Love This Moment with Simple Stories

Hello Sweeties! Happy Monday! Last week, I was up on the Simple Stories blog with a couple of cards made with the adorable new Say Cheese II collection. And today I would love to share the first of them here with you.

As the name implies, Say Cheese II is a spin off of the popular first collection released last year. And although inspired by all things Disney, this fun line works for way more than trips to the theme park.

I love the bright primary color palette in this collection. Mix that with lots of bold black and white and a little bit of Kraft, too, and you have quite the eye catching combo. One of my favorite things about Simple Stories are their unique Elements papers. They are such a great resource for fun focal images and sentiments for just about any card occasion. This heart and sentiment combo are from the 3X4 & 4×6 Elements. I used another of the Elements from the same sheet to create the backdrop for the chipboard frame, too.

Lots of layers here. A die cut Bits & Pieces sentiment banner. Bits & Pieces stars. A text-print Bradz. Really quick and easy ways to add a lot of extra oomph.

Thanks so much for stopping by, my friends! Hope you all have a wonderful day! We are predicted to have our first snowfall of the year this afternoon. School is releasing early in preparation. (insert big smiley face here)

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Supplies:

Love This Moment Card:
Say Cheese II Collection
4312- 3X4 & 4×6 Elements
4322-6×6 Paper Pad
4338-Chipboard Frames
4329- Bits and Pieces
4327- Bradz

 

I AM Loving Life with Simple Stories

Yesterday I had the happy pleasure of seeing my first design team projects go up on the Simple Stories blog…. a couple of cards I made for CHA2015 using the adorable new I AM collection. So excited to now share the first of them here with all of you!

CHA may officially be over for the year, but if you were watching along via Facebook or Instagram these last few days, you may have noticed a lot of photos being posted of the Simple Stories booth with the I AM marketing slogan. The response has been tremendous, and I couldn’t be happier! It truly is a beautiful line, with a beautiful message. If you haven’t had a chance to see the campaign or the I AM collection yet, you can find the full reveal here.

Gold has been such an on-trend color this past year, and I am so excited to see that trend continue. For my first card, I combined the shiny elegance of gold accents with the softer look of pastel papers and fabric for an eye catching combo that’s full of visual texture.

As a card-maker, I am always smitten with the smaller prints of the 6×6 paper pads, which I used to create my background here. A 3×4 SN@P Card makes a perfect frame for the focal point and sentiment… Chipboard, Bits & Pieces die cuts, and a yummy gold glittered Enamel Dot, all tied up with some pretty metallic trim.

Looking ahead to Friday….
Have you guys seen? Emma, over at My Creative Time, is celebrating her 4-year anniversary this week with a fabulous new stamp and die release and lots of project inspiration and giveaways, including a grand prize you won’t want to miss. I am super excited to be joining in the celebration on Friday, as guest designer for the 39th edition Blog Hop. Hope to see you all then… but in the mean time, you can check out all the fun on the My Creative Time blog.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Wishing you all a wonderful day!

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Supplies:
Loving Life Card:
I Am Collection
6×6 Paper Pad: 4522
SN@P Cards: 4523
Bits & Pieces: 4529
Chipboard: 4528
Enamel Dots: 4531

Simple Stories Design Team

Happy New Year, Friends! Here’s to 2015!

As country singer Brad Paisley says, a new year is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one.

 What a wonderful idea that is, of a new year being a fresh new start. A chance for us all to start anew. A chance to start a wonderful 365 day new adventure. Who knows where this adventure will lead any of us. But I hope and wish that it’s a fabulous journey for all of us.

I’ve got an amazing new beginning to share with you today. I’m super excited to say that I’ve been asked to join the Simple Stories design team for 2015. Still pinching myself over that one!

Here’s to many more great beginnings for all of us!

Fa La La La with Therm O Web

Happy Friday, Friends! Less than a week to go, now, until Christmas. Are you all getting excited yet? Or still frantically trying to scratch items off of your to-do lists?

Right about now is when I usually start to come to terms with what I have, and have not, managed to accomplish for the year. Of course there is always more that I wish I could get done, but it really is nice to let it all go. To sit back and try to let the joy of the season soak in. I hope you all are starting to feel that sense of peace, too.

Sharing a fun little holiday card today that I made awhile back when the gang at Simple Stories joined up with us on the Therm O Web blog. This is their adorable Cozy Christmas collection. And I have to say… I’m pretty darn smitten with that snowman..

Although it is a bit hard to tell…

Is he throwing up his hands in a panic about time running out?

Or is he ready to raise the roof!

You tell me….

CSI Special Agent- Case File #118

I’m excited to be playing along this month as a Special Agent over at the CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration blog. Case File #118 is now open for investigation.

