SALE in my Etsy Shop

Happy Memorial Day weekend!  I hope you get to spend some time with loved ones remembering those who have passed, especially those who bravely and valiantly defended the freedom we enjoy.

I just wanted to let everyone know that I have a sale going on in my shop through the weekend.  Use coupon code MEMORIAL10 at checkout and get 10% off your entire purchase AND a FREE GIFT!  (Discount will not include shipping and can not be used for previous purchases or custom orders.  Coupon code expires Monday May 28th.)

Have a safe and fun holiday!

May's Sincerely... Really.

I found the memory card!  Yay!  I am missing a few pics {my super talented two year old son has figured out how to delete pics now, too} but I think it should still work.  Kiwi Lane has not posted these yet today {isn't it the third Wednesday?} so if you're here before you've seen it on their blog or Facebook page, I guess it's a sneak peek- lucky you!

Card #1- Shirt and Tie (finished card size: 5x7)

Believe it or not, this card is made with templates! And so easy!! 

I used: Tiny Tags 5T, Tiny Shapes 6T & 1T and Celebrate 6; white and brown card stock, buttons, ink, and the Authentique Gathering paper kit (available in the Kiwi Lane Shop).

Here's how:
1- cut a piece of white card stock 4 3/4" x 6 3/8" for the shirt base
2- cut the "knot" of the tie from patterned paper using Tiny Shapes 1T (the small triangle).
3- cut the "pocket" of the shirt from white card stock using Tiny Tags 5T.  Cut it shorter than the actual tag, and remember that you will be trimming the side off to fit on the shirt base.
4- cut the "collar" from white card stock using Tiny Shapes 6T (hexagon).  Here's a picture of how:

You only cut half of the hexagon as pictured (a trapezoid, if you want to get technical), and then you cut that in half.  To make those two pieces into a collar, you turn them out like this (sort of like a butterfly):

If you don't get it the first time, don't feel too bad.  It took me a little bit of moving these around before I got it where I wanted it to be.  Also, if you don't get your pieces in equal halves, no big deal.  Just hold them up so they match and cut the edge off the longer one to make it even.
5- cut the tie using Tiny Shapes 1T (small triangle) and Celebrate 6 (ice cream cone/pennant/long triangle).  This is how I laid it out:

You can see that the long triangle template is too long to match up with the small triangle.  Which is good.  Because it would go off the edge if it did match at the end.  I just moved that tiny triangle up on the long triangle until the two corners of the small triangle met the sides of the long triangle.  This is where I would insert the picture of the shapes traced on paper, but that seems to be missing.  Basically, you would trace the long triangle first and then put the little triangle where you want it (like in the picture above) and trace it.  Then erase the lines you don't want to cut on, leaving you a tie shape.  Then cut it out.
6- ink the edges of the pocket, collar, knot and tie.
7- glue the tie to the "shirt" first, making sure it's centered and the bottom tip is close to the edge, but not hanging over.  Then glue the knot on, making sure it's centered.  Then glue the collar on (it will hang over the top edge of the "shirt" and that's okay), followed by the pocket.  Cut the overhang of the pocket off flush to the edge of the "shirt."  Ink the edges of the "shirt" and adhere to the front of a 5x7 card.  (Because my card base is dark, I also put a piece of lighter paper on the inside for writing a note.) You can add buttons and/or a tie tack, if you'd like.

And you're done!  I know it looks like a lot of instruction, but it really isn't that bad.  

Card #2- Dad, You're a Rock Star!  (finished card size: 4 1/4" x 5 1/2")

For this card I used: Templates- Sentiments 2B & 3A, Wacky 3T, Adventure 1 & 2, Tiny Strips; Authentique Gathering paper kit; stickers (SEI and Authentique); jewels (Doodlebug)

This one is a little easier to figure out, or can be altered and adjusted to fit your needs, so no instructions :)  I will say that the "Rock Star" is just my handwriting, but you can use stickers, rub-ons or whatever else you can think of.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Crafting!!

