paper for the value of the Groupon for $15!! It doesn't expire until next year, so I am good for Christmas!! You can also use the amount towards yearbooks and photo books , I am thrilled. I think the offer expires tonight, so you gotta act quick!

xoxoxo

Oldies

2011-02-08T15:04:00.000-08:00

I have been reaching into the old photo boxes lately....found this photo of Emma. She is being held in her Auntie Bec's arms, look how teeny tiny her hand was.

I never scrapped this blurry photo of Emma and Daddy, she could eat and breathe on her own so we were taking her home! I was so nervous! That pretty lace trim is from May Arts.
I could be wrong...but this last photo, I hope is a fort in Malaga, Spain, I loved this little sea port town. I found a beach covered in sea glass, I have never seen anything like it before.

Had fun layering the stickers on here, can you tell I was trying to use them all up? I have been trying to finish off half used items etc. I store my papers by manufacturer in the cropper hopper envelopes. I have been working my way through my October Afternoon and Sassafras envelopes. Next up? Maybe My Mind's Eye or Cosmo Cricket and I really need to stop hoarding the Jenni Bowlin, gotta use it!

Marker Ban

2011-02-03T15:19:00.000-08:00

These photos crack me up. She knows it too. She knew that I couldn't get mad at her for drawing all over her face for the 16th time. She knew I thought it was hilarious and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop from laughing. I finally caught on that the reason she was decorating herself was to make me laugh. "Take a picture of me mommy" , was also a giveaway. So markers have been banned from this house. Haven't seen any Mr Sketch's since December and it will stay that way.
This lay out was made from this sketch right here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Not only will you see a few fabulous cards, there is a nice giveaway as well! Come check out Pebbles right HERE.

Sweetie Pie

2011-02-01T08:50:00.000-08:00

February Freehand Scraps Gallery is live today right HERE. You can see what each of us created with pretty papers from Pink Paislee, Crate Paper, Fancy Pants and fun embellishments including 2 alphabets, flowers, rub ons, clear die cuts, glitter die cut, sequins, chipboard pieces. This kit is packed with embellishments! The guest designer this month is the wonderful Emily Spahn, come check out February's kit "SWEETIE PIE" HERE.
For the little butterflies here, I punched the Pink Paislee packaging that came with the alphas. I used my trusty Martha Stewart butterfly punch. That gorgeous felt flower came with the kit!
Shhh, he doesn't know this is on the blog....a very rare photo of my husband...we were in Bath and he was very very cold all the time, that is what I remember. I also remember yearning to look at antiques, I think I made it into one store.

I love England, would love to live there for a few years. When I was in college, I was hired to lifeguard and teach swim lessons at a summer camp in the Poconos. The camp recruited athletes and instructors from all over the world and I was lucky enough to have the sweetest track instructor in the cabin next to mine. Allison and I have been close friends ever since. One problem, she is from England. Sooo, we see each other when we can, our last visit was a fun meet up in New York City....only a 7 hour plane ride for her and 5 for me. I have an amazing story to tell you about that trip....later. What's my point? None really....we were in Bath with Allison.

I used the rub ons on both corners of this photo. I love the rub ons in this kit, I have plenty left to use on other projects.

From Lily's dance class last summer, she wouldn't let me be more than 3 feet away from her....so i took the class too.

I made the red rose with the beautiful velvet ribbon included in the kit.

Thanks for stopping by today, I hope you have a lovely week... Are you in blizzard territory like my friend Lexi? Stay safe and warm.

One More Time

2011-01-31T13:36:00.000-08:00

I admit it, I do it. I like to scrap fave photos more than one time. See, I like scrappin' , it's fun, so I will scrap the same pic more than once. Good thing is I have two children , so when it is time, I can give each girl their own version. Because they are each going to want their fair share of ummmm 40 albums or so .....right? Don't answer that. And no, I don't have 40 albums complete. I only have 15.
These pretty embellishments were made with Elle's Studios tags, Epiphany Crafts Epoxy maker and brand new Epiphany Crafts felt flowers.

