Hello spring!

Happy Monday! Trying to summon Spring today as we just had eight inches of snow dropped on us here in upstate NY right after a beautiful 50 degree day. So not fair!

This fun card was sent off to a bestie last week for her birthday. I made it with Bella Blvd Daily Chevies and Molly collections. 

Hopefully this card is also giving you a reason to smile — have a great week!

Bucket List April kit {scrapbook circle}

The April kit from Scrapbook Circle is amazing! It is called Bucket List and is chock full of Fancy Pants As You Wish with some Amy Tan and Jillibean Soup thrown in for good measure. 

I had so much fun creating with this kit and know you will, too. I even scooped up the add-on kit called Things to Do. As you can see in the picture below, it adds even more As You Wish and Jillibean Soup goodness to your kit.

Below is the first page I made with the kit. I was immediately drawn to the dark brown woodgrain paper and paired it with the bright teal, yellow and pink colors.

I cut apart the edge of the paper for some visual interest and then sprinkled it down to the bottom of the page.

I also love white journaling on dark paper. It always looks more interesting than if I had tried to make a journal spot on the patterned paper elsewhere on the page.

And who wouldn't love this face! My sweet Cady girl just had her half birthday (she is now one and half years old). I just had to capture her sweet face to mark the moment. 

Click on over to the Scrapbook Circle shop and get your kit today! I'm sure they'll go fast this month. Remember to use my coupon code (DIANAF20OFF) to get 20% off your purchase.

Have a great weekend!

Retro Canned-Ham Camper Trailer Box Kit | Review

A few years back, while scrapbooking online, I "met" a new friend, Michelle. Michelle has an amazing gift for creating 3-D projects. Not only does she design the project, but she also writes the instructions and walks you through the process of assembling it for yourself.

You can see her shop, Simple Everyday Me, on Etsy.

I put together a version of the Red Retro Canned-Ham Camper Trailer Box kit. Which also is a cupcake holder — which is awesome! 

SIDE NOTE: I have to apologize for the inconsistency in color. The red color you can see on the back window is more like the red you will get with this file. My printer ran out of ink and you can see that on the sides of the camper the window shades look more orange. That is my fault and not a consistency error on the file.

I really liked this project. I am more likely to use my Cameo for 3-D projects, but I really liked having the full download with extras as well as step-by-step instructions from Michelle on how to make this.

What glue you use will make a difference. I used Helmar's Quick-Fix Permanent Adhesive Runner. It is so sticky it is unforgiving if you try to move it afterwards. This camper is sure to stay together! 

I do advise using a small cupcake inside. A regular, large cupcake may get frosting on the edges of the opening when you try to put it inside. And the file comes with little flags and extras for both the cupcake and to decorate the camper. 

The rounded edges of the camper may make your heart skip a beat when you start to assemble it, but the tabs inside are cut so that they overlap each other and line up perfectly with the sides of the camper. Michelle thought of everything!

If you are in the market for a really unique gift box or party favor idea, I highly suggest you sneak on over to her shop and see what she's been creating.

Spring wreath

Last year I made a rag wreath by tying small strips of muslin over and over again on a wire wreath base. I love the look of the muslin for spring, so I dug it out of storage and gave it a refresher with some canvas flowers, pastel eggs and of course a birdie — in this case, an owl. 

I had the most fun buying the new pieces for this season's wreath — I was with Sara at the Hobby Lobby next to Audrey's house. I have to admit that when I look at this now, it reminds me of our fun girls weekend. 

Do you make a wreath for every season? Link yours in my comments section — I'd love to stop by your blog and see what you make.

To see the wreath Sara made, check out her blog today!

Ombre Challenge | Avery Elle

These weeks are just flying by! I can't believe that we are looking at Challenge #3 already for Avery Elle's challenge blog. This week we are exploring ombre and gradients on our cards. 

In a desperate move to get some sunshine going here in upstate NY, I used yellow, orange and a darker orange for the three complimentary colors on this card. The stamps I used were both on Avery Elle's Thanks a Bunch set.

To help compliment the gradients on the stamping, I also used a yellow ombre paper from Echo Park Ombre Essentials. This helped soften the stamping and smooth the transitions in the colors.

I hope you'll have a chance to play along with us for this challenge!

Avery Elle stamps or their free digital stamps must be used in each entry. You may enter as many times as you wish, but they must be posted to the InLinkz tool separately. Please enter a new, not previously posted project that fits the challenge theme.  Your project must fit the theme to be eligible to win. The winner will not be chosen randomly.  We will be looking for entries that include great use of color, design & creativity. You have until 12:01 AM (PT) on Sunday, March 30th to enter.  The winner will be announced on Thursday, April 3rd at 6:00 AM (Pacific Time) on the Avery Elle Challenge Blog.

