Senior Picture Scrapbook Page

Going through my pictures the other day, I came across me and my husband's Senior pictures. My picture was in good shape, but my husband's was bent on the corners and scratched up. So I thought I better preserve them before these get destroyed.

So here's the two-page layout I made. All three of my children said this was their favorite pages I've made so far.

Don't we look cheesey.

The paper is from DCWV The Rustic Stack, it's one of my favorites. The stamps are "Graceful" by My Mind's Eye. I love how imperfect they are. They go so well with this paper pack. The flowers are a huge grab bag of Prima flowers. All the ink is from Stampin' Up.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Become a follower so you don't miss any of my posts.

Thanks for stopping by,

Dana ;-)

Holiday Sign for Winter

A few weeks ago I posted that I purchased a framed 12x12 corkboard where I could hang up my holiday pictures easily. My first creation was the Halloween sign, but I forgot to post the Thanksgiving and Christmas/Winter sign. I already took down the Thanksgiving sign and stored it away (it wasn't too spectacular anyway), but I still have the winter scene up:

This is in my entry area. I'm in the market for a side table. I just haven't found the one I want yet, so for now a small bookshelf will have to do.

I used by Gypsy and the Winter Woodland Cartridge to plan this project (I think I had like 12 mats). Then I cut it using the Cricut. All the papers are DCWV and The Paper Studio cardstock. I use DCWV glitter paper to cut the snow on top of the trees and houses. I topped the words with Diamond Stickles to give them a frosty look.

I couldn't find paper that was exactly what I wanted, so I used DCWV paper and clear embossed snowflakes for the background.

To give this a more 3-D feel, I popped up the sleigh and horse. The glitter at the around the horses feet give that fresh snow feel. 

Now I need to start working on my February sign. I know I'll do something with Valentine's day, but I don't know if I will go with the traditional Pink and Red. I need to go explore my paper stash.

Thanks for stopping by,
Dana

My Pink Stamper Design Team "Audition"

Robyn at mypinkstamper.com is giving two people the opportunity to join her Design Team. She's posted a color challenge and from the projects you submit she will choose two lucky people to be part of her Design Team for the next 6 months.

The challenge is to use your Cricut to make a project with the colors Green, Brown, and Pink plus one other color of your choice. I decided to make a card. I would have loved to use a stamp for the sentiment, but when I went searching my small stash, I didn't have a stamp that worked. So, I had to hand write it.

Materials:
Tools: Cricut Expressions, Gypsy, We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper,
Cartridges: Sentimentals; Tags, Bags, Boxes, and More
Paper: Stampin' Up cardstock in Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake, Old Olive and Regal Rose; DCWV and KI Memories patterned paper
Ink: Stampin' Up in Old Olive and Chocolate Chip, Zig Marker for the Sentiment
Ribbon: Wal-mart
Flowers: Prima
Brad: Reflections (Michaels)
Glitter: Diamond Stickles
Border Punch: Fiscars
Cuttlebug Folder: Victorian
Glue Dots: Elmers


My card case is in Chocolate Chip and is 5 1/2" x 5 1/2". Then I cut the Regal Rose paper at 5 1/4" x 5 1/4" then I used the border punch on one side. On top of that I cut the Old Olive card stock at 4 1/2" x 5" and embossed it using my cuttlebug. Then I did the direct to paper techinque and brushed the Old Olive ink pad across the top of the embossed image. I layered all of these pieces together and added it to the card. I cut a slit in the top of the card and wrapped the ribbon all the way around and added a bow. Then I layered three Prima flowers and attached with a brad, then added this to the card. I cut the flower pattered paper at 1 1/2" x 5 1/5"  and added this to the bottom of the card.

Using the Sentamentials cartridge, I used my Gypsy to plan and cut the heat lock at 3 1/4" and the key at 4". I used the Tags, Bags, Boxes and More to cut the tag. I layed the pieces and inked the edges with Chocolate Chip ink and added my sentiment. I tied a piece of cotton thread from my stash around the bow and attached my tag and key. Using glue dots, I attached the key and tag. Then I popped up the heart lock using. I used my Corner Chomper and rounded each corner using the 1/4" setting. The last thing I did was add stickles to the centers of the flowers on the patterned paper.

