Just a Card

Knock, knock - anybody home? Um... clearly I've been slacking BIG time in the whole 'blog' department lately - so sorry. My short hiatus from crafting turned into a loooong break altogether and now I find myself only creating cards and small items for gifts and such. I reeeeaaally want to try to get back at it - inspiration is lacking however. In any regard, I have actually managed to create a few things here and there - which I remembered to take photos of prior to giving away as gifts. The scrapbooker in me will live on!

Here is a card I created for a sweet friend for her 40th birthday. A whole lotta 7 Dots Studio papers on this gem as well as metal pieces from Graphic 45. Two of my fave manufacturers!

Thanks so much for staying with me. I do apologize for my absence and will try to post more content on this little blog of mine - whether it be craft related or family related or me related. Sound good? Cheers my friends!

Laugh

Happy Thursday! I wanted to share another project that I did for 7 Dots Studio while I was guesting for them this past month. Sooo loving the cool tones in this Cold Country Collection!

Lots of distressing and layering - as always!  Don`t be afraid to get rough with your papers - rip them, tear them, distress them with your edger - I even crumple up my vintage music and newsprint papers before adding to my project for extra dimension as well as a more worn look.

Found objects from my stash - a mixture of metal buttons, embellishments, wooden accents and doilies - of course!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Be back soon to post some more crafty creations!

Supplies:

Patterned Paper: Cold Country by 7 Dots Studio

Elements Stickers 6x12: Cold Country by 7 Dots Studio

Tags 12x12: Illumination by 7 Dots Studio

Tags 12x12: Dreamer by 7 Dots Studio

Edge Scraper: Making Memories

Metal Hinges and Plates: Graphic 45

Metal Embellishments: Bo Bunny

Adhesive: Tacky Glue by Aleens, E-Z Runner by Scrapbook Adhesives

Misc:  Vintage music paper, paper doilies, flowers, wooden title & doily

7 Dots Love

Its been ridiculously long since I last posted on my beloved blog. Its been even longer it seems, since I last created something.  Crazy.  I love papercrafting - but for awhile I had so many assignments and projects with due dates that it seemed to take the enjoyment out of the craft.  So I stopped.  Completely.  Very strange to go from creating a minimum of 15 projects a month to absolutely nothing.  But I needed a break.

I miss it now.  REALLY miss it.  I no longer walk by my craft table and feel nothing. Rather, I feel like getting my Gesso and inks out and my fave papers and just going crazy.  No boundaries, no due dates - just creating for the sake of creating. 

I have to say however, that being on several design teams is what pushed me in the first place.  It challenged my creative limits and pushed me further than I would have pushed myself.  Perhaps its time I jumped back into the Scrapbooking world...its been too long!

A wonderful friend of mine asked me several months ago if I would be interested in Guesting for them sometime.. of course I agreed.  I had worked with 7 Dots for a few years prior and to be back working with their amazing papers and products was a delight.  Thank you Tusia for the nudge I needed to get back into my groove.

The first layout I created was using the gorgeously grungy Cold Country Collection.  Loving the soft tones in this line.  I find my style is leaning more shabby, grungy lately?  Weird...

Still addicted to as many layers as I can possibly fit onto a page.  I just need the dimension on my projects for them to feel 'done'.  I've also added a heap of metal embellishments from Graphic 45.

Thank you guys for sticking around even though there hasn't been much to see as of late... I have a few more projects to share with you this week so stay tuned!! 

Supplies:

Patterned Paper: Cold Country by 7 Dots Studio

Elements Stickers 6x12: Cold Country by 7 Dots Studio

Elements Stickers 12x12: Dreamer by 7 Dots Studio

Tags 12x12: Illumination by 7 Dots Studio

Tags 12x12: Dreamer by 7 Dots Studio

Clear Stamps: Cold Country by 7 Dots Studio

Ink: ColorBox Pigment Ink in Archival Black

Edge Scraper: Making Memories

Metal Hinges and Plates: Graphic 45

Metal Embellishments: Bo Bunny

Adhesive: Tacky Glue by Aleens, E-Z Runner by Scrapbook Adhesives

Misc:  Vintage music paper, paper doilies

Just a Card

Although I've been on a bit (lot) of a hiatus from the crafting world as of late, I still enjoy it.  For whatever reason I just seem to have gravitated towards cards and more practical items now rather than layouts?  Weird considering that layouts were what I loved the most about scrapbooking... Anyhoooo, just wanted to share a card with you all - created with beautiful papers from 7 Dots Studio

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Enjoy your weekend.

What? A Crafty Project??

Hey gang.  Its been a little few and far between with blog posting lately.  Sorry!  Since stepping down from my design teams I've taken quite the hiatus from the crafty world and while I miss it I have to admit that I do enjoy my 'free' time.

In any regard, I have been creating a heap more cards for friends and family - yea!  I have one to share with you today for a sweet friend's birthday that we just celebrated this past weekend.

