New Month = New Sketch!

That's right, folks!  A new month means it's time for a new sketch from Lucy Chesna at My Sketch World!  Check out this fabulous sketch!

This has been a really fun sketch to work with!  I've enjoyed it so much, I've made TWO layouts with it already!

 

The first layout features some photos taken by my friend Patricia Takacs of Kivalo Photography and some fabulous older papers from Bella Blvd papers!

 

And, the 2nd layout features some fantastic new papers from Imaginisce, and of course, my sweet Duffy Doodle!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I have more fun stuff to share with you, so I'll be back this weekend for sure!  Have a great one!

Hoppy Easter!

Hey there, everyone!  I know that I've been a slacker here on my blog, but I've been scrapping... I promise!!

Today I want to share a few projects that I've made for the A Walk Down Memory Lane blog! 

First up... some Ombre Cards!  Ombre is all the range these days so I wanted to try it out on some sweet and simple cards! 

 

I also made a sweet little Easter Bunny using only circle, oval and heart dies.  She's just SO cute.... and there's a tutorial on how to make here HERE on the AWDML blog!

 

I hope you enjoyed these projects and will visit the AWDML blog to see the products I used upclose!  I have lots more fun stuff to share with you, but you're just going to have to come back to see them!

 

My Sketch World Blog Hop!

Welcome to My Sketch World's Blog Hop!

Sketches, sketches!  Oh, I love sketches. And, I'm really excited to show off this month's sketch from MSW!  We are welcoming a new Design Team and I'm so excited to be back as the Design Team Leader!   MSW is my online-scrappy family and I truly love it there!  First, just a little about me...

 

My name is Nicole and I live in Southern Maine with my husband of 13 years, my two kids and my two dogs.  They are my life and they are why I scrap!  I love to scrap the small moments, as well as the big ones so that they will have them to cherish and remember forever.  By day I am a middle school music teacher and am in my 15th year.  After school time is spent carting my kids to dance, karate and music lessons, cooking and of course, scrapping!  I love my MSW girls and if you haven't been over to the forum to hang out with us, you should definitely check it out!

 

I'd also love it if you became a follower of my blog so you can come back to check out what I'm up to!

 

Here is this month's layout sketch:

 

 

Here is my example using the sketch:

Here's a close-up of the title and journaling:

Here’s the skinny on how this blog hop works... Stop by each designers' blog to see what fantabulous creations they’ve made using My Sketch World March 1st sketch and get to know them. Be sure to leave a comment at each stop along the way!  We are going to draw at random from all the comments left on all the blogs (this includes this MSW blog posting).  The winner will receive a $20 GC to YOUR CHOICE of ONLINE STORE.

All comments must be made by midnight PST on March 3rd. Tune into this blog on March 5th to see if you are one of the lucky winners.

 

So without further adieu here’s the line up:

My Sketch World Blog http://mysketchworld.blogspot.com/
Nicole Wise (DT Coordinator) http://fourwiseguys.blogspot.com/ (You are HERE!)
Vicki Robertson http://validationofvicki.blogspot.com/
Jeanette Nystrom http://www.jeanys.se/
Joan Borgelt http://thegovsplace.blogspot.com/
Ann Jobes http://www.lovestnpaper.com
Kristin Perez http://somescrapsugar.blogspot.com/
My Sketch World Blog http://mysketchworld.blogspot.com/

Thanks for being here and now its time to head to Vicki's Blog to check out her creation!

Have fun and come back soon!!

My First Altered Canvas: Love is all we Need

I know, I know... I'm still on the Valentine's kick.  But, I made this for the AWDML Blog last week and I just HAD to share it here with you!  I bought this canvas a while ago to do a gift for my dad's birthday.  And...well....I haven't got the nerve to get all goopy and create what's in my mind (sorry, Dad!). 

So, I was inspired by a Pinterest project that originated from the American Crafts blog and created this!  All I needed was my cricut, a circle punch, some glue and this beautiful Authentique paper!

