Saturday, March 31, 2012

Time Flies

Time flies when you're having fun! And weekend's whiz by at the blink of an eye, don't they?

I thought this colorful kite card would make a great weekend crafty share.


I recently bought a few more thin metal dies and had to have this kite one. Isn't it cute? It's from My Favorite Things. I actually bought it because I really needed one of those die converters for my Big Shot, and while I was at it...and while I was paying for shipping....good excuse huh? ;)


You know what else is new? This awesome cloud paper!!! I'm crazy about this design! There's a lot of cloud paper floating around the scrapbook industry, but this is the cutest! It's just one of the amazing patterns from the new Bella Blvd. Sunshine & Happiness collection, which I just got this week! I didn't get to work with this line for my CHA projects, but I'm making up for lost time which means you will be seeing a lot more Sunshine & Happiness projects from me!


I mixed in some of the Spring Flings & Easter Things papers like this green chevron print. I thought it would look fun sideways to mimic grass.


Well, after a period of rain and clouds this morning, we have a rather lovely sunny Saturday afternoon going on. I'm thinking about getting off this computer and heading out to enjoy some fresh air! Maybe go fly a kite? ;) We would need a bigger yard and wind would help! Kite flying will have to wait until another day.

Hope you enjoy your weekend!

Kathy :)





Friday, March 30, 2012

It's a Girl

T.G.I.F.

We're officially on Spring Break starting today. It's a teacher work day so Christopher has the next 10 days off. He's quite excited and announced that he will be creating a Spring Break Schedule today. That's our boy...planning just like mom and dad do! :)

Today I have a card to show you with another new Doodlebug Collection called Sugar & Spice Sweet name! :)


By now you must know I'm a huge sucker for adorable animals! This giraffe is so stinkin' cute! Both Doodlebug and Bella Blvd. came out with baby lines at winter CHA and both are loaded with the cutest critters!


There's so much in this collection to love...buttons, new pearl gems and twine. Ooh la la!


As I always say, all Doodlebug lines and colors coordinate perfectly so that you can mix and match new product with existing goodies you already own. I had these mini Candy Shoppe rub-on letters and the Doodles Card Stock Stickers, that I used for the sentiment, in my stash.


I love the yummy button assortment that's included in this new line! These citrus colors look like candy!


It's been a cuteness overload post, right? ;) By the way, this file folder card base is one of Doodlebug's Build-a-Cards...must have!

I can't believe that we may be able to go strawberry picking this weekend! Usually this annual event happens in April, but because of the warm weather we've had lately, the strawberries are ready! We'll have to see if the weather permits as there are thunderstorms and rain in the forecast.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Kathy :)

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Spring is in the Air

Hi!

I have a couple of Bella Blvd. Spring Flings & Easter Things cards to share with you today.


This card was inspired by the cover of the new Bella Blvd. catalog. It has clouds all over the front made from the patterns in their collections. And if you like this look, the same patterned paper is included in the Sunshine & Happiness line.


The clouds were created with a thin metal die from My Favorite Things.




Up next is a butterfly thank you card where I used a trio of colorful patterned papers for the background.


I love my thin metal dies! For my focal point I used a circle die from Spellbinders and a set of butterfly dies that are from My Favorite Things. That adorable little brad is Dear Lizzy and the sentiment was made with Doodlebug's Simply Sweet rub-ons.



Speaking of the Bella Blvd. catalog, I was honored to have the following scrapbook page included!


That's my little cutie pie who is turning 11 next month! Where does the time go? The collection I used for this page is called Baby Boy. It's to die for, isn't it?

Thanks for popping in today! Hope you have a wonderful day!

Kathy :)

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Party Boy

Hello!

Yesterday I promised you a scrapbook page share created with a new Doodlebug line. The new collection is called Boys Only and it's so very cool!


How about these bright colors?


The patterns in this collection include soda pop bottles, guitars, gears, arrows, numbers and soooooo much more!


I started with the star paper and went a little wild!


I really like the new Doodle Twine colors and brand new mini pearls.


Doodlebug also created a set of buttons for this collection that I'm smitten over!


If you're a Fancy Frills addict like me, you will be happy to know Boys Only includes a cool new set of borders stickers like the row of stars above.