Triangles {bella blvd}

Bella Blvd is sharing the triangle trend today on the blog. Some of us got to thinkin' and created some inspiration for you that focused on triangles.

When I first thought of the triangle trend, I thought about triangles on the card, but someone pointed out to me that the card itself could be a triangle. Brilliant! The layered scallop-cut border helps give this narrow card a more robust feel.

Supplies: Family Forever (Pattern paper: Borders); Lucky Starz (Pattern paper: Pickle Juice, Bell Pepper, Scallop), Candid Cards

I love the look of quilting, and triangles work perfectly for this style of layering. Faux-stitching with a white pen adds the feel of a real quilt to the background on this card.

Supplies: Lucky Starz (Pattern paper: Color Crazy), Candid Cards; Molly (Pattern paper: Refuse to Sink

Thanks for stopping to see my cards highlighting the triangle trend! Stop by the Bella Blvd blog to see what the other ladies came up with.

S.I. Fan

As I mentioned yesterday, I was quite excited to spend a weekend with Audrey, Heather and Sara. While I was there (at the home-base for the My Scraps and More online store at Audrey's), I shopped a bit for boy layouts. I love the Echo Park That's My Boy collection and just had to scoop some up.

This layout is a lot busier than what I usually make, but it was nice to make a 8.5" x 11" layout again (I haven't done that in a long time).

I love the primary colors in this collection. They all go so well together, too, even when you throw in the brown and busy patterns.

I made this page to document when my Dad sent over all of his Sports Illustrated magazines from 2013 for my son. Nate was so excited and immediately started sorting them into which sport was on the cover. All of the baseball ones got special attention (of course!), as did the one with Ohio State football (because that his Grandpa's favorite team). It was a nice moment…

Thanks for stopping here today! If you are in the mood for some Echo Park, stop by the My Scraps and More shop online.

220 minutes

I spent a very fun weekend earlier this month with Audrey, Heather and Sara at Audrey's house. Now, if you don't already know this, Audrey owns the My Scraps and More online store. I had previously ordered most of these October Afternoon goodies from her, but I made sure to bring them along for our girls weekend. I knew I was going to have some time to make some things just for fun. 

The October Afternoon All Boy and Daily Flash-Snapshots collections are two of my favorites right now. I am still stalking OA for their Treasure Map release, but until then, these fun papers and boy theme will get me by. 

I love using the word bubbles. I journal way more when I have small little spaces to write in instead of a larger open area. For this journaling, I was listing what the boy read to achieve his 220 minutes of reading to earn the gold medal at school. 

Thanks for stopping here today. If you feel like shopping, stop by the My Scraps and More shop. I know she just released the newest Jillibean Soup for sale.

Project Life cards {viva las vegastamps}

Today is my last blog post and project for Viva Las VegaStamps, and I'm so excited to be able to share a set of four 3x4 cards I made using their stamps. It is an ATC celebration over there, and Dee Dee was nice enough to let me take a stab at making some 3x4 cards for PL instead of an ATC. So glad, too, because this was fun to make. 

I wanted to make a black and white series, and these stamps were perfect for it. They are made of red rubber and hold black ink very well. The coverage is great and the details aren't blurred or spotty — perfection!

To make my cards, I used these five stamps:

Leaves Blowing From Tree  |  Pulse Rate  |  {With Love}  |  Blowing Dandelion and Extra Seed  |  Feather Silhouette

If you are interested in learning more about Viva Las VegaStamps, swing by and visit their blog or their store. 

I really enjoyed working with their stamps and I know you will, too! Thanks for stopping by here today.

Fancy Pants announcement!

Very excited to announce that I will be a
Fancy Pants Project Designer for 2014!

The ladies listed here are nothing short of amazing,
and I am in awe to be working with them and Jodi.

Looking forward to a fun 2014 with these gals!

Friday card sketch {bella blvd}

Bella Blvd is inspiring card makers today with a sketch challenge and cards from the design team. Above is this month's sketch. Make sure to head on over to the Bella Blvd blog today to see what the rest of the card team created.

Here is the card I made.

I love the fox in the Max collection and couldn't think of a better way to send a "way to go" card for a certain little guy. A fun stamped sentiment makes it personal.

SUPPLIES
Max: (Pattern paper: That's My Boy, Borders, Rock Star), Candid Cards, Trinkets.
Sand & Surf: Hampton Art Cling Stamps

I hope your Friday is off to a good start! Thanks for stopping to see my card today. 