Can't wait to show you what I made with the February Kit from Freehand Scraps. I will be sharing tomorrow.

See you then!

xoxoxo

Take a look

2011-01-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

The Freehand Scraps Kit for February is packed with all sorts of goodies to fall in "love" with. In eight days, it can be yours.

Upping the Ante

2011-01-22T15:50:00.000-08:00

Desperate times call for desperate measures. At the beginning of December, after 3 weeks of hard work, I thought I was over the hump with potty training Lily.

NOPE. I was wrong. It's like switch went off and since the beginning of December she has not done you know what in the potty. Even Santa could not convince her that pooping in the potty was best.

So I have resorted to bribery. Starting with the lovely collection of Pet Shops as shown in the box below. One Poopy=one Pet Shop. How is it going? I bought this box in December and it hasn't been touched. Just sitting on a shelf in the kitchen for us to admire each day.

While walking the aisles of Target yesterday, Lily spied these silver sparkle glittery shoes, they are very similar to her big sister's. So, guess what got added to the kitchen shelf? Come on Lily...you are turning three in less than a week.

Another lay out using the Epiphany Crafts Vintage Settings and the small epoxy tool. I could use this tool on every single lay out, I could, I tell you.

We had the opportunity to go to Cuba a few years back, it was AMAZING. I loved every moment of it. I will always remember how lovely the people were, the nicest I have met on my travels. I also recall always hearing music pouring on to the streets, no matter where we were. It is kind of tricky for Americans to get there, but if you ever get the chance you should go. I also should add that I always felt very safe.

Prize Ribbons

2011-01-20T19:51:00.000-08:00

Are hot right now, don't you think? I made these with the small Round 14 Epoxy Design Studio from Epiphany Crafts and their brand new Vintage Settings that are made to fit the epoxies perfectly and I love em.
In addition to the Epiphany Crafts products, I used this Martha Stewart Doiley punch and snipped three strips of paper for each prize ribbon. This bright and beautiful paper is from American Crafts, when I saw the doggies, I knew Emma would like it...so in the cart it went.
Have you been checking out all the new lines that are coming out? I have a few favorites, how about you? I know I will be saving my pennies for some Jenni Bowlin Stamps.....have you seen them?

ouch

2011-01-11T11:33:00.000-08:00

I think we all know what happened to poor lil' Fifi here.

Happened while Emma was in school. Hopefully she will never notice her absence.

Wanted to show you another new tool from Epiphany Crafts. It is the one inch Heart Epoxy tool. I really like the one inch size, the epoxies are BIG, which I prefer.

This is am older photo of Emma and I. She was 4 months old and getting quite chubby, sure doesn't look like the eight week premature baby that she was.

I have been scrapping through my collection of October Afternoon.

I used a few Martha Stewart punches for the butterfly masks and a great mist from Studio Calico, it is the white and it gives you fantastic coverage.

NEW

2011-01-09T21:27:00.000-08:00

Epiphany Crafts has a new tool that is pretty darn cool. It is an epoxy tool that makes one inch bubble epoxies. I love it.
And I love it with this paper from October Afternoon.

We had a great day at the San Diego Zoo. We encountered one of the keepers in the children's area discussing a very rare animal at the zoo. We had never seen this creature before and we were so intrigued. It is a Pangolin from Africa and there are two in captivity here and they are the only ones in captivity in North or South America. They are not on display at the zoo, so you only get to see these mammals by chance when the keeper brings it out for a little sunshine. It is not related to any other animal. It looks a little lie a cross between an anteater and an armadillo. It is completely covered in scales that are made from keratin, just like our fingernails. It was a fascinating little creature and I am so glad

we had the chance to meet it. After putting him away, he walked over to an echidna and placed it right in front of Emma...we both had the chance to "pet" it. Lily decided to have nothing to do with it.

Have a wonderful week!

You Scrappin?

2011-01-05T09:17:00.000-08:00

I finally am! Seems like I didn't touch a thing for 3 weeks or so. Ahhh, I have missed it.