You can see how I created the heart on the AWDML Blog post.  And, if you come to my house, you'll see this hanging in my scraproom!  I just love how it came out and I can't wait to do another canvas.  Maybe this time I'll do my sweet friend Scarlett proud and get my goop on!  Stay tuned!

My Funny Valentines

I know Valentine's Day was more than a week ago now, but I'm still in the Valentine's spirit, so I wanted to share this layout that I created last week!  This one showcases some gorgeous Authentique papers and of course, my two kiddos!  I love the striking combination of black, white and red!

 

In this past week's newsletter at A Walk Down Memory Lane, I shared a quick tip on how to make these leaves with a circle punch!  My days of freehanding leaves are over!  And, let's face it-- anal-retentive people like me MUST have leaves with their flowers!

 

And, here's a little close-up of the title work!  I used a combination of Thickers, Lily Bee Alphas and my Cricut on this one!  I LOVE to mix up the alphas in my titles!  It's a great way to create interest and to draw the eye to the title!  Love it!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you'll come back tomorrow to see my very first altered canvas!

Paper Bag Pocket Tutorial

Hey, all! Welcome back to my blog!  I know I have been a bit of a slacker with updating lately, but that's all about to change!  I'm on vacation and I plan to schedule a bunch of posts to get you all caught up on what I've been up to! 

Today, I want to shar a fun and easy tutorial that I shared on the Birds of a Feather Kit Club blog! I love this project because it can be used for a ton of different things-- birthday party or wedding favors & goodie bags, Christmas treats for friends or co-workers, May Day treats for friends and neighbors, Teacher Appreciation gifts and so much more! I chose to make a Valentine goodie bag for my kids using the BOAF February 2013 kit!
First, start with a basic paper lunch bag:

Now, simply fold the bottom half of the bag up, leaving about an inch and a half of the top of the bag showing and crease.

Next, simply stitch around the three sides of the bag to create your pocket. If you don't have a sewing machine (or don't want to dig it out), you could use a bead of glue or some double sided tape here, instead.

Now, the base of your project is done (yep- it took about two minutes!) and you can decide from here where you want to go. This can be used for just about anything! Today, I'm using it for a Valentine goodie bag for my kids. This would even be easy enough that you could make one for each of their classmates! Here's what mine looked like after it was decorated:

And, here it is full of goodies and ready to make someone smile! Isn't it super cute?!

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you liked my project and that you can think of ways that you can use it!

Before I sign off, I just want to take a moment to thank Amy for having me on this fantastic team. This has been an incredible experience and I have been so very honored to be a part of it. I also want to thank Linda who has been a wonderful team leader and an inspiration with her designs. And, Kristin who has been a perfect team mate- also an inspiration! And, of course I want to thank the BOAF girls for welcoming me into the family! I'm not going anywhere and hope to stick around as long as you'll have me!

Stay tuned to the BOAF Blog for the announcement of the AWESOME new Design Team and for details about the upcoming crop! It's going to be a great time!

Thanks, again, everyone!!

It's February at Birds of a Feather!

This February 2013 Kit is another one of Amy's kits that is just busting at the seams with fantastic scrappy goodness! The colors are to-die-for and the patterns and embellishments are beautifully put together! The kit has a definite Valentine theme, but is not so "Valentine-y" that you can't use it for other things, and I LOVE that!

My first project with this kit is a layout about my grandparents-- my Memere and Pepere. They always loved eachother so very much and showed it in the way they took care of eachother. The photo was taken just a few short years before we lost Pepere when they just watned a "nice" photo together. So they dressed up and stepped outside infront of the lilac bush.

In this close up you can see the journaling and the different patterned papers that are in the kit.

And, here's a closeup of the title! I used the fantastic Pink Paislee sticker and colored it with a pink Copic Marker. I love how these stickers are so versatile! I couldn't resist replacing the "dot" of the "I" with some bling from the kit, as well! I also used one of the beautiful Maya road flowers and I created some leaves using a circle punch and some of the script paper.

