Hop with Precocious Paper {giveaway}

It's about that time! Time to hop around and celebrate Tessa's birthday. Let the Precocious Paper Birthday Blog Hop begin...

I was working with 3 different packages from Precocious Paper. This first project, the frame, used Tessa's Rolled Fabric Flowers. Such a quick and easy way to jazz up a frame. (That's my little sissy in the picture with her cherished doggy, Baby.)



For this hanging altered wooden heart, I decorated it with paper, Mod Podge, and then accented it with the YoYo Posies from Precocious Paper.



And last but not least, I have a fabulous Cupcake Poppy in yellow. I used a large journal spot and a stamped sentiment to make this simple card. The poppy looks like a big sun, right?! What a fun card to send to a friend!



I do hope you've enjoyed the projects I made and gotten an idea of what is available in the Precocious Paper shop.

BLOG HOP!

Tessa

Amanda Jones

Elise Lindsey

Mindy Gallagher

Liz Weber

Mandy Koeppen

Sara Zenger

Windy Robinson

Lisa Andrews

Anna White-Sharman

Heather Leopard

Rebecca Keppel

Clair Rigby

Yara Freytes

Julie Tucker-Wolek

Heidi Myers

Jan Tatomir

Suzanne Spokus

Diana Fisher (YOU ARE HERE!)

Heidi Sonboul

Tessa

Wait, there's more! Each designer for the hop has a unique FREE SHIPPING CODE (International customers, please purchase at least $5 worth of goodies to be able to use the code). My code is DFBBHFREE. The code is good through Sept. 5th. Make sure if you buy from Precocious Paper to use my code. There's an extra prize in it for the designer whose code gets used the most. *HINT* :)

If you want to comment along the hop, you can win some fabulous prizes:
• Surprise credits awarded at random to blog hop participants
• $20.00 credit awarded to a Precocious Paper blog follower
• $20.00 credit awarded to a Precocious Paper Facebook page follower
• Grand Prize: September, October, November and December Samplers

ENJOY THE HOP! And thanks for sticking with me through to the end of the post. I hope you'll enjoy all of the fabulous inspiration all in one place!

Giveaway time!

You can win a $10 gift certificate to my Etsy shop as well a coordinating goodie bag to go with what you choose over at Just Jingle!



Check out the details on her blog! (Plus, you're just gonna love her blog as it is!)

Have a fabulous weekend!

Etsy shop peeks

I am so excited about the new items in my shop. I am continuing to experiment with my Ruffled Blooms—finding new patterns and colors to incorporate with the lace and layering.

These two new ones are both larger yet, at nearly 4" in diameter. Such fun statement pieces for the fall, don't you think? You can pin them on a scarf or coat, add them to a bag or purse—so many ideas!

Ruffled Bloom Flower Pin - Polkadot

Ruffled Bloom Flower Pin - Grey and Yellow

(I wear one of these ones myself! Love it!)

And another new item: Brad & Button Packs. I am so excited to be making these. They consist of handmade fabric brads and coordinating buttons. And they look so dang cute! I really hope they catch on in the shop, because I have plans for so many other varieties.

I use designer fabrics from the local quilt shop, so the fabric is great quality and the most current patterns and designs.

The hair accessories area of the shop was also updated with new bobby pins, too. Take a peek at the new styles!


Thanks for stopping in today to see what I've been up to. Hopefully something here inspires you! Have a great weekend!

Sketchy Thursdays {ride the canal}

It's amazing when you take a break from scrapbooking, how fun it can be once you start back into it. Heidi's sketch at Sketchy Thursdays this week was just what I needed, too. It's fresh and fun—definitely out-of-the-box for my style.

I do hope you'll join us! This week's prize is sponsored by My Creative Classroom. Check out the details on the ST blog.


Most of what I used to make this page came from Scrapbook Circle. I have a little jar on my desk where all of my favorite little extras and trinkets from the kits end up. And that fabulous wood grain paper is Amy Tangerine from American Crafts, just to give you a peek at the Sept. Scrapbook Circle kit.

Pretty neat idea I recommend: Even if you don't buy an i-top, I recommend buying the punches that go along with it. How fun are those splayed out circles?


I also stamped the wooden butterfly with a Hero Arts cloud stamp rather than using a cloud and a butterfly. Same idea, different effect.

I do hope you'll join us at Sketchy Thursdays! And hopefully you've been saving your allowance for the Sept. kit from Scrapbook Circle. Like I've said before—they are always versatile kits with the latest and greatest.

Thanks for wandering by here today!

New Doilie Blooms {and a card}

Hello there, friends! I am trying to get back into the swing of blogging after my week away. Today I wanted to show you the new doilie blooms listed in the shop last night. Fabulous colors, right?!




As of last night, my last two Ruffled Blooms were sold, but no worries! I have 3 more to list within the next few days. And ... I have started making them with some fabulous colors and patterns. Here's a sneak of what you can expect to see from me soon. :) I just love that red one and the yellow with gray.


