Friday, May 30, 2014

Challenge #8 | Father's Day {avery elle}


Happy Friday and welcome to another challenge for the AEI♥U Challenge blog. This week we are looking forward to Father's Day. Let's make some cards for Dad!

As a huge fan of all things nautical, I had to use the Knotty stamp set for this masculine card. I used the anchor stamp in that set to create a pattern on the background of my card using the Fog pigment ink pad from Avery Elle. 

I then stamped a sentiment (also from the Knotty stamp set) using Versafine Onyx ink.


Can't wait to see what you make for Dad!

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, June 8th to enter.  The winner will be announced on Thursday, June 12th at 6:00 AM (Pacific Time) on the Avery Elle Challenge Blog.

Monday, May 26, 2014

Happy Memorial Day {bella blvd}


Happy Memorial Day! Today on the Bella Blvd blog we are using the Lucky Starz collection to show off our patriotism. I made these two cards with Lucky Starz and All American collections.


I love red, white and blue as a color combo, but they can be especially powerful for patriotic cards and projects. Add in some fireworks and you have a holiday card!

Supplies: Lucky Starz (Pattern paper: Macintosh Starz). All American (Pattern paper: Borders & Cute Cuts), Alpha + Bits stickers, Chip Icons.


The navy always feels more serious to me than the red and white, so I used that as my main color on this card that says "American hero."  


Supplies: Lucky Starz (Pattern paper: Surf & Turf Starz). All American (Pattern paper: Borders & Cute Cuts), Alpha + Bits stickers

Hope all of my American friends are having a wonderful holiday weekend! Thanks for taking a moment to visit here today.

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Candy jar card {samantha walker}


Today on the Samantha Walker blog I'm sharing my process for making this fun candy jar card. A variety of enamel dots add dimension and pops of fun color to the project. 



Thanks for stopping by here today! I hope this card has brightened your day a bit. 

Friday, May 23, 2014

Card sketch {bella blvd}


Bella Blvd has a great jumping-off point today for all you card makers. Stop on over to the Bella Blvd blog to see what the card designers for Bella Blvd made with this month's sketch.

Here is the card that I made with the sketch and one of the newest collection: Classic Calendars. 


I love the patterns in the Classic Calendars collection. I couldn't pass up the chance to use the dots on the Bell Pepper paper to coordinate with the circles on the sketch.


Supplies: Classic Calendars (Pattern Paper: Bell Pepper), Treasures & Text

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Kiwi Lane swap {fancy pants}


Today on the Fancy Pants blog I'm sharing my layout for our partnership and swap with Kiwi Lane Designs.


When looking to work with the Madison Avenue Framing templates I have from Kiwi Lane Designs, I knew I wanted to use them to create dimension on my layout. I have new photos from the start of my son's baseball season, so i set out to use the templates to create grass and hills to go along with the pictures.


I used foam adhesive to pop up the layers and create depth — tucking the little monster, a corrugate paper hill and the photos into the layering.

There are great varieties of green in the Be Different collection, so it made it really easy to achieve this look without needing to add card stock to my supplies.



Once I had my rolling hills all set, I was able to add a variety of die cuts, stickers, buttons and tags to the layout.

Thanks for stopping by here today to see my layout! Remember to add a comment any day this week to the Fancy Pants Blog for your chance to win a fabulous Fancy Pants and Kiwi Lane Designs prize pack that includes products from the Be Different collection, Tiny Tags Accessory setTiny Celebrate Accessory set, and the Aspen Court set.

Fancy Pants Designs Collections Used: Be Different, As You Wish - Turquoise Corrugate Paper

Friday, May 16, 2014

Challenge #7 | Botanicals {avery elle}


Happy Friday and welcome to another challenge for the AEI♥U Challenge blog. This week we are exploring botanicals. We want to see your floral cards! 


I've been taking the Online Card Class: Watercolor this month, so of course I was just itching to try out some of the techniques from the class. For this card, I used the distress-inked acrylic block technique for my background and the watercolor markers for the flower and leaves. 


I had so much fun playing around with the watercolor techniques and the Avery Elle Petals and Stems stamp set. Maybe you can give watercolors a try when you play along with the challenge this week!