May's Sincerely Cards for Kiwi Lane

If you have come from Kiwi Lane and are looking for the instructions for the super cute Father's Day cards, you are in the right place!  However, my memory card isn't.  That means I don't have pics right now {insert very sad face here}.  Which means I can't post instructions right now {insert even sadder face here}.  If I can't find the memory card by this afternoon, I will make the cards again and take more pictures and post by the morning.  I'm so sorry for any delay of making your own cards!!

*This post was brought to you courtesy of my two year old son who likes to take memory cards out of things and put them in very strange places*

Oh, yeah! I have a blog!!

Sometimes I forget I have a blog.  Especially since said blog was left by the wayside and forgotten for a few years... that is, until fairly recently.  So when you don't see posts on my blog for a while, it's not because I haven't been doing anything, it's because I have mom-nesia, which is what my family has lovingly named that condition when Mommies have so much on their minds that some things slip out.  Usually through the ear :)

So what have I been doing?  Well, LOTS!  I made a layout for Kiwi Lane's April Design by #'s (I had to use all #2 templates), I made a set of cards for someone to give as a gift, and I made and listed a bunch of layouts in my Etsy shop.  Plus, I made my usual cards using the scraps I have left when I make pages.  Where is the proof that I actually work, you ask?  Well, right here, of course!

 This was the layout I made for Kiwi Lane's Design by #'s challenge- and I love how it turned out!! 

Templates I used: Wildflower 2, Tiny Wildflower 2T, Tiny Nature 2T, Rings 2, Abbie Road 2A, Aspen Court 2B.

Other supplies: Paper, stickers, journaling spot (Echo Park's A Walk in the Park Collection); jewels (Creative Imaginations); ink (Ranger); thread and sewing machine.

 These are the cards I made for someone.  She wanted them to give to her sister for her birthday.  I thought they were really pretty- I almost didn't want to give them up (true paper hoarder tendencies coming to light, right? ha!)

I used: card bases (DCWV); patterned paper and die cuts (Authentique's Blissful Collection); flowers (Prima, Imaginisce); brads (Basic Grey, Doodlebug); twine (the Twinery); ink (KI Memories); vellum (craft supply); Kiwi Lane Designs templates; punches (Martha Stewart Crafts, Marvy Uchida)

And this is one of the seven layouts I got posted to my Etsy shop.  And it sold in less than a week.  

Supplies:  Patterned paper and card stock (SEI); brads and letter stickers (American Crafts); ink (KI Memories); brads (Basic Grey); Kiwi Lane Designs templates

See?  I did get some things done for the crafty part of my life!  Now, if only I could remember that I have a blog....

April Cards for Kiwi Lane

It's that time again!  Another Sincerely post for Kiwi Lane Designs.  My assignment was to do some Mother's Day cards and to use their NEW templates!  Yay for new templates!!  I only used a few of the new templates for these cards, but all of their new (and old!) templates are fantastic- you can take a look here!

Card #1 "Mom"

Finished card size: 5" x 7"

Supplies:  Cardstock and patterned paper (DCWV); ribbon (May Arts); flower (Kaisercraft); brad (The Girls' Paperie); pen (Staedler); ink (Ranger); 2" circle punch (Marvy Uchida)

KLD Templates:  Tiny Nature 6T, Tiny Shapes 3T, Tags 1, Tiny Tags 1T

As soon as I saw the Tags 1 and 1T, I had a flood of projects whirring through my mind- and this "award" type of a badge was one of them.  I used a lot of layers to get the look I wanted, but there really isn't a lot of bulk to this card.  I used a sewing machine to stitch around the card stock that everything else would be adhered to.   I used regular old scissors to cut into the edges of the circles and then inked the edges to help define the cuts.  I then put the layers together (flower, circles and paper flower) with a super cute pearl brad.  The "ribbons" of the "award" are made from tracing and cutting the Tag templates (1 and 1T) and then adding another layer of a few strips with their ends cut at an angle.  The top layer is some pale pink ribbon, also with the ends cut at an angle.  I used some foam adhesive to adhere the flower over the ribbon.  I wrote "Mom" in the bottom corner very last (you could stamp it, if you wanted, but I'd suggest stamping before sewing or gluing anything on) and that's it!  It looks more complicated than it actually is... but no one will know but you!  Wouldn't you love to award your mom with a card like this for Mother's Day?