There's also star brads! Are yous seeing stars yet? ;)


Along with all these new goodies, I mixed in a few of my favorite old Doodlebug product. Can you spot them? The orange paper strips are Paper Frills. Love the fringed one on top! The date was made with my favorite tiny rub-ons called Simply Sweet. The last oldie but goody is from 2003! And you would never guess what it is! See the light gray paper I used for the circle, date tab and sub-title pennants? It's the perfect gray paper! The back side is a little darker. I bought an entire 25 sheet pack once upon a time because I love it! It goes with everything!

The star of the page is our son who is eating cake on his 7th birthday. He's going to be 11 next month! Time flies when your having fun!

Thanks for stopping in!

Kathy :)

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Springtime

Hello!

After yesterday's holiday post, let's return to spring, shall we? Ah, my favorite season! Like you don't know that already! I only mention it in every other post! ;)

So...have you noticed all the birds singing in the morning? Those little songbirds are looking for mates and protecting their territories while building nests. This is just one of the reasons I love spring.


Aren't these two love birds adorable?!?!


I'm telling you, you need to treat yourself to some of the new Doodlebug collections like the one I used for this card, Hello Spring! I've been having tons of fun in the craft room since I received my new Doodlebug samples!


The sentiment die cut is from Silhouette and I used a couple Spellbinders shapes to create the frame for my little birds. Everything else is Doodlebug goodness!


These birds remind me of the Carolina wrens that have taken up residence in a little bird house we hung outside the kitchen window. So far we have been watching the pair bring twigs and various materials to build up a nice and cozy nest. It'll be exciting to watch daddy diligently bringing food to mama wren when she lays her eggs. After that, when the babies get bigger, they'll both go in search of food so we'll get to see them come and go constantly. Then, right before the babies fledge, they are big enough to stick their heads outside the nest to grab food. I'm looking forward to watching the entire process!

Thank you for stopping by! Tomorrow I'll have a scrapbook page to share using another new Doodlebug line so I hope you can come back. Until then, have an awesome day!

Kathy :)

Monday, March 26, 2012

Joyeux Noel

Christmas in March? What?!?! I recently created this holiday card to submit for publishing and it didn't get picked up so I thought I'd post it. I like sharing something crafty with you everyday if I can. You win some, you loose some and this card was a no go.


I created this project with the Holiday Style collection from October Afternoon. What a fabulous and fun line it is! It's vintage goodness at its best!


I like adding a few extra doo-dads like this pompom on the lady's hat!


A shinny silver snowflake charm fits the bill.


Since I love dimension, I used adhesive foam tape under the sentiment sticker to give it pop.


Perhaps those of you who live in the northern-most regions still have some snowy cold weather? Actually, winter has been mild all over the states. Didn't Chicago have record temperatures last week? And get this...Los Angeles, land of sun, was cooler than the rest of us! Maybe I should send this card to someone there? lol ;)

My son left for school a little sad this morning. He had a good case of the Monday blues! Poor kid! Hopefully it helps him to know he's not alone! My hubs and I try to teach him by example that you have to put your chin up, face the day and make it what you want. Pretend to be as happy as a bird with a french fry until you find your groove. Easier said than done sometimes.

Kathy :)

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Happy Birthday

Hello!

I hope you are enjoying the weekend. I spent a little time in the craft room yesterday playing with scraps and tidbits and came up with this birthday card.


All the papers are from my scrap bin and the rosette and phrase ticket were left over from previous projects. I think it's fun to throw a bit of this and that together and see what I can come up with.


I used three Papertrey Ink (PTI) dies...can you spot them all?


The rosette was made with a die from Tim Holtz, the brad on the butterfly is old Basic Grey, the
'fun' card is from Simple Stories, and the circle was created with a Spellbinders die. There's also a couple wood buttons, brand new from Dear Lizzy, and a mini paper clip from Tim Holtz.


Were you able to pick out the PTI dies? The butterfly, birthday ticket and double sided pennant are PTI, along with the jute.

Well, I've got a Bella Blvd. card in progress so I'm going to go finish that. I have some fun new projects to share with you throughout next week so I hope you can come visit!

Kathy :)

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Thank You Thursday and Giveaways

This is the second post today so scroll down to the next to view my Bella Blvd. cards. There's one with a cool Silhouette die that I'd love for you to see!



Recently Ella Publishing asked us Doodlebug design team gals to participate in 'Thank You Thursday' where we lifted one of the thank you cards in their new '31 Thank You Cards book.'