What are you working on? Are you taking a photo a day? Goals? I would like to see myself take more videos of my kids. I need to try interviews with them. Any suggestions?

The puppy is huge. He is 4 months old and weighs 46 lbs. I am strict about his diet and we walk him everyday and well...he is just so big.

Unlike her older sister, Lily will make a pretty smile for me and the camera. She especially loves to ham it up when I am trying to take photos of a scrap project.

So around here we all agree that Emma is pretty much my lookalike. Except she is way prettier. Her hair is lighter and my eyes are a golden hazel...they look brown to me , but this is what I am told. Her eyes, I still don't know what color they are , I guess hazel. Sometimes they are green or grey or blueish and always there are flecks of brown. They are lovely in every way. Her little sister Lily, well I don't know, I have a few friends that always comment on her resemblance to her dad, but I don't see it. I try to see it, but I don't. Her hair and eye color are the same as his, but for me that's it. Anyway that is what I was thinking when I sat down to make this lay out.

That amazing wreath punch? You can find it right HERE.

Have a beautiful weekend.

xoxo

Right Now

2011-01-01T09:28:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

1-1-11

CRAZY!

I'm going to Target...how about you?

This beautiful kit is available starting today from Freehand Scraps.

Did your resolutions include "I will scrap more this year?"

My lay outs with this kit are HERE.

I have a new computer and won't be able to get my photos off my old for awhile. So I am starting off fresh and new!

Tis the Time

2010-12-29T12:29:00.001-08:00

For sending thank you cards! I have a quick tutorial over on the May Arts blog today...make your own hand dyed ribbon.

Beau -dacious

2010-12-28T18:34:00.000-08:00

Have a merry Christmas? Up to your ears in tiny toys? I fear that one day they will discover Polly Pocket. Speaking of tiny toys, found a couple of Littlest Pet Shop in the puppy's ummm "waste" the other day. Guess he likes em too. Come over and see my first lay out of our loveable toy chomper right HERE.

Holiday Card Tip

2010-12-23T08:22:00.000-08:00

These days, most of the holiday cards we receive are lovely family photo cards, I love them. About 10 years ago, my friend Michelle shared a clever idea with me, she keeps her cards in an album! Perfect! No more guilt about throwing gorgeous photos away and no cluttery build up.

I have been saving the photo cards for 10 years now. I keep them in an old fashioned scrapbook and I use a glue runner and permanently adhere them to the pages. I sometimes overlap the cards to fit the maximum per page. After 10 years, I have filled two books. After Christmas we pack the albums away with the Christmas decorations. Each year we lay the albums out to enjoy and I revisit them every single year. It's fun to see how our friends' families have grown.

That one right there, it was my Christmas card 10 years ago. Look at all that stamping! Way too much work for me now! See the hand cut holly leaves? My newlywed husband cut those out for me!

If I don't get back here before Christmas, I want to wish all of you a beautiful Merry Christmas. A day filled with joy and laughter and best of all love. I can't wait to see the girls play with all of their Littlest Pet Shop goodies, I can't wait for the squeals of delight!

Have a wonderful holiday friends.

xoxo

Samantha

FHS 2011 Baby!

2010-12-21T09:00:00.000-08:00

A quick peek at the Freehand Scraps January 2011 kit "Festive Peacock". The colors are amazing and there are more embellishements than you can imagine. Nothing like teal, lemon yellow and a soft gray to start the new year...

Come over and "Like" Freehand Scraps on Facebook!

Pretty Packages

2010-12-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

Thanks for joining me with Donna Salazar's 12 Days of Christmas! I have a very simple project to share with you. I used a 12x12 sheet called "Artsy Christmas Cards" from Donna's line of "Artistic Papers". If you own a Dream Kuts machine, this paper was designed to work perfectly with it. Otherwise, you cut your paper down to 6 3''x6'' tags.

I kept my tags simple, I embllished them with my sewing machine and beautiful holiday ribbons. I used my Christmas card stamp from last year to "sign " the tags.

The Artistic papers are extra thick (100 lb paper)...thicker than cardstock, they are the perfect canvas for inks...paints...mists....watercolors...

