Flying High

We are on vacation here in Maine this week and the weather has been AMAZING! It feels very summerlike, but we still have eight LONG weeks of school before it will really be summer. Both of my kids got new kites for Easter this year and have been dying to take them for a spin. We finally got the chance this past Sunday- it was a gorgeous, sunny, breezy day when there was nothing else on the calendar! So, we went down the road to a park about 5 minutes from home where there is plenty of open space to fly their kites. It was really the first time that they could fly them without a lot of help from mom or dad.

Here's Elizabeth and her kite! I had a fun time using the "Title Sports" collection from Scrappin' Sports & More for this layout. The bright colors are so fun for summer-day activities!

Here's a close up of the fun pattern of squares:

And, here's a close up of the cute diecut kite!

This layout is based on a sketch from the fabulous Heather Landry! Thanks, Heather, for letting me share it!

Products Used:

#1381- Title Sports: Tennis (yellow)
#1371- Title Sports: Dance (purple)
#1378- Title Sports: Prom (blue)
#1373- Title Sports: Golf (green)

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you were inspired!

Getting Wordy with Momenta!

Hey, everyone!  I'm on the Momenta blog today sharing a fun"boy" layout based on a sketch by Heather Landry! First of all, here's the sketch:

I was totally inspired by the hexagons on the sketch- which seem to be all the rage these days. Heather even provides an SVG file on her blog to cut these little babies out! Since I am not very techno-savvy when it comes to SVG files, I printed out the image and adhered it to the back of my patterned paper. Then, I just cut out the hexagons, flipped my paper back over and BAM- there they are! I cut about 40 of them to complete this layout- that includes a few extra to pop with foam tape to create some dimension.

So, I MIGHT have got a little carried away with the stickers... I started out having a hard time deciding which of them to use-- they all describe my boy! So, I ended up creating a word collage! The colors of the stickers match the paper really well and I love how it came out!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you were inspired!

~Nicole

**Photo by Patricia Takacs of Kivalo Photography

Momenta Products Used:
PA-2390: Black & White Embossed Cardstock Pad
PA-2389: Vacation Pyramid Pad
ST-2128: Boys Will Be Boys Puffy Title Stickers
ST-3204: Black Uppercase Mini Glitter Alpha

My Sketch World Blog Hop!

Welcome to My Sketch World's Blog Hop!

Sketches, sketches oh I love sketches. Well let me tell you how excited I am that today we are showing off our incredibly talented designers for our next term.
Join us now on our blog hop!

Here’s the skinny on how it works. Stop by each designers blog to see what fantabulous creations they’ve made using My Sketch World April 15th 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 9 blogs (this includes this MSW blog posting), will receive a $20 GC to Scrapbook.com!

All comments must be made by midnight PST on April 16th. Tune into this blog on April 17th to see if you are one of the lucky winners.

So without further adieu here’s the line up:

MSW BLog

Nicole Wise (You are Here!)
Suzann Jones

Jan Tatomir

Majo Wybranietz

Lisa Moen

Karen Zabuska

Scarlett Salamone

Stacey Wright

Lucy Chesna
Back to MSW Blog

Hello my name is Nicole. I am so excited to part of the team as a Card Designer and Design Team Coordinator. I live in Southern Maine with my husband, two kids (8 & 9) and my two dogs. By day, I am a middle school music teacher and am enjoying my 14th year! Once my kids are in bed, I love to lock myself into my basement scraproom, crank up some tunes and scrap the night away. I’ve been scrapping for about six years now and I love to create layouts about my family- especially my kids. I also love to make cards and am getting more and more into altering projects! Thanks to my scrapbooking hobby, I am also very much enjoying learning about photography. I almost always have my camera with me — you just never know when the perfect photo-op will present itself!

Here is the April 15th sketch from My Sketch World :

Here is my example using the sketch:

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

A Bottle of Sunshine!

Have you ever wished you could send someone a bottle of sunshine? Well, I have! If you have a friend or family member who could use a little cheer, you can send a bottle to brighten their day!

