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!

The January 2013 Kit at BOAF is Just Lovely!

The January Kit at Birds of a Feather is just absolutely LOVELY! There are so many gorgeous papers and plenty of sparkle and fun! The colors are wondeful and the embellishments that Amy chose are just perfect- from ribbons to brads to the fun little bottles of acrylic paint! This is a perfect blend of colors and I adore the set of alpha stickers that she chose! It's safe to say that I just love it all!

Speaking of lovely.... let's talk about sweet little Lyida! She is truly the definition of cute and as sweet as can be. She's the daughter of two friends that I work with and she's just perfect! I took some photos of her as she was snuggling and smiling with her mom on a beautiful day at the lake last summer.

I used the red acrylic paint from the kit extras to make the little dots that go around the layout. The bottle is so easy to control and the paint dries really fast! The word "lovely" is from the Pink Paislee Photograms in the main kit and the leaves for the flower are cut from the Photograms packaging.

Here's a closeup so you can see a few more details!

Today is my Great Aunt Muriels' 80th birthday. So, this card was created for her. She is a wonderful, strong lady who has been a smiley part of my life for as long as I can remember. Happy Birthday, Aunt Muriel!

I hope you've enjoyed my projects today and that you are loving the January Kit as much as I am! If you'd like to get your hands on this kit, check it out HERE!

And, don't forget to check out the challenges on our forum. Amy has posted some great challenges this month to inspire you!

By the way- I just realized that I forgot to post the winner of my $10 BOAF GC here on my blog!  It was on the BOAF Forum, though... Congratulations to Ann Jobes!
Thanks so much for stopping by today!

BOAF Winterfest Blog Hop!

Happy Friday and welcome to the Birds of a Feather Winterfest Crop 'n Hop! Hopefully, you have been directed here from Kristin's blog. If you are just visiting (and weren't directed here from Kristin's blog), please join us for the complete Blog Hop and Crop. All you have to do is start HERE, hop from blog to blog,and finish up at the Birds of a Feather blog.

To make it even more fun, we have a super interesting progressive layout challenge planned for you. IF you complete the entire Hop, leave a comment on each participant’s blog, complete the layout challenge AND you get it posted in the gallery by midnight on Sunday, December 16, you will be eligible for a FAB SCRAPS-Christmas Collection: Spiral Bound Book ($20 value)

When you visited Kristin's blog, you saw the sketch part of the progressive challenge.  My part of the challenge is to ADD STITCHING!  It can be by machine, or by hand but you have to get out that needle and thread!

Here's my layout with the sketch and the stitching:

If you're thinking that my layout looks a little incompelete, well you're right!  All I have is what you should have so far, Kristin's sketch and stitching.  You have to complete the hop to see what the rest of the elements are.  And, check out the BOAF Gallery this weekend to see my completed layout!

Rememer to leave a comment here, AND if you are already a follower of my blog, or choose to become one, I'll pick a winner of a $10 Gift Certificate to the BOAF Boutique!!  The winner will be posted on Monday, December 17th!

Okay, it's time to hop on over to Linda's Blog to continue on with the fun! Remember, if you finish the entire hop, leave a comment on everyone’s blog, complete the challenge layout and get it posted in the gallery by the deadline, you are eligible for that darling FAB SCRAPS prize! Enjoy the rest of the crop and I sure hope you will join us over at the forums for a weekend full of scrapping, games and fun!

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to head to Linda's Blog next!

It's December at Birds of a Feather!

...and the December kit is TO DIE FOR!  It's seriously beautiful full of MME and BG goodies!  Yum!  I've had two reveals so far, but have been a slacker about sharing them on my blog.  So... here you go!

First a layout with photos taken last year when we went sledding.  I love how the black and white photos play off of the soft colors of the papers.

This is a fun project where I made little goodie bags of Chocolates to give away at Christmas time.  I think the office staff at my school will be pretty happy with these!  And, there's a tutorial on how to make them on the BOAF blog.  Just you can see it HERE.

 

And, now a few cards!  This one is a simple, fun card made with the December kit:

 

 

And finally, this fun and super easy card also made with the December kit.  The branch is made using the Martha Stewart Branch Punch.  So, fun!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Come back tomorrow for the BOAF Winterfest Blog Hop-n-Crop!  It's going to be a blast!  Come see the crop details HERE.