I used papers from Bo Bunny's Isabella Collection.  Love, love the shabby chic vibe to these papers!  Such a super soft colour palette and perfect imagery to compliment the papers.  The beautiful pink crystal bling is from ZVA Creative - yummy!!

Thank you so much for popping by today. New Year's Resolution time: blog more than once a month!! EEK!  Sorry guys....

Merry Christmas to All...

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you had a wonderful day....  Here are a few random pics from over the past few weeks.  December was a crazy busy month for us with festivities every weekend as well as school plays, parties and more!

 Singing their song at the school Christmas Concert.

 Little guy stole the show! So cute!

 Sorry, majorly biast here but can you say "Gap Ad"??

 Festival of lights at Vandeusen Gardens - so amazing!

 Our one day dump of snow! So fun while it lasted...gone the next day...

 Fun times with my gals!

Hosted a gift exchange and had a great time with some amazing ladies!

We got in our Christmas Eve Day walk with the family - loved it and adore this hat on her! (I want one!!)

 My sweet boys!

We made it to our destination! A little treat at Starbucks for everyone!

 Mom's office party at the local pub - even Santa came for a visit!

The morning after the office party.  Was feeling a LITTLE icky... but what a spread we had - love my gals!

 Santa made someone VERY happy this morning!! Cannot WAIT to start playing with this crazy toy!

...And to all a Good Night!

Last Guest Post for Inkido

Santa's coming tonight!!!  For those of you who celebrate Christmas, I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful year in 2014! What a ride it has been this past year with so many things to celebrate and so many milestones that have been met.

For my last post as a Guest Designer with Inkido, I wanted to share a layout with you using their always gorgeous Happy Christmas Collection.  I love challenging myself to use themed papers (aka, Christmas) in a non-themed way. 

I looooved the cool tones in the faux wood finish paper and decided to pair with the darker musical notes for a totally different and edgy look.

As always, I added in heaps of layers of papers as well as different textures found in my metal items, ribbon, left over packaging and bling.

I also added in some stamped images with black archival ink to help tie in the darker tones in the black papers.

Thank you so much for stopping in today.  Wishing you all a wonderful Holiday Season and a safe and exciting New Year!!

A Little Stroll Down Memory Lane

Hope you are all having a fantastic December so far!  It finally snowed here today! I am soooo excited - hope this evening we get a little bit so the kids can at least play in it for awhile before it melts.  Today I have another layout to share with you using the gorgeous Happy Christmas Collection from Inkido!

There are so many rich and beautiful reds in this collection - perfect for your holiday photos.  Normally, I prefer to design with black and white photos so that they aren't in competition with bold patterns and colours from the papers but I loved adding in a hint of red with this photo of my daughter.



The beautiful gold, crochet flowers were so beautiful and complimented the rich, warm tones in the reds.  To stretch the life of your embellishments, don't be afraid to cut them into smaller pieces.  I've done this with most of the flowers you see on this page.

More paper layering as well as the pop of neutral from the newsprint.  I have always had a tough time with 'whitespace' but adding in too many patterned papers can sometimes look too busy.  The subtle pattern in newsprint adds the perfect neutral tones and just a bit of busy at the same time.  Its been my go to 'filler' for quite some time now.

A few fussy cut blooms tucked in behind some papers and added to your 3D flowers can give a great opportunity to introduce different deapths and textures to your project.

Thank you so much for your visit today!! Enjoy the rest of your week!

Supplies:
Patterned Papers: Happy Christmas Collection/Inkido
Flowers: Inkido
Edge Scraper: Making Memories
Border Punch: Martha Stewart
Ribbon: May Arts
Metal Hinges: Graphic 45
Misc: Doilies, newsprint

Peace

It is FINALLY December!! The holiday season is fast approaching and I have sooo many more things to do - EEK!!  Thankfully, my crafty time helps me to slow down and refocus on the important things in my life; the calm, peaceful moments that are often missed in our haste to complete a million tasks on our to do lists.

I created this layout featuring a photo of two of my little ones in full on snuggle mode (a RARE sighting for sure!)  The papers are from the Happy Christmas Collection from Inkido which I adore!  SO versatile and perfectly suited for my shabby, vintage scrapping style.

I inked the edges of each of the Inkido flowers to help them pop a little more against the otherwise monochromatic tones in this project.  I also tucked in some darker toned petals within the white bloom to add a little dimension.  Did you notice the Inkido packaging behind my photo!?

I added a few things of my own as well like the crochet doilies, newsprint and a few other blooms I had in my stash.  Love how the different textures (wood, paper, flowers, bling, lace) and multiple layers add to the overall shabby feel of this project.

Thank you so much for your visit today!  I'll be back again next week with another festive project to share with you all!! Have a great week.

Products:
Patterned Papers: Happy Christmas/Inkido
Flowers: Inkido, from my stash
Pigment Ink: ColorBox
Metal Elements: Graphic 45
Edge Scraper: Making Memories
Scallop Circle Punch: Marvy
Tacky Glue: Aleene's
Filmstrip: Ranger
Misc: Doilies, newsprint, wooden word, twine