And, because I don't want to leave the scrapbooking and card making completely behind, here's a card I was just messing around with. I snagged this Unity stamp from Two Peas in a Bucket and had to make something. It's available in the Etsy shop as well.


Ok, folks! That's it for today. If I can manage a decent picture, I'll have a Sketchy Thursdays page for you tomorrow (PS: Did you apply for the DT Call yet?). My camera does not like the recently overcast skies we've had this week.

Thanks for stopping by here today!

Plenty to say, little time to say it...

As you know from my lack of posting here, I've been busy with work lately. But, I have so much to let you know about or to remind you of. So here goes...

Don't forget to play along with the Polkadot Door Inspiration Challenge. You have until the 25th to share your project.


The September Scrapbook Circle kit is about to be revealed soon. Can you say Amy Tangerine by American Crafts? You'll wanna get this one—trust me!

Sketchy Thursdays is having a DT Call! If you love sketches and want to join us each week, give it a shot and send in your application. All of the details can be found here.

And the current challenge is live, too, of course. Play along with this week's sketch for a chance to win a fabulous prize from ARTchix Studio.

PLUS .... I am happy to say that you'll see me helping this lovely little lady celebrate her birthday! You won't want to miss the celebration!


Thanks for stopping by to see my catch-up post. I'm excited to be getting back into crafting. I'll have my Sketchy Thursdays layout for you this week, as well as some new items for the Etsy shop. I've been working at making some new embellishments and flowers.

The Etsy shop giveaway goes to...

Let's start with a tiny apology for my absence this week. It is crunch time at NextStepU (where I am the Production Director) and the big roll out of the first fall issue of the magazine is in production now. So super busy, and I am too drained at the end of each day to do anything creative—including blogging or even reading other people's blogs.

So, I apologize for falling off the face of the blogging planet. :)


On another note, let's see who Random Number Generator was loving today for my Etsy Shop $10 giveaway.


And #15 was ... Amanda Johnson! Yay, Amanda—so glad you won!! Just choose what you would like from the shop and send me an e-mail. We'll work out all of the details from there. My e-mail is dianadesigns [at] rochester.rr.com.



I hope to be doing more of this soon, so stay tuned! And thanks again to everyone who commented and also helped me reach my goal.

******************************

On another Etsy scrapbooking note, I want to let you know about a great group called Scrapbook Ninjas. They are a wonderful collection of people working to help Etsy sellers that focus on scrapbooking. And they recently were awarded an Etsy Team Grant to help them with their mission. You can check that out HERE.

If you make and sell fabulous scrapbooking items on Etsy, I suggest you join in on the site as well as on the Etsy Group. They will be doing giveaways soon with the help of the grant, and there are a lot of other great conversations going on there. There are some great ideas and helpful advice over there! Join us!

Well, have a great weekend everyone. I am planning to go to the Rubber Stamp and Scrapbook Expo in Rochester this weekend. And the hubby has the weekend off, so plenty of family fun and activities are sure to happen. I plan on being back to my bloggy self by the middle of next week (if not sooner), so see you then!

New blooms {and a giveaway}

I am so excited to be celebrating with you today! I had hoped to reach my 100 sales goal for my Etsy shop this summer, and I was pleasantly surprised that I reached it so soon. As promised, I have some new products to share and a giveaway for today.

These are my new Pleated Ribbon Blooms. I am quite in love with these. They are backed with felt and can easily be used on scrapbook pages, altered art or even fabrics. These would be great on a handbag.


I also have another new ribbon item. These are my Ribbon Blooms. These are so fun, and they seem to add just the right amount of color and bling.


Most of my I Want it All items sold out, so I listed a few more. Grab 'em while you can! These are priced right and go quickly.


And some more ribbon was also added. I just love when I can get coordinating colors and textures all in one place, don't you? And the stick pin adds the perfect touch.

Now it's time to celebrate!
I am giving away a $10 gift certificate to one lucky commenter on this post. You have until midnight next Thursday (8/18) to leave your comment.

I want to know why you visit my shop. Do you like the kits, the cards, the flowers, the hair accessories ... What is your favorite item?

Thanks so much! And of course, sharing this on Facebook, Twitter or your blog will get you extra chances. So, feel free to rack up some extra comments.

Have a great weekend, and thanks for visiting today!

Sketchy Thursdays

Just when I thought last week's Sketchy Thursdays page was my favorite, I have a new fave. I knew when I made the sketch for this week that I would use it over and over again. And after making this page, I was convinced I was right about that sketch.

I hope you'll scoot on over there to play along with this week's challenge. One lucky winner is going to get a gift certificate from Paper Secrets. It could be you... :)


I love these pictures of my son. We were at the playground near our house (a new-to-us playground we found this summer) when I took these pictures. I think it's the combination of his clothing and the darker wood on the play set that make the pictures so vibrant. Not to mention his amazing smile and attitude in the pictures.