Card #2 "Happy Mother's Day"

Finished card size: 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"

Supplies:  Cardstock (The Paper Company); patterned paper (Authentique); paper flowers (Prima); pearls (Basic Grey); twine (The Twinery); 1" punch (Marvy Uchida); Glossy Accents, ink (Ranger)

KLD Templates:  Tiny Accents 1T, Tiny Shapes 2T

So have I mentioned that I'm in love with Authentique paper?  Well, I am!  And if you haven't had a chance to see any of their stuff yet, take a little look here and see why I'm in love!  I just think they have some great designs and their paper is high quality and beautiful.  Anyway, I had just a few 6x6 sheets of paper from a sampler pack of their Freebird collection and these gray and pink papers were just calling out  to me for this card!  It was fairly simple- it's just a background made of Tiny Shapes 2T (the small hexagon) glued to a card base and leaving just a little bit of space between them.  I trimmed the hexagons as I went so there is only one perfect one on the card.  On this hexagon, I added some stickers and paper flowers.  Then I cut out 2 flowers (Tiny Accents 1T), layered them and added a 1" circle for the center.  I made the center of the layered flower shiny with Glossy Accents, tied twine around the card front twice and tied it, added a few pearls for the centers of the other flowers and ta da!  Finished!

I hope these cards have inspired you to get going on your Mother's Day cards!  Have fun crafting!

No More PAPER!!

The title of this post does not reflect what is happening- it is a reminder to myself of what needs to happen.  I do not need to purchase any more paper.  I have paper stuffed in every corner of my workspace and closet and a few other places that I'd rather not divulge at the moment :) but the point is that I do not need more paper!!

Why post this when I tell myself this almost every day?  A few reasons... First, if I write it down, I tend to stick to it a little bit better.  Maybe not 100%, but still better.  Second, if I write it down where others might see it, it makes it more concrete.  I don't know why, but that's just how I tend to think.  Third, I need to make a goal of... something... before I can buy more paper.  Like a certain amount of pages or a certain amount of sales in the shop... something.  I guess I'll post that when I come up with it.

And why post this now?  Well, I think the postman does not like it when I order it online (which is what I have to do for lack of scrapbook stores in the area) because then he has to haul it through the parking lot of our apartment complex, up the stairs to our second story apartment and wait at the door for me to answer.  Although, I've noticed lately that he no longer waits.  I don't blame him.  I also don't think he appreciates that my packages of paper rarely weigh less than 4 or 5 pounds.  Like the one on Saturday that weighed at least 7 pounds.  I also have to post this now to keep myself from adding more to my paper addiction by going to a warehouse sale in town this weekend... because I do not need more paper!!  Especially when I bought a few hundred more sheets in the last week.  Yes, a few hundred in a week.  And then, while I was putting away the new stuff, I found paper that I had purchased recently and forgot about.  It's too much PAPER!!  I also know that we are going to be moving within the next year.  And I don't want to move this much paper... it's heavy!  And I don't want to get rid of it without getting to use it on something pretty.  But, it's still too much paper!!

So now for some help- what should I do for a paper-using goal?  And is there a Paper Hoarder's Anonymous group I can join? ;)

My Scrap Space

If you're coming from Kiwi Lane and want to look at cards, they are in the previous post.  Feel free to read on your way there :)

Every once in a while I get asked what my scrap space looks like.  This usually happens when a fellow crafter finds out that I am also a crafter.  So today, since I really don't have anything else to share that's not already in my Etsy shop, I thought I'd share my space!