I love the way it feels.

There are still a few days left in the 12 Days of Christmas with Donna Salazar Designs, keep checking in, Santa Donna has a sweet prize at the end.....
The schedule for the entire blog hop is right HERE!

12 Days of Christmas

2010-12-19T04:00:00.000-08:00

Have you been treating yourself to the 12 days of Christmas with Donna Salazar? Today is day 8 and I wanted to share one of my favorite colors in Donna's exclusive collection of Smooch Spritz. Honestly, I love all 8 colors, they are the best colors from Smooch. The one I used for today is called "Tea Party" , very cute. For a while now I have admired the monochromatic look. I think it is chic and smart, so I decided to have a go at it.

Seems like you can mist anything and everything. Here I misted a punched border ( Donna Salazar Designs "Weathered Mosaics"), chipboard frame and rosette ribbon.

The photo below is....unattractive.

The misted string looks so much better here...

Thank you for joining me today. Would love to have you back anytime! I will be back tomorrow morning with another project and Donna Salazar Designs. If you want to catch up on the first 7 days of Christmas, please click HERE.

Donna has been posting some fabulous videos all week and she is a technique expert.

See you tomorrow!

Samantha

Put it on Your List!

2010-12-17T04:00:00.000-08:00

Did you ask for one of these for Christmas?
Thanks for joining us on the Epiphany Crafts Blog Hop! If you would like to start from the beginning please begin HERE. I hope you will stick around until the end...
for PRIZES!!

I used our Christmas card photo and turned it into a tree ornament. I try to do this every year. The epoxies made perfect little ornaments with the October Afternoon paper.

Next up is Kelly, just click HERE!

In the Mail?

2010-12-13T13:31:00.000-08:00

Are you finished? Did you get all your cards sent out? I hand delivered...one and I am mailing one to England today. I need to get motivated! I have a photo card over at the Pebbles blog today, would love for you to check it out....
There is also a generous giveaway, comments close tonight and details can be found HERE. There is a fun blog hop going on right now with Donna Salazar Designs. Lots of prizes to give away and I will have a couple of projects to share with you as well! The more comments you leave on the blogs, the more chances to win!
Dec 12th - Day 1
Donna Salazar -- http://donnasalazar.typepad.com
Nan Paturzo -- http://scrappynan.blogspot.com

Dec 13th - Day 2
Nan Paturzo -- http://scrappynan.blogspot.com
Jennifer Priest -- http://hydrangeahippo.blogspot.com

Dec 14th - Day 3
Donna Salazar -- http://donnasalazar.typepad.com

Dec 15th - Day 4
Tammy Inman -- http://tammyi.com

Dec 16th - Day 5
Jennifer Priest -- http://hydrangeahippo.blogspot.com
Samantha Sibbet -- http://morepaperplease.blogspot.com/

Dec 17th - Day 6
Nan Paturzo -- http://scrappynan.blogspot.com

Dec 18th - Day 7
Donna Salazar -- http://donnasalazar.typepad.com
Jennifer Priest -- http://hydrangeahippo.blogspot.com

Dec 19th - Day 8
Samantha Sibbet -- http://morepaperplease.blogspot.com/

Dec 20th - Day 9
Cheryl Waters -- http://fiskateers.com/blog

Dec 21st - Day 10
Donna Salazar -- http://donnasalazar.typepad.com
Jennifer Priest -- http://hydrangeahippo.blogspot.com

Dec 22nd - Day 11
Donna Salazar -- http://donnasalazar.typepad.com
Cheryl Waters -- http://fiskateers.com/blog

Dec 23rd - Day 12
Jennifer Priest -- http://hydrangeahippo.blogspot.com
Tammy Inman -- http://tammyi.com

Dec 24th - Winners
Donna Salazar -- http://donnasalazar.typepad.com

Great Price!

2010-12-11T14:50:00.000-08:00

The very cool Distrezz-it -All is almost half off today over a Scrapbook.com, part of the daily Christmas deals! It will distress the edges of your projects in seconds.

