Maya Road launches classic card kits

Maya Road has launched fun and exciting classic card kits! Yay! Caroline has done a fabulous job of pairing classic scrapbook supplies with the always classic Maya Road goods! ^_^ Stop in and check out the autumn notes kit and see what the other girls have made!

Have a lovely Friday!

monochromatic and lovely

I've always loved the look of monochromatic projects. And this month I put together three cards for the American Crafts blog to share with you!

Sorry for the smaller than usual size! I formatted these for the assignment and forgot to make another set - and now I'm not at home on my computer with the original files. Oops!

Hopefully you can still see the details. What says "I miss you" more than a puppy?

Funny enough, this was inspired by the opening of one of my list of favorite kid's shows that our oldest son used to watch when he was little - Little Bill. He used to end the opening sequence with, "hello, friend!" I love the soft mint colors of this.

And I love the soft and subtle colors of this - a graceful acknowledgment of a lovely accomplishment - twenty-five years of (hopefully happy!) marriage. These soft blooms were created using plain old crepe paper that I had left over on my shelf from some party decor. Just fold them in half lengthwise, stitch up the edge to gather, and wrap to form the bloom. Once you're happy glue it together.

Hope you're inspired to create some lovely monochromatic projects!

mix and match

One of my assignments this past month for American Crafts was to create a couple of projects that mixed and matched products from various lines that they recently released. Honestly, that's one of the things that I love about them as a company - you can mix and match your favorite products across lines.

Our sons always look forward to shaved ice as a part of their summer treats - so I had to take the time to document it this year when our oldest son snapped a photo while I was making them. For a complete supply list, you can stop by the post on the American Crafts blog!

visit to the farm

Last August when we went to visit Grandma and Grandpa, our boys took their first trip to the farm. They are "city boys" and were a bit skittish around the animals at first, but since then, they've fallen in love with the open spaces, ATV rides with grandpa, and racing the dog up and down the fields. They spend lots of time throwing things in the river (I grew up in a river town on the Mississippi) and watching for wildlife. Country life was a big part of my childhood, and I'm so happy that we are starting to bring a bit more of it into their lives. Boys need the outdoors. :)

The Mayberry collection has been so fun to use for summer projects and pages! I like how it's not specifically beachy or water themed... For a specific supply list for these projects, you can stop by the American Crafts blog.

Happy Thursday!

still smitten - and blessed to contribute

Have I mentioned that I'm in love with the newest lines from American Crafts? They're all so yummy. I loved taking the opportunity to snag a photo of the two of us a couple of weeks ago after I realized we didn't have very many recent ones together {make that none. Ha!}This one was taken by our oldest son.

Showing some more Silhouette Cameo love on this one - the blue flower background and the home sweet home houses are new shapes that go along with the latest lines! If you're interested in checking out their shapes, just select American Crafts from the Browse Artists category on the Silhouette site. ^_^

{for a list of the supplies that I used, stop by the post on the American Crafts blog.}

Also sharing some exciting news today! I'm absolutely blown away by the list of contributors to this upcoming book release. I really count myself bless to be among them...

To see all of the fabulous contributors and share your favorite part of the memory keeping process, check out the list of contributors to Everyday Storyteller 2.

Have a fabulous Monday, all!

I think you're great

Isn't it fun to get/give a card like this every once in a while? Sorta just because? :) I loved putting this together for the winter issue of PaperHaus magazine using the fun Valentine line XOXO from American Crafts.

Happy Monday! Mine's been a doozy so far! :)

american crafts + silhouette cameo. yes, please!

As we embark on a new year, I've been rolling a lot of thoughts around - thinking on things that I might want to change, deciding what I'm happy with, and maybe a few things that I'm not so happy with. Because I've decided that life is to short to not do the things that you love - and chuck the things that you don't love to the curb.

So, I'm taking up yoga, making more time for running, reading that book on my list, spending less time on my smart phone, knitting and crocheting more, expanding my business in ways that I want to, planning fun trips and activities with my guys, and keeping those date nights a solid commitment, among other things. I want to be balanced and, well, whole.

If you're interested in the supplies and silhouette cuts that I used for the projects, stop by the American Crafts blog post and check the list!

Happy Tuesday!

Stamp On It!

It's Sunday - and also time for a brand new theme over at Paper Issues - Stamp On It! This theme's fab sponsor is Hero Arts, and they're offering up a fun prize for those who participate! I used their winter wishes and big pine bough stamps to create this winter themed card. Love how crisp the images came out using these stamps.

You don't even have to link up a project - that's actually a bonus entry. Here are the deets!

Prize package:

To enter:
1. Like Hero Arts on FB http://www.facebook.com/hero.arts.3?fref=ts
2. Like Paper Issues on FB http://www.facebook.com/PaperIssues?fref=ts
3. Leave a comment on the Paper Issues blog that you did both
4. Link up a project for a Bonus entry




Hop through for some inspiration from the Paper Issues design team girls!