My "Scrap Room" has evolved over the years.  Maybe revolve is more applicable.  My "room" changes every time we change residences.  It is usually furnished with whatever furniture we don't use in the rest of the house and goes where we can fit it in.  It has been stuck in the same room as our daughter (when she was 2 years old and didn't have toys in her room- they were in the living room), put in our room (sometimes stuck in drawers in a corner and I would pull things out and work on the floor at the foot of our bed), put in it's own room in the coldest room at the back of the house (does my family remember the house we named the "shanty house"?), stored in the family room, and sometimes it has had it's own spacious room all to itself (seriously- I took over the largest bedroom in the house once and made it my craft room!).  Right now, we live in an apartment with a large master bedroom so about 1/3 of our room has my scrap table and supplies.  It looks like this:

And I love it!  There are two windows close to my work area, which makes it nice and sunny.  And there are boxes, drawers, bins and shelves of paper and supplies EVERYWHERE!!  Really!  Under the table, right of the table, on the shelves on top of the table, left of the table in file crates and a wire paper rack.... everywhere!!

Hmm...  I should have moved the pillows from the floor before I took pictures :)

This is the area left of my table (you can see the green paper cutter on the corner of the table)- it's a kitchen storage cabinet that we don't have a use for in our kitchen.  So I have stuffed it full of scrap supplies!  There are dies in the bottom cupboard and divided boxes of small embellishments, drawers with ribbon, small boxes of die cuts, a dishpan full of paper punches and a box of paper scraps, and more!  

I hate to admit this, but I didn't include pics of ALL my scrap stuff.  Yep, there is MORE!  There is a dresser to the left of my storage cabinet that has a TV on it (J is watching a movie in the photo and you can see his hand!) and in the top drawer is a whole bunch of alphabet stickers and other embellishments like felt shapes and jewel stickers... and it is packed!  Just one drawer, though!  The other three house about half of our movie collection, which I like to watch/listen to while I'm at my desk.  Is there more, you ask?  Why YES, there is!  We have a walk-in closet with 9 different sections for clothes/shoes.  My hubby and I each have a side.  His side houses clothes/shoes in all 4 of the sections.  Mine houses clothes in two sections.  And craft supplies, idea books and magazines in the other two.  Did you do the math?  There's one more section in the middle... I took that over with craft supplies, too!  My super sweet husband knows that having this space is important to me and makes me happy, so he is content to let it take over a good sized chunk of our space.  I'm so grateful he is so understanding!!

So that is my space.... I hope you enjoyed the tour!!

And really quick before I end this post....  I want to show a glimpse into my creative process.  Are you a messy crafter or one who puts away one supply before getting the next one out?  I'll admit, I'm on the messy side!  Here's a peek at what my table looks like while mid-project:

So I want to know- are you messy when you craft or not?  I'd love to know!  Feel free to leave a comment...

March Sincerely...

I'm a designer for Kiwi Lane Designs.  They are a company that make AWESOME templates that you use to make scrapbook pages, cards and other craft projects.  If you haven't heard of them, you can visit them at www.kiwilane.com and/or find them on Facebook.  

Anyway, my monthly designing assignment is to make cards for their monthly "Sincerely..." card ideas.  I will try to post them here every month (from now on), but if you don't see them here, you can see them on their blog at http://kiwilanedesigns.blogspot.com/

This month I was asked to do some Easter/Spring cards and Glimmer mist.  I only have one color of Glimmer Mist right now- and that is Pearl, which is just what it sounds like.  It adds a great pearly sheen, but is difficult to capture in photos.  So zoom in as much as you can to see the sparkle!!  And this assignment has brought me to this conclusion:  I need to get more colors of Glimmer Mist!  It is so much fun to use, and so versatile.  I don't know why I haven't used them on everything!!