Around this House

2010-12-10T12:28:00.000-08:00

Copied this deco idea straight from Jenni Bowlin herself. I loved her truck with trees, so I had to make one up myself. I got the silhouettes 2 years ago for Christmas and they are one my most favorite possessions ever.

I made this silly ornament last Christmas with Emma. I traced her hands and foot on cheapo craft felt, cut it out and hand stitched it together.

This little sign is a bit too big to consider it a tree ornament. I used a repro photo of my dad and his baby brother playig in the snow. It is hard to see, but my dad has a sneaky look on his face, as if a snowball was about to be thrown.

May Arts Plaid contest ends soon, get your entries in!!

Have a delightful weekend.

On the 7th day, One More Ornament

2010-12-07T09:54:00.000-08:00

Emma doesn't care for my homemade ornaments. While we were decorating the tree the other day, she mentioned that the scrapbooked ones (ornaments) are boring and she likes the shiny pretty ones.

Well, hopefully they grow on her, cause one she will own them!

I used a beautiful vintage looking paper ( Christmas Rose and Ribbons) and a super versatile music stamp from Donna Salazar Designs. I embossed the stamp with white embossing powder. The sweet little buttons were made with my Epiphany Crafts Button Studio and Donna Salazar Designs paper. I applied Glossy accents to the rose design on the paper to make it stand out a little more, I love that gorgeous rose.

Went to Toys R Us last night. In a few short weeks my house is going to have Littlest Pet Shop doodads all over the place... how do you store all that teeny tiny stuff?

I have loved reading your comments about puppies and labs, it's always interesting to learn what we have in common and that there are others sharing similar experiences.

Deck the Halls

2010-12-02T07:55:00.000-08:00

Years ago when my grandmother passed, I was asked to pick out furniture and treasures from her home in Tennessee and have it shipped to my home here in California. My grandmother loved beautiful things and she had saved generations of mementos and heirlooms. One of the little things that found their way here was a handful of these small wooden houses. Cut from plywood with a coat of hastily painted cream paint. They each have an old eye hook stuck in the roof. I wonder who made them. Why the eye hook? Where did they hang? Why did my grandmother keep them? Maybe she saw some potential in them? . I crafted this one up, but plan to keep the others plain, maybe just hang them from a sweet ribbon.

Most of the supplies are Jenni Bowlin, the book plate is Making Memories. Wings are from Maya Rd. I sprayed them with Cherry Maya Mist and after that dried I applied a thick coat of Glossy Accents and sprinkled Martha Stewart Garnet Glass Microbeads(the set I used is on sale right now at 2 peas). The faint bird near the roof was stamped in black Memento ink and then I rubbed the ink off with a towel. I used one of favorite products from May Arts, it is called Twisted Burlap and it is a little thicker than the Burlap Twine you usually see me use.

Me, outside in my robe and slippers, about 35 degrees, waiting for Beau to eliminate. Instead, he is taking his sweet time...

Introducing...

2010-11-29T08:14:00.000-08:00

Beau.

We brought him home yesterday. He wasn't my idea. In fact I did protest. I said good bye to my sweet Chloe a few months ago after 12.5 years and have missed her dearly. I have also enjoyed the freedom of a dog-less life.

He wasn't my idea, this 11 week puppy, 30 lbs of cuddles and smiles. I think I am in love.

This Weekend

2010-11-19T10:48:00.000-08:00

My friend is celebrating her birthday this weekend and this card is on its way east to her. I tried to include her favorite things...

orange

faux bois (2 kinds here, love that Hero Arts stamp)

deer (on chatterbox sticker)

and that green tape, she'll dig it

Here on the West Coast, I will be at Paper Tales on Sunday with a free Make and Take! Come by and make a card with me Featuring Epiphany Crafts and Cosmo Cricket's Mitten Weather. Would love to meet you locals.

May Arts has a few new ribbon releases and I am in love with the organic cotton stripe...I must have it! The colors are beautiful. Want to win your own spool of ribbon? Details are HERE.