You (alpha)bet!

Hey there, everyone!  I have some fun cards to share with you today!  I have a fun set of alphabet dies from Paper Smooches that I was dying to use.  They are a great size for layout subtitles and also for cards.  I got a little carried away and decided to use the whole set on a card!

Can you see the sentiments in these two cards?

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  As always, there's more projects on the way so be sure to come back soon!

Don't Judge a Collection by its Theme!

Hey, everyone!  This layout just went out as a part of the A Walk Down Memory Lane newsletter!  (Just click HERE to subscribe!)  In my article, I challenged scrappers not to judge a collection by it's theme!  Today I used Imaginisce's Good Dog collection to create a baseball layout.  Even though the "A" sides of the papers in this collection are chock full of super cute dog themed words and images, the "B" sides are made up of wonderful solids, dots, chevrons, stripes and more! 

I used a sketch by Valerie Salmon for Basic Grey for this layout:

Here's a close-up the mix of alpha stickers I used for the title!

Here's an up-close look at the journaling strips.  I love to mat my journaling strips so that they pop of the page and draw in the eye.

And, here's a look at my star cluster.  I actually struggle with creating clusters of stars.  It took me a while to figure out what didn't look "right" to me.  I found that I need to make sure that all of the points of each star must be visible in order for it to look "right."  What do you think?

By looking at this layout, you probably never would have guessed that it's created from a dog-themed collection!  So, use your imaginiation!  Look at the "B" sides of the papers and see what else you can do!  Can you make a beach layout using Christmas papers?  Can you make a baby layout using footbal papers?  Sure you can!

The sketch for this challenge also happens to be the sketch used in the April sketch challenge at Birds of a Feather.  Amy has some wonderful challenges posted!  You can check them out HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you were inspired and that you'll come back soon!

Getting Caught Up!

Hey there, everyone!
I'm on vacation this week and am SO happy to have a chance to do some projects that have been bugging me and get caught up on things that I just can't seem to get to on a regular basis.... like blogging!

Today I want to share with you two layouts that I've recently done for A Walk Down Memory Lane!  First up a fun layout using the wonderful new collection from Echo Park called "Sweet Girl."  It features to of the sweetest girls I know- Caroline and Elizabeth saying "yes" to the flower girl dress that Elizabeth will wear in Caroline's wedding this summer!  This isn't just a wedding, folks-- this is an event!  And, an event I can't WAIT for!

Here's a close up of the title.  I LOVE to mix my alphas up!

And, here's a little sub title using the "scrabble letter" paper from the collection.  These words were right there on the paper just waiting for me to cut them out!  Perfect!

Here's another layout that I recently made for AWDML!  It features the Good Dog collection from Imaginisce!  It's such a FUN collection and I loved incorporating a Pinterest idea (the pie chart) as my journaling.  You all know how much I "love" to journal....

And here's the pie chart upclose and personal.  You can see a step-by-step on how I made this on the AWDML blog!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope to be back with more projects to share soon!

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!