Leah F. http://amusing-to-create.blogspot.com/   <<< That's me!

Lori H. http://www.lorihairston.blogspot.com/

Amy T http://tsurutadesigns.blogspot.com/2012/11/over-river-and-through-woods.html

Diana http://designbydiana.blogspot.com/

Sabrina http://sabrinaalery.blogspot.com/

Happy hopping!

sisters are... awesome.

I am SO excited and proud to be joining the contributing design team for another term at American Crafts! This is my first post up for this term, and I'm sharing a few "get to know you" questions/answers there. Be sure to stop by the blog and check out the interviews and work of all of the team members. 'Cause they rock! ^_^

And you know - who else can you be goofy with like this?! Sisters are pretty awesome.

I don't always talk about a lot of my other loves here on my blog - but I'm a big reader. I especially love fantasy fiction. JK Rowling's Harry Potter inspired the greeting on this card!

Hope you're enjoying a lovely week!

jenni bowlin summer release

I realized the other day that I hadn't shared the stuff that I made for the CHA show this summer yet for Jenni Bowlin! Things have been so crazy this past month, that I just didn't have the time, and once I was allowed to share, it slipped my mind. {really? Yikes! lol} I did share them on the jbs inspiration site, so you may have seen them before...

Keep this

This is a photo of my mom's mom. We were kinda close. And she passed away when I was a teen. It still hurts sometimes. I had a quilt from her on my bed growing up. And she taught me to embroider. And shared stories from the depression. And gave me her cursed sweet tooth. And made me love zinnias. And pickled veg. and told me I baked her cookie recipe better than she did.

Embrace Adventure.

You never know what's around the next corner until you try.

A simple invitation:

I have one more project to share - I'll post the little book that I made on Wednesday!

Happy Monday all!

universal self pronouncing i love you

This month is all about stamping over at JBS! {Well, not ALL about stamping - BUT lots of the stamps are on sale, so we've been sharing some fun ideas to use Jenni's fabulous stamps!}

For more details on the supplies for this card, check out the JBS Inspiration blog! Happy Friday!

baby best wishes

Sharing a card today that I created for Hambly! You can check out a few details on creating this card on their blog! 

Side view goodness - so you can see all of the dimension! And yes, I LOVE that set of Neapolitan stamps!

happy heart

I was glancing through the American Crafts blog and happened upon my projects... I did a little ::facepalm:: and realized that I forgot about posting them here, because I made them in January. It seems like a lot has happened since then. I wrote up a bit about it here, in their post.

A bit of detail from the card. I don't usually share detail shots, but I love how the paper pops up from the typewriter, and it was hard to get that across with the straight on shot. :)

spring greetings

Just a few cards to cheer you up! Featuring the brand new Dear Lizzy Neopolitan line. For the base of these sweet cards, I just took a sheet of the 6x6 paper and folded it in half! SO easy. And the perfect size.

Happy Friday!

One Little Word class winner and some Nikki Sivils gingerbread land

Wanted to share my last projects for Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker today! I'm so thankful for my spot on that team - Nikki was one of the first companies to take a chance on me as a creative designer just over 1-1/2 years ago! SO much has happened since that time, but getting those first spots as a designer gave me the foundation I needed to accomplish many of the things that I have! ^_^ Nikki and her team have been fabulous to work with!

All of these projects use the super fun Gingerbread Land collection:

And I popped in to random.org to grab a winner for the Ali Edwards One Little Word 2012 class giveaway! It gave me this one:

 Anne said...

Oh how cool. Thanks for the opportunity.

Congrats!! Shoot me an email at chicscrapper at gmail dot com and I'll send you the coupon code to give you a free checkout to activate the class! It starts next week! I've chosen a word for myself for several years now, and it's a great opportunity for growth throughout the year! 

home for christmas

Have a wonderful holiday!

Christmas card inspiration - American Crafts

Yay! I was up on the American Crafts blog last week to share a few Christmas card ideas using their HollyDays collection.

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And each year I try to add to my Christmas music collection - this year's pick? A Very She & Him Christmas. SO loving.

christmas card inspiration with american crafts

I had so much fun putting these cards together! The monochromatic look that's emerging is really, really growing on me.

And some fun with the classic red and green color combo:

Check out the supply list and Leslie's sweet cards along with a chance to win the AC Holly Jolly line on the American Crafts blog!

silly boys and a couple of thanksgiving cards

I so have to laugh every time I look at this photo! I pulled the boys together for a little photoshoot of them over the summer {to send a framed photo of them to their grandma for her birthday}, and when I asked them to "high-five" thinking it would make an awesome photo - this is what I got! Them holding hand almost like dance partners! Pretty soon we were all trying not to roll on the ground with the laughter that the situation produced...

I put this layout together with goodies from the Nikki Sivils You're a Hoot paper line, and a few random things from the Lil' Monster line.

And a couple of cards to celebrate the holiday this week:

{I used the paper dolls cricut cart to make the tree and leaves, and the brackets are all cut from the storybook cart.}