Pinterest inspired {bella blvd}

Bella Blvd is going green today! We are sharing projects inspired by this Pinterest image. To see what the other gals made, swing by the Bella Blvd blog today.

I was inspired by the image to use green, little banners and a "lucky" theme. This card isn't a St. Patty's Day card (though it could be), but rather a good luck card. I used vellum to put the word "good" to the back, allowing the word "luck" to be the shining star on the top layer.

SUPPLIES
Max: (Pattern paper: Text Me) Lucky Starz: (Pattern paper: Bell Pepper Starz), Treasures & Text, Color Wheel High Five. Family Forever: (Pattern paper: Sunday Brunch)

For my second project, I made a gift box instead of another card.

Using the Pinterest image for inspiration, I was used the green color, the clovers and liked the idea of a party with the banners in the picture. Because of the party, I made a little favor box that just happens to be filled with green mints.

Clovers and a Bella Blvd flower are clustered on the top for layering and a bit of fun for our little party box.

SUPPLIES 

Max: (Pattern paper: Text Me), Lucky Starz: (Pattern paper: Pickle Juice Starz, Bell Pepper Starz), Family Forever: (Pattern paper: Sunday Brunch), Baby Blooms a Bella: Champagne

Are you ready for the St. Patty's Day festivities? 

Samantha Walker Creative Crafters Team Blog Hop {lucky}

Welcome to the Samantha Walker Creative Crafters Team Blog Hop! You should have come to my blog from Cristal (Pinky) Hobbs. If you found me first, make sure to start back at Samantha Walker's blog to catch all of the fun from the beginning.

This month's lucky winner will receive the Spellbinders Botanical Swirls Expandable Pattern.

...and be eligible for the free SVG/Silhouette file for this month. Be sure to look extra closely at Step #4 below to learn how you can get this FREE SVG and Silhouette Studio file:

To enter, just leave a comment on Samantha's blog during Wednesday 3/12 until Sunday 3/16. The winner will be announced on Samantha's Facebook page on Monday 3/17.

For additional entries:

1. Receive an additional entry for commenting on each of the other blogs in the blog hop.
2. Go here and follow Samantha Walker's blog. 
3. Follow her on Facebook.

4. Sign up for an e-mail subscription to Samantha's blog and you will automatically receive a link to a free SVG cutting file that you can download and use on your personal electronic cutter. If you are already a subscriber, just enter in your information in the secure form on Samantha's blog!  The free files will be e-mailed early next week!

To receive the additional entries and get the free files, mention in your comment on Samantha's blog that you have done so! 

Now for this month's theme: Lucky

To make this card, I used the Lucky Day file from Samantha Walker and then (after cutting it on the Silhouette) isolated the word "Lucky." I also used only the grass in the Bunny Easter Banner file. 

By using only pieces of those files, I made a cute little scene for my card. A shining sun from a circle punch and some clouds finish off the card.

Supplies: Samantha Walker Silhouette Studio Files (Lucky Day and Bunny Easter Banner), Pattern paper (Echo Park Keepin' Cozy by Samantha Walker: Birds of a Feather)

Your next stop on the hop is Cathy Harper ... Click on the image below to keep on hopping!

Thanks for hopping along with us this month! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Stencils and studio files {samantha walker}

Yesterday on the Samantha Walker blog, I shared a tutorial for converting a studio file into a stencil that you could use for applying ink to your cards and projects. 

Here is the card I made using that stencil. 

If you are interested in seeing more on how I made this, pop on over to the Samantha Walker blog. 

Thanks for visiting!

March sketch challenge {scrapbook circle}

It's time for the next sketch challenge at Scrapbook Circle! This is the page that I made, and you can see the sketch at the bottom of this post, or on the Scrapbook Circle blog.

If you have a Scrapbook Circle kit to use and have time to play along this month, there is $15 shop credit from My Scraps and More up for grabs to one lucky random winner. Check out the deadlines and details over on the Scrapbook Circle blog.

A few of us on the Scrapbook Circle creative team were talking about the LEGO movie and how this kit is perfect for that right now. The bright colors and playful patterns are just itchin' for a layout about toys.

(Excuse my alphas, but they are not the ones in the kit. I used some I had on hand from Elle's Studio.)

The fun white hexagons are made using an exclusive Scrapbook Circle Little Hexagon Stencil you will only find in the March kit. I used gesso to get this look using my stencil.

Below is the sketch. Pin it for later and head on over to the Scrapbook Circle blog to see the details about playing along, as well as what the rest of the creative team did with it.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great weekend!