Finally I created a quick card! This kit is going to be perfect for making valentines with!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! If you haven't already ordered your February 2013 Kit, don't wait another minute! These are going to go fast!

There's lots of scrappy goodness in the works, so be sure to come back soon!

The January BOAF Kit is Fantabulous!

I have LOVED the kit this month from Birds of a Feather!  I love the projects I've created and the BEST part is that most of the papers in this kit, I never would have picked out for myself. I didn't see "me" in these papers, but somehow Amy creates magic kits that help me to make projects that I really like! And, the beauty of a kit is that you get to try papers, styles and embellishments that you may not have picked out for yourself. Kits stretch your creativity, your imagination and your style!

Today I want to share a layout that I've created to remember my daughter's 5th grade year. I try to scrap their school pictures every year and include key things that they are into or are doing.

Here's a close up where you can really see the gorgeous papers and the fun layering! I love putting mats on my patterned papers when I'm layering to really make them stand out!

And, here's one more closeup where you can read the journaling strips.

I also made a card to share with you today. I just love how the yellow pops right off the black. And, I loved that the patterns on the yellow and black patterned papers lined up (anal-retentive people like me get a kick out of things like that). And, the flowers and glittered cardstock that Amy put with the kit match the yellow in the papers perfectly. I tried and tried to make this card more complicated. But, in the end, it just needed simplicity. And, I really like it!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you enjoyed my projects and that you already have your hands on your January Kit! If you don't, hurry over to the BOAF Boutique and get one before they're gone!

Every Ornament Has A Story...

Well, I finally created the mini-album that I've had in my head for almost two years.  Every year we hang the ornaments on the Christmas tree and I tell the kids about where the most speical ones came from.  Some I made when I was a kid, some have hung on the tree since I was a little girl, some  were given to us by someone special and some are ones that we got that have special meaning to us.  I wanted to make sure that the kids have these stories in their hearts and memories to share with their kids someday, as they hopefully hang these very same ornaments on their tree.

So, what better way to document than with a mini-album?!  I used the beautiful Simple Stories Handmade Holiday collection to make it, along with some of the stickers from the Carta Bella Christmas Day collection.  You can find out more about how I made the album using leftover sheets of chipboard on this AWDML Blogpost.

Here's the cover of my album:

And, here are a few of the inside pages:

This one is about the bird in a nest that's supposed to bring good luck.  It was given to us by my BFF's mom.

And this one I bought in Chicago at the Art Institute.  Shortly after I returned home from that trip, I found out that Miss Elizabeth was on the way!

Sweet Fergus will always be represented on our tree!  The photo was taken when he was about a year old and he'll be 16 this spring!  And, the little wrestler dude is Chris reliving his glory days as a wrestler at Lenape High School!

We have quite a few more pages in the album, and lots more photos to add!  The kids have already enjoyed the album and shared it with friends who have come over.  Elizabeth even said, "Mom, I really didn't know some of these stories- I'm so glad you made this!" 

Mission Accomplished.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Since I've been a slacker on my blog lately, I've got lots more to share!  Come back soon!

A New Layout and a New Sketch to start off 2013!

Happy New Year, everyone!  I hope 2013 is off to a rockin' start for everyone!

Today I want to share a new sketch from My Sketch World and a new layout (based on the sketch) using the January 2013 kit from Birds of a Feather!

First of all, the sketch!  The sketch is by Lucy Chesna and is the January sketch at My Sketch World!

Lucy makes wonderful sketches and has a fantastic online scrappy community.  AND, it just so happens that there's a DT call going on right now!  Just pop over to the MSW Forum or Blog to see the details!

And, my layout based on the sketch uses the fantastic January 2013 kit from Birds of a Feather!

 

Here's a closeup so you can see some of the details:

Stop by the BOAF Blog for a tip on how I printed the journaling on the small piece of yellow paper!  And, check out the kit HERE-- there are still only a few left, so don't wait!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope 2013 is a fantastic year for us all!