First, I talked my husband into drinking some of the Starbuck's Frappacchino's from the grocery store. Then, I ran the empty bottle through the dishwasher and cleaned off the label. Then, I set to work creating SUNSHINE! I picked out the yellow candy from some leftover Easter goodies. Then, I covered the cap with some fun Tennis paper from Scrappin' Sports & More's Girls Rule collection. Then, I traced and cut a sun on to the same paper and adhered it to the front of the bottle. Finally, I added a bow and VOILA! A bottle of sunshine!

Products Used:
#1395- Girls Rule: Tennis

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you were inspired!

Origami Dress Cards

Hi, everyone!  This is the project of mine that's featured on the Momenta Blog today. 

I spend a lot of time online looking for ideas and inspiration. Every once in a while, I come across something so fun that I have to try it immediately and then I can't stop! These little origami dresses was a gem of a find! I used a tutorial found on this blog and created these fun little dresses.

Aren't they the CUTEST?! And, they are amazingly easy! The paper in the Momenta Super Paper Pads are perfect for Origami projects, because the paper is nice and thin and easy to fold. And, the colors of the "Free to Be Me" Collection are just perfect for a project like this!

I used these sweet little dresses on two cards. This first one is just perfect for a friendship themed card. I made this one using the dresses where I started with three inch squares.

And, this one made using a four inch square for the "mom" and a three inch square for the "daughter" is a perfect card with a Mother's Day theme!

What other themes can you think of that these dresses would work for?

Momenta products used:

PA-2263: Free To Be Me Super Paper Pad

ST-4726: Kaliedoscope Clear Layered Stickers

ST-1739: Vibrant Bubbles and Bling Stickers

I hope you enjoyed the project I shared today.  Be sure to come back soon-- i've recently reached 100 followers and I think that a celebration is in order!

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you were inspired!

Mister Cool!

I have SO loved playing with the new Echo Park A Boy's Life collection!  All of the blue papers make me so happy!  It's SO hard to find great "boy" papers and Echo Park has nailed it this time!

This layout was made using a sketch by Lucy Chesna for the AWDML Newsletter!

This card was made with the same line and some fabulous SRM stickers! 

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you were inspired!

Clutter Crusher Magnets!

Here's a project that I shared on the Momenta blog earlier this week!

Our refrigerator has a habit of collecting stuff... LOTS of stuff. Between the school lunch menu, our menu, the ever present (and growing) shopping list, the kids' artwork and photos of those we love, it always is a mess. So, I needed a way to start organizing (and limiting!) the items that are going to be displayed there. I decided that magnets were the way to go!

First, I stopped at the "home improvement store" just down the road and picked up a square of ceramic tiles. They were all connected (for ease of putting them on the wall, i'm sure), but were on clearance for $3.00. And there were enough to make 16 magnets! (Dear friends who are reading this, you will be receiving magnets for your next birthday....and Christmas!).
Here's what you need:

Ceramic Tiles, Xyron (or strong adhesive), Squares of your favorite Momenta paper (for these tiles, I used paper that was 1 3/4" square), Mod-Podge, paintbrush, magnets, chipboard and/or stickers, sandpaper, craft knife (not pictured).

First, break apart your tiles. It's easy, just bend and pull. Easy peasy!

Now, you need to remove the gummy stuff that held the tiles together. Just a quick swipe of your craft knife and a few swishes of the sand paper and it's gone!

See, they're all pretty now!

Now, run your pre-cut Momenta papers through a Xyron, or apply a strong adhesive to the back and apply to your tiles.

Once all of the tiles are covered with paper, put a nice layer (or two, or three) of Mod-Podge. It dries really quickly, so just grab a quick snack and you'll be ready to go!

Now, it's time to add what you want to the front of the magnet. I added mine while the Mod-Podge was still tacky just to help hold the stickers on for ever and ever. I made one for the school lunch menu (eat), one for our menu, the to-do list, the shopping list, and E for my daughter's creations, a C for my son's creations, and a few hearts to display those we love!

Finally, just add the magnet strips to the back! These are just peel and stick! **Note: I ended up adding a third strip of magnet because of the weight of the tile.

And, display on your refrigerator to keep things organized and tidy!