Here's the card I created.


This is the gorgeous card I lifted from page 21! I fell in love with this pocket design!


I used a Doodlebug Create-A-Card for my project along with one of their adorable Doodle Pops.

I thought it would be fun to jazz up the envelope a bit with a phrase I created with some Papertrey Ink letter dies.


Would you like to win a copy of '31 Thank You Cards' by Ella Publishing?


Or would you like to win some Doodlebug Goodies?

Three copies of  book is up for grabs in addition to the Doodlebug product you see above! Cool, huh? To find out how you can win, hop over to the Doodlebug Blog.

Thanks for stopping by!

Kathy

Bella Blvd. Inspiration

Hi!

I have two Bella Blvd. cards to share with you today. This week some of the design team members were given an inspirational photo to create our projects from and we all came up with completely different and creative ideas!


For this card I used the new Bella Blvd. Baby Boy line. I think you've heard me mention before that I really adore this collection!?!? ;)


The die cut background was made with the Silhouette and the tag with an old Sizzix die. I made the little sentiment flag by cutting a piece of border strip patterned paper.




Spring has sprung this week so I made one of my cards with the Bella Blvd. Spring Flings & Easter Things collection.


I created the circles with a set of Spellbinders nesting dies and this adorable little bee and beautiful flower accent are Ciao Chip.

So...have you noticed a theme here? To see the photo that inspired these projects and to see what my teammates came up with click here to go to the Bella Blvd. blog.

If you have a little time to play along with us, we would love to see what you come up with! Go ahead and post your projects on the Bella Blvd. Facebook page.

Thanks for stopping in today! I hope you have a terrific Thursday! We're getting close to another weekend! :)

Kathy

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Hand Stitching Tutorial

Hi!

Today I have a tutorial for you on how to accent paper craft projects with hand stitching. As you have seen, most of my scrapbook pages and cards include hand stitching because I love texture and detailing and I really like the way it looks. I often get questions about my stitching, people wondering if I use a machine or do it by hand. When I tell people I hand stitch, their next question is how do I make my lines straight and how do I keep my card stock clean and without creases. So, today I’d like to show you some of the techniques I use. 
 
For this tutorial I created a card using Doodlebug’s Colorwheel collection along with their Simply Sweet letter rub-ons and a limeade Boutique Button. Other supplies include card stock, Spellbinders dies, vellum, a pencil, paper piercer, needle and thread, and adhesives.
 
Your first step is to cut a piece of vellum and card stock the size of an A2 card which is 5 ½" x 4 ¼". Then I used some Spellbinders Nesting Dies to create some circles in my vellum. Once I was finished making the circles, I applied a piece of tape to the top of the card to keep the vellum overlay centered on the card stock base. 
Next I used a set of Spellbinders scalloped circle dies to create patterned paper circles that are one size larger than the circles cut in the vellum. You could also use the same circle dies if you don’t have a set of scalloped dies.
Now add a piece of double stick tape to the bottom of your die cut circles and center them underneath each of the vellum circles. Once it looks centered, just press it down so it sticks to your card stock base.
 

After you have positioned all your patterned paper die cuts, use another piece of tape to secure the opposite side of the velum overlay to the card stock base. Then center your round Spellbinders dies back over your circles and trace around the outside with a pencil to create a frame that you will use as a stitching pattern.

Once you have your frames traced, use an awl to pierce holes along your penciled circles at approximately 1/8” intervals. 


When you have pierced all your penciled circles, erase the remaining pencil marks and begin stitching. I use one ply of all purpose sewing thread and a straight stitch. You could use two ply or create pierced holes that are further apart and use DMC floss depending on the look you want to achieve.

After you are finished stitching, you have a pretty card base to accent. I used a pre-made die cut from the Doodlebug Colorwheel collection to embellish my card with.
Another way I like to add hand stitching to my projects is to pierce holes around the pattern of a die cut or patterned paper. 

On this piece of Doodlebug paper you can see I used the pattern as a guide to pierce and stitch.
 
To further accent to my die cut, I added this Colorwheel butterfly Icons sticker.
Lastly, I added a double sided die cut pennant that I applied some Simply Sweet rub-ons to and a limeade button.
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and spend some time experimenting with different ways to add some hand stitching to your next project. If you have any questions, please leave me a comment and I will be sure to answer them.

Kathy :)
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