They look like pictures a high school senior would pose for, don't they? He's such a ham!

Hope to see you at Sketchy Thursdays this week. And thanks for stopping in today to read my blog.

Pretty tasty {on Pinterest}

Here's another Wednesday Pinterest food love post for you. I hope you all are finding some delish recipes here you may not have found otherwise.

Brown sugar and balsamic glazed pork loin

If you eat pork, you HAVE to make this. HAVE TO! And you will want to make the glaze on this for other meats as well. I'm about ready to stock pile it in my freezer for any ole regular day I make chicken, just so I have it. It is that good! And the rub on the pork while it cooks in the crock pot is so flavorful. This is my favorite recipe find so far. It is best paired with THESE POTATOES.

Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake

Amazing! I got up early on Sunday to make this one. Fresh blueberries and buttermilk make this so moist and sweet. It tasted like a giant 8x8 blueberry muffin.

Slow Cooker Cheesy Potato Soup

Delish! The bacon and chives are added right before you eat it, so the stock, potatoes and veggies are all that cooked throughout the day. I was able to serve it for dinner, freeze a bunch and still have leftovers for the next day, too. This recipe feeds a lot!

Broccoli and White Cheddar Mac n Cheese

This was so easy to make and the pepper jack cheese adds just the right amount of flavor. I already have a recipe for a more complicated version of mac and cheese that I love, but this made having homemade mac n cheese on a weeknight so much easier.

Now that I've been on these Pinterest recipe kicks, my husband never knows what my answer will be when he asks what's for dinner. But ever since last Tuesday, he has asked when we are having that pork roast again. :)

Hope you found something tasty to try! And thanks for reading my blog today.

New items in the shop

Hi there! Today I am sharing the new clips and pins that have been added to the Etsy shop. I have some new scrapbooking embellishments, too, but those will be shared on Friday when I do the giveaway. I know you've got to be as excited as I am! :)

The Ruffled Bloom Barrettes are now available in pink, with blue to come soon, as well. We all need some extra color in our lives, right?


The larger Muslin Bloom Barrettes are also re-listed. I just love this one. So soft and romantic.


And new to the shop are bobby pins. I couldn't help but make a few of these. I absolutely love the little extra these add to that perfect hairstyle.


Thanks again to everyone who supports my Etsy shop. I'm excited to celebrate with you all on Friday with a giveaway and new scrapbooking items.

Don't forget that I do custom orders, and I've been doing a lot of those lately. Send me a convo in Etsy or email me here through the sidebar link and let me know what you are looking for. If I can, I'd be happy to make something for you.

Have a good rest of the day, and thanks so much for stopping in to see my new items.

A card making weekend

Hello! I have been very lucky lately to have so many orders for cards come in. Last week, I made two cards I never even took pictures of and shipped them off. This weekend I had 3 more ordered, but luckily had a chance to take more time with them, so here are pictures.


First is a birthday card for a guy I've known for since he was in high school. I work with his mom and for the past few years I've made his birthday card. I can't believe he's gonna be 26!

Card Makin Mamas is also having a challenge for birthday cards, so stop over there and share if you are making any.


This one is a Home Sweet Home card I was asked to make. I just love making cards with little scenes on them. They are the most difficult to make sometimes, but I always love how cute they can be in the end.



And a wedding card that was ordered. I was having fun with the red and white combo, and who can pass up that lacy little dress for the bride.



Thanks for stopping in to see my crafty card weekend. I was also working on new items for my Etsy shop. Which, by the way, I did hit my 100 sales goal last week. I'm working on getting the blog giveaway together for this Friday. (AND... coupon code GETTO100 is still working for 15% off your total order while we are celebrating.)

I'm excited to share with you the new items and re-listing of popular items this week. Hopefully tomorrow. See you then!

Polkadot Door Blog Hop - Inspiration Challenge #4

It's time for another monthly Inspirational Challenge Blog Hop at the Polkadot Door. Once a month, a few of us put together a fabulous hop and challenge based on an inspirational image that the ladies at the Polkadot Door whip up for you. And this month's inspiration is lovely!


Isn't this image fabulous?! I was drawn to the whimsy, the colors and the pom-poms. I made my pom-pom banner with seam binding, but you could make yours out of yarn or twine, whatever you would like.

Now, hop around and see the projects that the rest of the ladies made.

Diana (you are here)
Smitha
Mazlina
Angi
Elizabeta
Libeeti
Nicole
Dee Dee
Valerie
Trina
Sabrina
Polkadot Door Design

This month's prizes are sponsored by:

Pork Chop Show, who is providing the prize for the Challenge winner.

Live the Chaos is giving away a gift certificate to their shop and mini stamp to the blog hop winner.

Duetica is providing a HUGE giveaway for the featured designer.

Thanks so much for joining in this month. I really hope you'll take a moment and play along. Can't wait to see what you make! Link your creations up on the post at the Polkadot Door.