Momenta Products Used:

PK-2383 Kalideoscope Pyramid Pad

ST-4491 Pastel/Glitter Treatment Alphabet Sticker Kit

ST-3190: BW Med Dot Puffy Alpha
ST-2398: Vib Metal Chipbd Alpha

 

Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope you were inspired!

Just Dance!

My daughter LOVES to dance! She's always on the move and nearly every pass down the hallway or through the yard includes a twirl, or two. Throughout her years of dance, her costumes have run the gammet from frilly to funky, but she never seems to get into any other "character" but her own. I love that about her!

This "Just Dance" paper from the Girls Rule Collection from Scrappin' Sports & More is perfect for so many occasions. I love that it has a black and white color scheme so that no matter the color of the photos, the paper will fit it perfectly! Together with some cardstock, ribbon, bling and chipboard stickers from my stash, and the layout came together quickly, and beautifully!

Here's a closeup of the title. Believe it or not, the words "Just Dance" are a part of the paper! I just added the butterfly and a little bling-- after all, no dance layout is complete without some bling!

Products Used:

#1388- Girls Rule: Just Dance

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you were inspired!

Momenta and Purple Cows!

Oh what a week this has been with the fantastic partnership between Momenta and Purple Cows! I am excited to share my projects that are on the Momenta Blog today!   Be sure to visit the Momenta Blog for information on how to win a fantastic prize!!

First up is a layout that I made using the awesome "Punch It" tool from Purple Cow's Craft Geek line. I got the really cool "Summer Punch." Not only is it easy to use, it has a ton of possibilities and can punch anywhere on your page thanks to the fabulous design. I love how this one also has a bit of embossing included in the design.

To make the punched strip, I simply lined up the punch and went across my paper in a straight line. Then I trimmed out the strip with a pair of scissors to leave me with the fabulous design you see here.

Next up is the "Pin It" tool. This thing works like a charm! The designs of the pins are super cute and come in a variety of metallic finishes. On the card you see here, I used the pin that looks like intertwined scalloped hearts and tried to mimic the pattern of the pin with my papers. I like how the pin joins my two paper hearts together. I was a little leary of how well it would punch through multiple layers of paper, and I was very impressed with how easily it works. And, again, because of the ingenious design, you can pin your piece anywhere on your card, layout or project!

See how the pin looks up close?

And, here it is on the completed card! I love how the pin adds dimension and shine, and gives the card a finished look!

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I hope you were inspired!

Momenta Products Used:

PA-2240- Family Forever 12X12 Premium Paper Pad

ST-4838- Family Forever Sticker Kit

ST-4791- Puffy Title Stickers Family Forever Glitter Treatment

Purple Cows Products Used:

Pin it #7000

Punch It- Summer #7203

Go ahead- Be Negative!

Sometimes it's hard to stay positive when you are around a lot of negativity.  So, I'm going to share you how to turn a negative into a positive.  Negative SPACE, that is!!

If you like what you see here and would like to try it for yourself, I encourage you to enter it into the challenge on the AWDML Blog!  There are fabulous challenges and a great sketch contest that you have until the end of this month to enter!  Check it out HERE!

For all of these cards, I started with plain white cardstock and cut a heart out of it with my Cricut.  I then removed the cut heart and worked with the paper left behind-- the negative space.  I matted it, and popped it up with some foam tape for dimension.  Here's where it gets fun!  I used 4 different techniques to back the negative space left by cutting the hart.  In the first example, I simply used some brightly colored patterned paper (from Echo Park!). 

In the next example, I used some basic blue cardstock which I ran through an embossing folder.

Next comes some twine!  I simply ran a bunch of ahesive along the card base and worked the twine back and forth until it covered the amount of space that would show through the heart.  I love how it turned out!

And finally, I covered a portion of the card base in liquid adhesive and fit a bunch of red buttons on to the space that will show through the heart.  I love the interest and dimension that this technique creates!

Again, I encourage you to celebrate A Walk Down Memory Lane's 9th Birthday with us and check out the challenges and contest on the AWDML blog!  And, of course, make sure you check out all of the goodies in the STORE while you are there!

Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope you were inspired!