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, May 25th to enter.  The winner will be announced on Thursday, May 29th at 6:00 AM (Pacific Time) on the Avery Elle Challenge Blog.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

What's New {bella blvd}


In case you missed it, Bella Blvd released three new mid-season collections: Summer Squeeze, Scattered Sprinkles and Classic Calendars. Today on the Bella Blvd, some of us on the creative team are sharing projects that show off the new collections. 

Make sure to stop by the Bella Blvd blog all week long to see what we've been up to with the new collections.


I absolutely love the yellow "hello" paper in the Summer Squeeze collection. It is a b-side to the Pocket Full of Posies paper, and I plan on fussy-cutting each single "hello"on that sheet. 

Supplies: Summer Squeeze: (Pattern paper: Pocket Full of Posies), Treasures & Text


For my second card, I focused on the fun pink and black colors in the new collections. So fun, right?! I just had to make a friend card with these colors. All the while humming Debbie Gibson songs and snapping my gum — this color combo always brings me back to middle school.


Supplies: Summer Squeeze: (Pattern paper: Borders, Daily Details. Scattered Sprinkles: Treasures & Text

Thanks for stopping by here today to see some of what's new at Bella Blvd.

Samantha Walker Creative Crafters Team Blog Hop {graduation}

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 receivthe Spellbinders Sea Flowers Grand Impressabilities.


...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 5/14 until Sunday 5/18. The winner will be announced on Samantha's Facebook page on Monday 5/19.

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: Graduation


For my project this month, I made a card for the graduate. I always think of owls in association with graduation. So very wise, right? Also stars — like a "superstar!" I'm a bit corny, I think. 


I cut the owl on my Cameo, the word bubble from a die and the stamps are from JustRite.

Supplies: Samantha Walker Silhouette Studio Files (Animal Owl 4), For All You Do Vintage Labels clear stamps, Patterns Basics clear stamps.

Your next stop on the hop is Samantha Walker Facebook page ... Click on the image below to keep on hopping!


Thanks for hopping along with us this month! 


Monday, May 12, 2014

Watercolors and a May birthday


This past week I took the Online Card Class Watercolors class. Through a series of videos, I watched some of my favorite card makers show off their techniques, tips and tricks. Some of them I already knew about but rarely practice — some were completely new to me.

This card shows off one of the masking techniques. I had no idea you could use rubber cement to help mask off areas on projects.


My little man turns 8 this month. I made this card because the BOOM sentiment gave me the perfect opportunity to use the masking technique and because Nate says "BOOM!" all the time.

Thanks for stopping by here today. I can't wait to keep working through the techniques from the class. I'll make sure to stop by here and share them with you.

Friday, May 9, 2014

May sketch challenge {scrapbook circle}


Do you have a Scrapbook Circle kit? Looking to win something fun from Bella Blvd? Play along with this month's sketch at Scrapbook Circle and you will be entered to win a Molly collection prize pack from Bella Blvd.


To get you motivated to play along, here is the page I made using the High Five May kit from Scrapbook Circle and this month's sketch.


I love the large sheet of alphas in this month's kit — any excuse for me not to write on my pages! The brightly colored alphas worked out perfectly for an egg hunt layout. 


I used gesso and a Scrapbook Circle custom stencil to make the white circles on the side of the page. 


Thanks for stopping to see what I made for the May sketch challenge for Scrapbook Circle. I do hope you'll have a chance to play along. If you don't have a kit, feel free to still save or PIN the sketch and use it whenever you would like.

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

You + me {scrapbook circle}


Hello! Just dropping in to share a fun card that I made with the High Five kit from Scrapbook Circle.

The "you+me" stamp is a Scrapbook Circle custom stamp in the kit and can only be found in the High Five kit.


Just thought I would drop in quick to share this. Hope everyone is having a great week!

For those of you thinking of buying the kit from Scrapbook Circle, make sure to use my code (DIANAF20OFF) so you get a 20% discount. 

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Home décor for mom {fancy pants}


Hello! Mother's Day is this Sunday, and the team at Fancy Pants is celebrating moms all week. For this week's home decor post on the Fancy Pants blog, I shared this mom print I made, the decorated frame and a little altered jar filled with vintage threads.  


I made this “God made mothers…” print and you can download the PNG file HERE. The pink colors match the As You Wish collection very well. If you didn’t want to frame it, it could be resized and print as a card for your pocket page layouts.

I framed the print in a rustic wood frame and added chipboard, tag and die cut pieces from As You Wish to decorate the outside edges of the frame.


