Favorite toy

The These Are A Few of My Favorite Things challenge blog has a new challenge ready for you. We want to see your Favorite Childhood Toy. I made my page about Nate and his penguin toy. He decided around Easter time he wanted a penguin. Where on earth was I going to find a penguin in a sea of bunnies and chicks?!

Nate did eventually find his penguin a few weeks later when we were at Hobby Lobby—of all places, right?! He was so excited, he ended up taking this penguin with him everywhere for weeks.


This page is made with the June kit from The Sampler. It's such a fabulous kit, full of color and patterns that work so well together. Check out the site in the next few days and scoop one up for yourself!


I hope all of my U.S. friends are having a fabulous Memorial Day! Thanks for stopping by today.

Sending some sunshine

Happy Friday! Hopefully today is the start of a wonderful Memorial Day weekend for my U.S. friends. I plan on having a relaxing, easy-going and fabulous 4 days of fun, as I hope you will, too. No real plans, just some yard work and time with my son and hubby (who has Sat. and Sun. off—yay!).


Today I'm sharing with you a get well card I made. This card also serves as a bit of a sneak peek into the June kit for Scrapbook Circle. The kit just went on sale, so hopefully I've peaked your curiosity.


I'm also playing along with the Clean & Simple sketch challenge this week. There is still time to play along, so click on over there to see the sketch and browse the entries that are already linked.

Thanks for stopping by today. I know for many of you it's a busy weekend, so I appreciate you taking the time to visit. :) Have a great weekend!

Sketchy Thursdays {and a local craft fair}

Hello! I hope everyone is doing well today. I'm sharing with you the digital layout that I made to go along with Heidi's sketch challenge at Sketchy Thursdays. I do hope you'll join us!

This week is sponsored by Vintage Street Market. I stumbled upon them and have come to love what they have in shop. I'm the recent recipient of their tinted tapes and can't wait to play around with them. Join their Facebook page—they are so fun over there!

Scoot on over the Sketchy Thursdays to see the sketch and the prize that Vintage Street Market has for one lucky winner.

I also have to laugh at my page today. I realize that the Sheep Shearing Festival at Springdale Farm is in April and considered the big spring festival for that farm, but Nate is wearing a tee, a hoodie and a coat! We had a crazy weird spring, as I know most others did, too. The best part about this festival were all the little chicks, ducks, goats and other babies wandering around the farm with their mommies. It was so fun to see the new animals.

I have to mention, too, that most of the digi credits go to Echo Park Paper from Jessica Sprague, if you are looking to acquire some of these elements. Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you over at Sketchy Thursdays!

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Pretty cool news—I am volunteering at a Craft Fair from 12-4 today. A portion of the proceeds benefit Pet Pride of NY. I have had a space at The Historic Dryer House Emporium since late February, so I'm excited to see what their annual craft fair is like. They ask their vendors to volunteer to help out over the 5-day event Memorial Day weekend.

If you are local, check out the craft fair this weekend! They said last year was extremely successful. The Dryer House is located in the village of Victor.

Thanks so much!! :)

Play along to {win} and a sneak peek

Last Friday, I shared with you my page that goes with this sketch from The Sampler. The winner of this sketch challenge gets a May kit all for themselves! So far, the field is still wide open ... you have a great chance to win—play along with us!!

If you're in the market for a new kit club, there is time to get in on the June kit for The Sampler. Below is a sneaky peeky of the kit. This kit will be available for you next week. (Can you believe it's nearly June already?! Oh my!)


I think you may "love" it. LOL, I'm feeling pun-ny. :) Thanks for stopping by today. If you have time to play along with the sketch challenge, you can link your entry HERE.

Blooming inspiration

Hello! I have been experimenting with the new Ruffled Blooms I've been making for my Etsy shop. I really like working with muslin the best, but wanted to offer other colors and patterns as well.

Here is a cute little frame I made that showcases the muslin bloom with the pink button—my favorite combination. Especially that particular button. It is from a set of pearl buttons that my friend brought me from her flea market findings. My friend Theresa knows me so well, she always has her eyes peeled for me on her trips.


The little dragonfly perched on the corner is from the Pink Paislee Butterfly Garden die cuts and the background paper is also Pink Paislee, a scrap of Parisian Anthology paper.

Below are some of the new variations on the Ruffled Blooms now available in the shop. Click on each image to go to the listing for details. And, of course, I make these custom, so click on the "Request custom item" in the sidebar of my shop to send your request.


So, has anything caught your eye?! Any ideas for future colors or items? I'm on the hunt for new and fun flowers to make and would love to hear your thoughts.

PS: Did you know you can order a $10 or $20 gift card to my shop? Just click here to check out the details in the listing on how to order one of these for a friend, loved one or blog giveaway.

Thanks for stopping by to visit my blog today! :)

Layered frames

Hello! I have a little frame project to share with you today. I found this frame somewhere (can't really remember where) and knew I would be making something cute with it at some point.