So, that's my card. Hopefully, it's enough to will a spot on Robyn's team. I would so love to design for her, since she is the reason I found my way back to crafting. Long story, but I hadn't even considered getting back into crafting until I watched one of your videos on youtube.com. I didn't even know what a Cricut was. That was April of 2010 and by July, I had one and now I am ADDICTED or as my daughter says obsessed. Either way, I'm having fun.

Thanks for stopping by and wish me luck,
Dana

HAPPY New Year - 2011 is Gonna Rock!!

It has been quite a while since I posted and I've kinda missed it. I completed so many fun projects over the holidays (I will post some pictures of these projects at the end of this post), but I was also super busy, plus I ended up getting pneumonia the week before Christmas. YUCK! I'm finally feeling better and hope the recovery continues.

I've been thinking a lot about my crafting and what are the blessings it gives me. First, I love to be creative. There's nothing better than sitting down with raw materials and coming out with something beautiful. It is so relaxing and rewarding. Second, it gives me some "me" time. If you have children, you know that is a precious gift. For years I didn't spend much time with myself. I was always chasing kids and running the household...so much so, that I worried what I would do with myself when my children didn't need me for every aspect of their lives. That's where crafting fills the void. It's given me something to occupy my time, plus, my children are catching the crafting bug. So, I'm not losing the connection with my children as I feared, but building new bonds that will lead us into the adult years.

So, since crafting has given me so many blessings, how can I give back? I've decided to set a few goals for this year. I didn't want to have too many or I won't follow them. So, I decided on three goals.

1. Make time. Don't make excuses to not go to my craft room. It needs me as much as I need it.
2. Become more organized. Unlike most creative people, I can't work in a messy area.
3. Be free, creative, and enjoy what I'm doing.

So, with these three goals in mind, I made my first project of 2011.

When we moved to our new house (prepare yourself for the gasp), we "lost" every bit of my crafting supplies, including my sewing machine. We know where they were when we moved, but when I went to find them, they were not anywhere in our new house. My husband felt so bad, so for Christmas he bought me a new Singer all on his own. I was so surprised. Of course, I had to make something immediately.

Since this will be my first "real" sewing project in about 10 years, I wasn't sure what to pick. I finally decided on a purse. The pattern is Juliet by Me and My Sister Designs. I just love their patterns. They are so fun and versatile. I found this cherry material and I couldn't resist. My favorite colors are red and black.

I love it and now my daughter wants one with neon skulls. That's gonna be fun.

So, I think I'm off to a good start with meeting my goals. Now my wish for all of you, I hope that 2011 brings you joy and happiness...and much crafting!!!


Here's a few pictures of the projects I worked on over the holidays.

Materials

Stamps: Papertrey Ink - Friendship Jars and Holiday Fillers

Paper: Papertrey Ink cardstock, Cloud 9 patterned Paper

Die Cutting: Nestabilities Tags

Embossing: Cuttlebug - Swiss Dots

Ink: Stampin' Up - Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake; Momento; Copic Markers

These cards use the same Papertrey Ink stamps sets, Big and Bold Wishes, but they have different looks.

The first one uses Cloud 9 glittered paper for the background and the stamped image is embossed using Stampendous embossing power. I think the color choice gives this is more of a masculine look.



This one uses My Mind's Eye glittered paper and Papertrey Ink cardstock. I used Stampin' Up ink in Crumb Cake and die cut the image using Nestibilites. I think the pearls give it a delicate femine look.

Thanks for stopping by,
Dana

Busy, Busy Day

Just wanted to leave a quick update just to let you know that I'm not sure how much crafting I'm going to get done this weekend. I've been having so much fun the last few weeks, I've neglected some of the weekly cleaning. So, with everyone coming to my house for Thanksgiving, it's now or never to get the house in shape. So, my weekend will be filled with sweeping, mopping and scurbbing. Plus the basement...UGH! That place is a mess. So, I will post what I can.

Thanks for visiting!
Dana