I also had a jar of pink and orange vintage threads that I’ve been meaning to do a little bit more with. I hot-glued twine around the center of the jar and then decorated it with a heart I fussy cut from one of the brag cards. I then finished it off with faux white stitched lines and a chipboard button. 


If you were interested in using the Mother’s Day print as a cut on your Silhouette, you can also download the studio file.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mommies out there!

Supplies: Fancy Pants (As You Wish)

Monday, May 5, 2014

Here we go! {scrapbook circle}


Time for High Five — the May kit for Scrapbook Circle. This kit is bright, fun and has a little bit of everything from Heidi Swapp, Amy Tan, Pink Paislee, Bella Blvd and of course those custom pieces you can only get from Scrapbook Circle.


Once I got my kit, I got right to working with it. Here is one of the layouts I made that focused on the gray, black and aqua colors in the kit. I loved how the colors complimented the pictures of my son that I wanted to document. 




Thanks for stopping to see my layout using the High Five kit from Scrapbook Circle. Make sure to check out the Scrapbook Circle site for the coordinating add-on kits, too. 

If you purchase High Five or any of the other kits, make sure to use coupon code DIANAF20OFF for 20% off your purchase. 

Saturday, May 3, 2014

All About Me {bella blvd}


In honor of National Scrapbooking Day, the gals at Bella Blvd are sharing "All About Me" layouts as well as a Q and A. As a card designer for Bella Blvd, I was thrilled to have chance to make a layout — I gotta shake it up every once in awhile, eh?!


This layout represents me pretty well. The Molly collection and Lucky Starz have some of my favorite patterns and colors. I love anchors, so the Refuse to Sink paper was the first choice for my background. I work as a marketing director, so the hashtags on the Pickle Juice b-side from Lucky Starz was also perfect. I'm constantly looking through a lens for photos, so the Selfie paper had to be included, too.

I chose eight simple statements to type up on my typewriter that represent me right now. I included my one little word, some things I enjoy, moments I'm looking forward to and people that make me happy.


Here is the Q and A:

What are your top 5 supplies/products that you cannot scrap without?
Tonic by Tim Holtz scissors, foam adhesive dots, dots tape runner, white gel pen and my EOS mint lip balm.

What do you listen to while you scrap? TV, music, or do you do your best work in silence?
I either watch something on Netflix or listen to one of my Pandora stations (3 Doors Down is playing now).

What snacks and/or drinks are beside you when you're scrapping?
I usually don’t eat while I scrap, but if I do I love popcorn (Skinny Pop is the best). My beverage of choice is usually coffee — or anything else I can get to brew in my Keurig.

When do you do your best scrapping? Are you a morning scrapper, a late night scrapper, or do you find time during the day?
I am an evening scrapper. My best hours are from 8 – 10 p.m. while my husband is still at work and the boy has already settled in for the night. And yes, for anyone doing the math from the post above, I do drink coffee at night and I still sleep like a log. Weird, I know.

Where do your layouts go once you're done with them? In albums, in piles, or shoved in random places?
My favorite layouts get hung on my Pier One clothespin frames for a little while so I can look at them and also share them with the family. Then they move to sleeves and get hung on hooks in the closet. After the hooks fill, I put them in albums and store them in the top of the closet in my craft room.


Supplies: Molly (Pattern paper: Borders, Refuse to Sink, Selfie), Paper Pieces
Lucky Starz (Pattern paper: Pickle Juice), Treasures & Text, Trinkets
Sophisticates (Brown-Cream High Five Alphas)

Thanks for stopping by to celebrate NSD with me!

Happy National Scrapbooking Day! {fancy pants}


Happy National Scrapbooking Day! It's the first Saturday in May, and today all over the country there are crops and events to mark this day for scrapbookers.

Fancy Pants wants to share this day with you! The design team has gotten together a mini hop for you to inspire you for the day.


I made the first of many Easter celebration layouts. The bright colors form the Nautical collection as well as the chalkboard background from Be Different were perfect for the Easter egg coloring pictures I have.


If you are hopping along with us, here is the hop order:


Make sure to start and end with the Fancy Pants blog. I little birdie told us there might be some prizes for the hoppers. Doesn't this prize look yummy?



Thanks for stopping here today — and Happy National Scrapbooking Day!