Let the Party Begin!

...the Christmas Card Party, that is!  I am notorious for making tons of cards and never actually giving them to anyone.  Well, that's all going to change this year!  I'm challenging myself to make and GIVE AWAY at least 20 Christmas cards this year!  So, I wanted to come up with a fun and simple card that would be easy to replicate many times over.

Here's what I came up with using the Simple Stories Handmade Holiday Collection from A Walk Down Memory Lane!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you like the cards and are inspired to make some of your own!

Sunburst Card Tutorial

Hey, there everyone!
Today I want to share a quick tutorial that I shared on the Birds of a Feather Blog last week!  It features the fabulous November 2012 Kit and is a great way to use up scraps!

A few weeks ago, I uploaded a layout that included a sunburst pattern and a few people asked how I did it. So, I decided I'd share. This is a great way to use up scraps when you have created several projects (ok LOTS of projects) with your kits!

Today, I'm going to show how to do a card, but used the exact same techinque on THIS LAYOUT.
First of all, start with a piece of cardstock that is the size that you want your finished sunburst to be. (My finished card is 4 1/2" X 6", so my cardstock piece is 4" X 5 1/2") The color doesn't matter because it will be completely covered when you're done. Then, punch a circle from a random scrap of cardstock and adhere it where you'd like the center of your sunburst to be.

Now comes the fun part! Just start cutting wedge shapes of paper and adhering them to your cardstock with the point of the wedge landing on the centerpoint circle. As you work your way around, you may find that some of the wedges don't land exactly in the center of the centerpoint circle. That's ok-- you'll see why when you see my finished card.

And, keep adding more wedges....

And go all the way around until it looks something like this: (Note: usually my wedges laid flat against eachother, but sometimes it was necessary to overlap them in order to keep the curve).

Then, flip this mess... ahem... I mean "beautiful starburst"... over and you should see this:
Now, using your scissors or paper cutter, cut along the edge of your original piece of cardstock. You should be left with this:

Now, using your scissors or paper cutter, cut along the edge of your original piece of cardstock. You should be left with this:

Now, all that's left is to finish your card. You'll see that I matted the starburst pattern and then added that to my card base. I also used a circle for my sentiment that covered the center point of the starburst so that you don't see where all of the points didn't come exactly together.

Isn't that FUN?! I love using this technique- especially when I love a paper collection or kit and I just can't bear to throw any of the scraps away! I hope you liked my tutorial and that you're inspired to try one for yourself. 

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today!

More November Kit Goodness!

The November kit at Birds of a Feather is just incredible!  Every month I think that Amy has put together the best kit ever... and then comes the next month!  Beautiful, beautiful kits!  This month's kit features papers from Simple Stories and Lily Bee, embellishments from Prima and ScrapFX and lots more!  Check it out HERE to get yours!

Here are two cards I've made so far with the kit:

For this one, I cut a bunch of leaves from the various papers included with the kit and then adhered them to a chipboard circle from my stash with a liquid glue.  Then, just added a ribbon, stamped a sentiment and, voila!  A beautiful card!

For this one, I used some of the Lily Bee paper from the patterned paper add-on and cut the quilt looking strips out of it.  Then, I just layered the strips one on top of another until I had the size I wanted.  Then, I matted it and added it to my card along with a stamped sentiment and a beautiful flower from the kit!

So glad you stopped by today!  If you haven't checked out the BOAF November kit, do it now befofe they're all gone!!

Come back soon for more scrappy projects!

I'm FALLING for the November Kit...

...at Birds of a Feather!  It's an incredible kit featuring Simple Stories, Lily Bee, Prima, chipboard, twine and more!  Seriously-- there are a few kits left so HURRY and get them now!

Here are some layouts that I've created with the kit:
My sweet Duffy boy playing in the leaves in the yard.  I really think he's the happiest dog ever!

 

 I made a little rake to go with the beautiful leaves included in the kit.

And a close-up of the photos... isn't he the cutest?!

And another layout about playing in the leaves-- this time my kiddos!

Check out this incredible ScrapFX Chipboard tree!  I used a leaf punch to make the leaves.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I'll share the cards I made so far with the kit tomorrow!  And, if you haven't got your November Birds of a Feather Kit yet, go HERE to check it out!