Card #1- Spring Birds

Finished card size: 5”x7”

Templates used: Nature 1, Tiny Nature 1T, Mini Paisley Place 2B, Tiny Wacky 2T

Supplies:  Cardstock (the Paper Company); patterned paper (3 Bugs in a Rug); ink (Ranger); Glimmer Mist (Tattered Angels); brads (Basic Grey); vellum (Provo Craft); stamp (Hampton Art); pens (Staedtler); fringe scissors (Martha Stewart Crafts); googly eyes (craft supply)

I felt inspired by the cards that Kiwi Lane posted for Valentine's Day- especially the one with the two love birds.  I couldn't wait to transform leaves into birds and this card was the perfect chance for me to do so! If you missed the how-to for the birds, go to http://kiwilanedesigns.blogspot.com/2012/01/mini-madison-swak-card.html and check it out.  My new favorite tool:  Martha Stewart fringe scissors!  They are scissors with multiple blades that let you cut multiple parallel cuts at once.  I've had them for a few months but hadn't used them yet and they let you create the look of grass so easily.  I sprayed the birds, grass and cloud with Pearl Glimmer Mist and let them dry without manipulating them at all.  I liked the slightly warped look that I ended up with.  Warning- Glimmer mist will make some inks bleed!  Like distress ink, which is what I stamped my sentiment with.  So either cover your sentiment before you spray or stamp after you spray.  Experiment to see what one looks better to you.  I wanted the ink from the pen

I used to outline the cloud to bleed and not be as harsh, but not the sentiment, so I covered the sentiment with a sticky note and then sprayed a light coat of Glimmer Mist on the cloud.  I didn’t want the beak of my birds to bleed, so I drew them on last.  I drew their legs after everything was glued on the card.  To add dimension, I used foam adhesive to attach the birds to the card.  I made the wings of the birds out of clear vellum, inked the edges and attached them with brads.  Things you could also do with this card (that I wish I had done, but didn’t):  use a distress tool around the edges of the birds (wouldn’t it look like feathers?  Love it!); use a different paper for the beaks; ink the edges of the blades of grass to make them stand out more; add a sunshine in the corner using Tiny Accents 4T.

Card #2- Happy Spring

Finished card size: 4 1/4" x 5 1/4" (slightly off the standard notecard size, but what can I say?  Tip: measure twice, cut once :P )

Templates used:  Tiny Nature 1T, Tiny Accents 1T, Sentiments 2A and 2B

Supplies:  Cardstock (The Paper Company); paper (3 Bugs in a Rug); Glimmer Mist (Tattered Angles); fringe scissors (Martha Stewart Crafts); punches (Marvy Uchida); ink (Ranger); baker's twine (The Twinery)

I tried masking for this card and it turned out great!  But, you can't see it in this picture.  

If you don't know how to use a mask, it's pretty simple.  You just use a paper or other material to prevent the Glimmer Mist from getting to the paper in some spots.  I was masking small areas, so I used the sticky part of a few sticky notes to cut my shapes from:

I used a 1/2" circle punch, a small flower and hand cut lines.  Then I applied my masks, sprayed the eggs (ovals) with Glimmer Mist, let the mist dry completely, and removed the masking.  And this is what I ended up with:

The light is weird for this pic, but that was the only way I could get the masked patterns to show up.

I made the grass using card-size border template (both A and B) and my fringe scissors.  I also sprayed the flower layers with Glimmer Mist, let them dry and put them together.  For the flower center, I used a 1" circle punch for the base, covered it with adhesive (Terrifically Tacky Tape works great, as would Glubers or Glue Dots XL).  I then tied a knot at the end of the baker's twine, cut the tail off really close to the knot, put the knot in the center of the circle and then started wrapping the twine around the knot.  This made a fun and whimsical flower center with some texture.  