After finding these butterflies at Michael's, I had a better idea of what to do with the frame.


The background paper is from Pink Paislee. It's a scrap of that fabulous Parisian Anthology paper that you can color with mists or distressing inks. I really love them plain, too. The resin frame is Melissa Frances.

I just love the look of the frame within the frame. Next time you are working on a scrappy home decor project, ditch the glass in the frame and start layering. I really think you may like the end result.

Thanks for stopping by today. And thanks to everyone who wished Nate a happy birthday on yesterday's post. He really appreciates the birthday wishes! We had a fabulous day!!

The big #5

This little man is turning 5 today! And to celebrate with his class, he took his friends cupcakes (chocolate cupcakes to be exact) with vanilla frosting. They were in pirate papers and had mini pirate flag sticks (should've taken a picture—bad mommy!).

That same day, he wore his prize-winning badge. He had seen the Bravissimo! display at Michael's a few weeks back and loved all that they had there, so I knew I was going to need to make him a custom pirate one for his big day at school. After all, he's the birthday boy!

He was so excited when I woke him up to show him what he could wear to school that day. He kept saying how awesome it was and exclaiming, "How did you make this? It is so cool!" Yeah, I had a mommy-winning moment. Score one for mom! :)


The grey paper for the background is American Crafts, the star paper is Jillibean Soup, and the digital download of the pirate cutie came from this fabulous little Etsy shop, Softpencil digital stamps.

Thanks for stopping by today to help me celebrate my only little man's birthday. The big #5 is a super special one. He's a big boy now, you know?! :)

Have a fabulous day!

Simple and sketchy {and a chance to win}

On the 20th of every month, The Sampler at ScrapbookingSuppliesRUs.com hosts a sketch challenge. Here is the page that I made using that sketch. The sketch should be posted on this site shortly if it isn't already.

I love this month's sketch for it's single-photo focus, simplicity, and ability for free-reign on embellishing. Jot down a note to play along this month.


And I'm back at it with the paper rosettes. I have found that my hot glue gun is nearly as important as my tape runner these days.

This page is about the thank you note we leave for the Easter Bunny, fondly called E.B. now thanks to the movie Hop. I like to take a picture of Nate on the eve of holidays so that once he's older, he can look back on how we did things when he was little. Never know what he may choose to carry on himself—like the idea of keeping the same basket and putting it out for E.B. to fill. So much better than buying a new basket each year, right?! And he gets to play with it all year round this way.

Play along with us for a chance to win the May kit. And it's a fabulous one! Post your page and see the sketch for your chance to win HERE>>>.


Thanks for stopping to read my blog today. And hope you all have a great weekend planned. Hopefully with some time to get creative.

A father, a hero

Hello there! This is my page for Sketchy Thursdays this week. Heidi has managed another fabulous sketch for you all—and I love when I get to play along with her sketches!!


I made this page using pictures from Easter (believe it or not). My dear husband had to work that day, so we drove out to where he was working, packed some food, and had a freezing cold picnic (lol) so he could stop by for a sandwich. We do what we can with the schedule we've been dealt, right? It turned out to be a great day.

And anytime I get fabulous pictures of Nate having a moment with his father is a great day.


Most of what is on this page is from Crate Paper's Toy Box collection. I only have a few sheets and stickers from this collection, but I knew when I did use it, it would have to be for something special. I think I pulled it off. :)

This week at Sketchy Thursdays is sponsored by Miss Art's Papercraft School. Check out the details over on the site and see what sketch there is to play along with. And thanks for stopping by to read my post and see my work! Much appreciated!!

Baby boy card {3 ways}

It seemed like the minute I said how much I loved this paper from The Sampler's May kit for making baby boy cards, I got asked to make 3 of them. All for 3 separate baby boys, of course. I took that as an opportunity to make 3 similar cards—I've always loved sets.


I love the look of this first card. Open and airy and just so cute. All three cards have the onesie and the hanger in common, as well as a unifying color scheme.


This second card I used a sketch from the Clean & Simple challenge blog. I love the linear look to the sketch. I actually plan on using it again, but incorporating the rounded edges like so many others did with their cards.


And for the third card, I flipped it for a horizontal layout. Using some of the same elements from the other cards, I threw in the twine and border-punched the edge of the card rather than the edge of the accent paper.


This was my first time using the Pink Paislee twine I had ordered, and man, that stuff is slippery! Unlike other baker's twine, such as from The Twinery, it is thinner and shinier. It made tying a bow difficult, but I love the fragile nature of it for the baby card. It seemed more appropriate for it to be delicate.


There ya have it! Way more baby cards in one place than a person really needs, but a great example of how the same supplies can get you 3 very different looks. Thanks for reading my blog today, and I hope I've given you a nudge to make sets of cards.