Along with the lovely color palette and case file clues, it’s sketch week, too. The challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to create a layout based off the sketch using all five colors, at least two clues from the evidence, and one clue from the testimony. Here’s how I solved the case.

Here are my two kiddos. My sweet, adorable, goofball kiddos, posing for family photos on Christmas day. I don’t ask for much….just a couple of decent pictures, that’s all. And I guess I did get one. But there’s a weird magnetism between those two. They just can’t sit next to each other for more than a moment without some kind of shenanigans kicking in. Some wrestling, or tickling, or squashing, or in this case, a good old poke in the eye. Seems to be how they show affection for each other. I do believe it must be love.

Not sure how expertly I cracked the case this week. I seem to have had a wee spot of trouble with the color scheme. What looked in my scraproom to be Eyeshadow – seafoam green, taken from her eyeglasses -, and Eyeliner – bright teal, taken from her headband  – in fact just look like one color in the true light of day…..and what I was convinced was Blush - dark cantaloupe, taken from her hair  –  now appears to be simply tones of pink. But hey….besides that clear epic fail of the color scheme, I would say I nailed it! Haha

The clues I used:
White background
Arrows
Doodling/ Pen work
Fabric

And for my testimony, I chose to hide my journaling in a pocket behind the first photo.

Even with a bit of a miss on the color palette, I had a ton of fun working with this week’s case file.  And I’m happy to say I once again managed to use some super old items from my stash. To learn more about CSI Case File #118, and to see how the rest of the detectives solved this week’s crime scene, please visit the Color, Stories, Inspiration blog.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Wishing you all a wonderful day!

Truly Blessed

Hi Sweeties! Happy Monday to you! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. It was actually warm and sunny here, which was a most welcome change. I spent some time sitting out on my front bench, just soaking up the sunshine. I think that’s what finally motivated me to pack away all my winter decor and snowmen and start to arrange things for spring. I am SO ready for spring.

And speaking of spring, I have a fun spring wall hanging to share that I made for our special Lucky/Green feature this week on the Epiphany Crafts blog. I truly am a lucky girl, so I decided to create a project that celebrates just how blessed I am, today and everyday. I pulled in a bit of the green, and a lucky shamrock made from Epiphany’s Heart Studio Tool for St. Patty’s Day, but kept the rest of my hanging less holiday specific so that I can enjoy my sweet hanging year round.

It’s good to stop and remember that in EVERY way, I am truly blessed!

I have the complete step-by-steps up on the Epiphany Crafts blog, if you’d like to take a peek.

Thanks so much for stopping by, my friends! Wishing you a fabulous day!

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Supplies:

Epiphany Crafts Heart 25 Shape Studio Tool and Heart 25 Bubble Caps
Epiphany Crafts Round 14 Button Studio Tool and Round 14 Clear Button Caps
Patterned Paper: My Little Shoebox, BoBunny, My Mind’s Eye, Simple Stories
Cardstock Stickers: Simple Stories
Stamps: Hero Arts
Memo Pin: Tim Holtz
Trim: Papertrey Ink, Stampin’Up, The Kraft Outlet
Ink: Clearsnap, Stampin’Up
Paint: Delta
Pen: American Crafts
Corner Rounder: EK Success
Other: Wire

From our Home to Yours

Hello sweet friends! Happy Friday to you! I hope you have all had a very wonderful week, and are looking forward to an even better weekend. Can you believe that tomorrow is the first of December already? Little squeal of panic escaping over here.

Every year for Christmas, I like to whip up a few handmade sweet treats as gifts for friends and neighbors. And I love packaging those treats into clear cello bags so you can immediately see the yumminess inside. Talk about your eye candy, right? Dress your package up with a pretty topper, and you’ve got a quick and easy gift idea for anybody on your list.

This week, we are pairing up with Simple Stories on the Epiphany Crafts blog. I used their adorable Harvest Lane collection for my topper here. I simply cut green gingham paper into a mini file folder to slip over the top of the cello bag. Added one of the pre-made Sn@p pockets and trimmed journaling card and dressed it up with a few easy accents.

The little house was fussy cut from the papers. The heart shaped opening was just the perfect size for a custom bubble cap made from Epiphany’s Heart 25 Shape Studio Tool. I made a matching custom gingham button using the Round 14 Button Tool for the center of my bow, and finished things off with a few cardstock stickers and a hand-stamped sentiment strip.

The pull-out journaling card was the perfect spot to jot down the recipe!

For more details, please visit the Epiphany Crafts blog. You’ll find my recipe for the peanut brittle at the end of the post, too. This is my favorite holiday sweet treat to make, as it only takes about 10 minutes from start to finish. My kinda baking! And be sure to enter the prize giveaway while you are there!

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend! Thanks so much for stopping by!