My sentiment "happy Spring" is hand written, but feel free to use a rub-on, stamp or leave it blank.

Card #3- Easter Bunny

Finished card size: 5"x7"

Templates used:  Rings 2 (trace the outside, not the inside), Tiny Shapes 4T and 8T, Tiny Brackets 2T and 4T

Supplies:  Cardstock (The Paper Company); patterned paper (3 Bugs in a Rug); brads (Doodlebug); flower and ribbon (Making Memories); scalloped scissors (Provo Craft); jewels (Doodlebug, Heidi Swapp for Advantus)

This is a simple card! More info is on the Kiwi Lane blog at http://kiwilanedesigns.blogspot.com/ 

One more tip- adhere everything on a background piece 1/4" smaller than the card, including the brads and ribbon.  This way nothing shows on the inside of the card.

Thanks for looking at my Sincerely... cards for this month!  I would love to see what this inspired for you- feel free to post them on Kiwi Lane's Facebook page.  

Kiwi Lane Picture Perfect Challenge - 3

Here is what I submitted for Kiwi Lane Design's Picture Perfect Challenge for March.  The stipulations were to use 3 photos and some KLD templates.  

Templates used:  Bracket 1, Mini Scallops 3A, Strips, Photos

Supplies:  Cardstock, patterned paper and large alpha stickers (American Crafts); glitter brad, staples, small alpha stickers (Making Memories); buttons (Basic Grey, My Mind's Eye, craft supply)

I loved how it turned out!  These pics are from (dare I admit it??) 2008 and I'm happy to have them out of the box and on a page- a cute page I like is even better!  This was a super fast layout- about 30 minutes total- and that includes making the accordion folded circles.  Now to get the even older pics onto cute layouts, too!

One Challenge at a Time

This blog is supposed to be a place for me to share those projects that I do that aren't for sale in my shop, but it has nothing on it.... so far.  The reason? I suppose there are many, but one of the major ones is that all I do are layouts for the shop.  This hobby-turned-income-source should still be a hobby, right?  An outlet for creative energy.  And I should use it to preserve all those stories and memories that are connected to the piles and boxes of photos that I have in my office.  This is my new resolution (yes, I know it's waaaaayyyy past January first, but resolutions can be created anytime!)- I am going to use online challenges to help be preserve my memories and get my photos out of a box an onto a layout and into an album!

That brings us to my next issue- what challenges do I take part in?  I went searching for some challenges and there are a ton!!  And how many should I try to do?  How do I choose?  I honestly doubt that anyone reads this blog, but if you do, weigh in on this matter please!  Do you do monthly challenges, weekly challenges?  Do you only do the ones that involve prizes?  Do you have favorite companies that you follow on Facebook and do their sketch challenges?  How do I decide?!?

There is one monthly challenge that I will take part in for sure- that is the one for Kiwi Lane Designs.  They have a layout challenge once a month and since I do cards for their Sincerely... section (once a month card inspiration), I might as well do the LO, too, right? So, here is my LO for February's Picture Perfect challenge (using 2 photos):

Know You Are Loved:  Supplies-  KLD templates (Wacky, Mini Aspen, Sweetheart, Tiny Sweetheart, Tiny Accents, Tiny Brackets); patterned paper (Scenic Route); card stock (Bazzill [pink], The Paper Company [kraft]); jewel brads (SEI); paper flowers (Prima); ribbon (My Mind's Eye, May Arts); buttons (My Minds' Eye, Provo Craft, Fancy Pants); sticker (Scenic Route); twine (The Twinery); ink (Ranger); Pearl Glimmer Mist (Tattered Angels)

This Blog is no longer my shop. I have moved my wares to their rightful spot- an etsy shop. You can visit my new shop at www.GLOwormpaperdesigns.etsy.com to browse and/or purchase pre-made scrapbooks, layouts and cards. This blog will remain open, but will now be a place where I can share my personal projects and creations. More coming soon!