Lovely congrats card

This lovely anniversary card is on its way to a friend's son and daughter-in-law. I just love making cards for people I know—taking extra special care with every detail.

To help inspire me, I played along with Card Patterns sketch #115 and The Shabby Tea Room's Monochromatic challenge. I have to admit that this card would not have happened like this without the little nudge from these bloggy challenges. I don't usually think in shaped cards nor one color, but I love the end result!


Thanks for stopping to see my card today. Much appreciated!! :)

New goodness in shop

It's time for a re-stock of my Etsy shop, Design by Diana. I have been working on new looks and items as well as giving new variations of the most loved items, such as the Doilie Blooms. Those were quickly sold out within the first week of being posted last time.

DOILIE BLOOMS

The Ruffled Blooms are new to the shop. They are made of muslin and would be great on any project, including shirts, bags or necklaces. If you'd like a pin added to the back of these, just say so in the comments section when you order, I'd be happy to add one for you if you plan on wearing the ruffled blooms.

RUFFLED BLOOMS

There are new Map Rosettes in the shop. They are made with a vintage map of New York and would be a great addition to any of your travel projects.

MAP ROSETTES

And there were a few requests for variety on my muslin hand-stamped ribbons, so that has been included as well.

HAND-STAMPED MUSLIN RIBBON

If you are playing along with The Paper Variety, you'll see that there is a coupon code for 20% off your order. Put PAPER0511 in the coupon code area when you make your purchase. You have until noon on Tuesday to play along there, but the code will last through the rest of the week.

Thanks for stopping to see the new shop items. I have a renewed interest in making pretty things. And some of you may know of my challenge to myself to learn how to make new flowers. It's been an amazing journey—thanks for coming along for the ride!

Favorite Photo

This is my current favorite photo of Nate, and the challenge blog These Are a Few of My Favorite Things wants to see your fave photo pages. I took this picture at the playground near our house. It's one of our favorite places to go on a sunny, lazy day.

This page is a digi layout, and I used a few of the kits made by Sir Scraps Alot. I downloaded them at Funky Playground Designs.

I hope to see you all joining us this time around at TAAFOMFT! This prompt is an easy one!!

Time to dye the eggs {sketchy thursdays}

Hello everyone! It's Thursday, which means a new Sketchy Thursdays page for you. This week's challenge is a double-page sketch again. We try to throw those in every 5 or 6 weeks for those of you that love the double.

You do not have to make a double page. You can use a portion of the sketch for a single (or squish it all into one), just let us know in your post entry what you interpreted from the sketch.


I used the May kit from The Sampler to make my page. As I said last week—I am loving the blue and green tones in this kit. You can see the whole kit HERE.

And in my continued quest for handmade embellishments, I made ribbon flowers using the great pack of ribbon from My Mind's Eye that was in the kit. I had to use my own buttons, though.


I should have thought to do a tutorial, but it is really pretty simple. You take a needle and string, and along one side of the ribbon you thread up and then down all along the edge. Pull the string to bunch the ribbon and tie off the string once you have it to the length you desire. Sew or use glue to add the button or embellishment to the middle. Easy peasy!


I love that greenish-blue ribbon from My Mind's Eye. It looked crocheted after I finished the flower. Perfection!

I hope you all have a chance to play along with Sketchy Thursdays this week. One lucky winner will get a $25 gift certificate to Scraptastic Club. And don't forget that you have one more week to play along with the June GDT Challenge. You can find out more about that HERE.

2 chances to win!

My Etsy Shop, Design by Diana, is happily sponsoring in 2 fabulous places right now. You have 2 chances to win a $10 credit to my shop as well as a coordinating goodie bag to match your choices from the shop.

Your first chance to win is to leave a comment at Scrapbook Circle's blog post HERE>>>

Your second chance is to play along with the ladies at The Paper Variety. Here is the current prompt, Movie Inspiration.


And here are just a few of the goodies that are currently available in my shop. But hurry, they may be gone soon. I have already sold out of the Doilie Blooms and Vintage Map Rosettes.






Thanks for stopping by today! And best of luck to you all playing along for the prizes.

Spring home decor

Hello! I have had this project on my mind for weeks, and I finally found a perfect, affordable frame over the weekend. Happy Mother's Day to me! :)

The project plays tricks on your eyes, doesn't it? When you look at it straight on in the top photo it looks more like a print than a 3-D altered piece.


Just a little spring to get us all excited about warmer weather, birds chirping and pretty things everywhere we look.

My tip for this project (as I am linking up over at Tip Junkie—join in!) is to use a hot glue gun. I have struggled with so many other types of glue that's supposed to be fabulous for altered projects, but I have yet to love anything so much as I love my hot glue gun.

My other tip is to keep it simple. I was tempted over and over again to add things around the edges and put ribbons on the nest. Simple and clean is sometimes the only answer.

Hope everyone's week is going well so far!