Now...school is out "offishally"

School is out..."OFFISHALLY" and to celebrate, we made this card for my daughter's teacher to celebrate a wonderful year (and her birthday too).

At Scrap it Girl this month, we are challenging you to use buttons, brads, and bling on your project---just like I did on all of these fish eyes.

Join in the fun...post your project HERE

rainy days and "too hot" days are made for crafting!

~Kelly

Now it's time to be the memory-keeper...

Voltaire said, "With great power, comes great responsibility".  Well, I don't know if I have a lot of power, but I do know that I have a lot of responsibility.  And, one of those responsibilities is "memory-keeper".   Sometimes, I seem to feel that I'm creating scrapbooks for my children--to help them remember.  Other times, I'm creating scrapbooks for the pure joy.  Sometimes, I get overwhelmed by the sheer number of photos I have and I don't want to scrapbook.

I've taken a break from doing a lot of scrapping this winter because I did start to forget why I do it.  I've never wanted it to seem like a chore.  I've never wanted to let myself feel like I HAD to do this...that I HAD to scrap every event.  Taking a little break has made me miss it and realize it's time to go back.  So, as the school year comes to an end, I'm gearing up for some scrappy time for me again.  

Meanwhile, another month has flown by and that means it is time for a new challenge at Scrap It Girl.  This month it's all about the stitching/sewing.  I did a little bit of both--kind of.  I used a faux stitching stamp on the page above and below the title (it's from an old Close to My Heart set called "Stitched Together") and then used a star shape from that same set to be my template for some real stitching.

I stamped the star with red ink and then used a small spring-loaded eyelet setter to make my holes at each corner.  I took some red embroidery floss and back-stitched my way around.

I like that this stitching added just a little dimension on this page. There are a lot of bright colors on this page and I didn't want the stitching to be overwhelming.  And, it connects to my journaling. One of the items that we saw at the Smithsonian Museum of American History was the original flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the Star-Spangled Banner/National Anthem.

So, "SPRING" into action and join our challenge...it will be "SEW" much fun to see what you create.  Then, share it with us at Scrap It Girl.

~Kelly

Be hoppy now...

Got peeps?  I actually don't like marshmallow peeps.  However, I do like these bunny peeps that I put on these cards.  The challenge at Scrap It Girl for this new month of April is black/white and one other color. With my collection of black/white washi tape in hand (as my background),  I whipped up these cards in a jiffy!

If you are saving your washi tape for something more special, you could use paper scraps instead...do you have any paper scraps around?  Maybe just a few?

Join in the fun at Scrap It Girl this month and show us how black/white and one other color inspires you! 
Hoppy Easter and Hoppy Spring!

~Kelly

A birthday now...

He may be an "old man" but my brother is getting a new card!  I played along with Scrap It Girls February challenge and you have a few hours left to play along and follow the "recipe"---blue, numbers or #, and arrows.  Then, get ready for the March challenge reveal.

For this card, I faux embossed navy blue numbers and stars and glued them to the front of the navy blue card base where I had also punched out the big "43" (and added dotted paper from behind).

My birthday is coming up soon, so I probably shouldn't kid my brother too much---he may enact revenge!

~Kelly

NOW--New year, new challenge, new word...

Good-bye 2014 and hello 2015.  I will not tell a lie---I am happy to see 2014 go.  Time to start fresh with lots of new things.  Yes, every day is a new beginning, but it feels good to put another 365 days behind--365 days that had too many challenges for my liking.  

Alas, one more good-bye.  2014 marks the end of Chicagoland Scrapbooker magazine.  This cute boy above gets to be the focus of the last issue's cover.  I have loved my time with the CS Design Team.  As that door closes, a window opens for me at Michigan Scrapbooker.  I'll soon be joining in the fun over there and hope you will follow me over as I say "hello Michigan".

Scrap It Girl continues to be one of my favorite challenge sites and I am gearing up (along with the rest of the design team) for another year of fun.  January's challenge is ..

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so join in the fun and show us your latest project with snowflakes before January 31st at www.scrapitgirl.com (link your creation HERE)

As I say good-bye to "create" as my word for 2014, I must confess that I hadn't chosen a new word until I sat down to write this post and came across this close-up photo of the cover layout.  SNOW becomes "NOW" in this photo, and "now" seems to be a perfect choice for this next year.  Cherishing each "now" moment, no more waiting and procrastinating--doing it "now".  

Wishing you a happy, happy, happy new year and hoping that 2015 will bring you a bounty of blessings.

~Kelly

Create with a cookie (almost)...

At our house, the day after Thanksgiving is reserved for decorating the house for Christmas.  This year, I created something new for the kitchen, and it LOOKS good enough to eat...

but DON'T (unless you want splinters in your teeth)!

Using these adorable gingerbread ornaments from Unique Laser Designs, I made a simple garland with just some ribbon, wooden beads, and twine.

First, I covered the gingerbread men with clear VersaMark ink and then bathed them in embossing powder (Espresso from Adirondack).  When I heated them up with the heat gun, I was mesmerized as they developed this great texture that even turned a little white around the edges.  Once cooled, I added just a bit of Stickles (rock candy) on the edges to give them just a little sparkle.

I strung some painted wooden beads on some twine and then hot glued the gingerbread men on, separating them with some gingham ribbon scraps.

These guys are ready for hanging in the kitchen.  One decoration down, about 512 more to go!

My term on the Unique Laser Design Team is coming to a close, and I have truly LOVED these wood shapes.  I will keep coming back to get more with each new reveal.   

And, just for you shoppers, here is a DEAL!  35% of the whole ULD store through Monday (enter the code THANKS35 at checkout).  Stuff your stockings!


Don't forget, show us your true colors over at the Scrap It Girl blog...we want to see your projects with COLOR (paint, watercolors, gelatos) by tomorrow (Sunday).

~Kelly

Create with sparkle...

Once Halloween passes, I head right into the sparkle. I don't forget about Thanksgiving, but while my mind is focused on being grateful, my hands are busy creating for the Christmas season.  And for me, this season gives me the go-ahead to sparkle sparkle sparkle.

My first sparkly project of the season uses this wooden snow globe from Unique Laser Designs as the main focus of an over-sized tag. I spread a thin layer of Tacky Glue over the whole ornament (the end of a paper clip works great for moving the glue out of the intricate designs) and then sprinkled on a heavy load of ultra-fine platinum silver glitter. I added a red ribbon to the top too.

For the base of this tag (which is 4"x5"), I covered it in white cardstock and then punched out all different sizes and shapes of snowflakes from the same white cardstock and glued them on closely and randomly.  I even let some hang over the edge and then trimmed them later when I had the whole tag covered.  

I framed the edge with some black and white polka dot washi tape and added some die-cut trees that I "snow-swiped" with Picket Fence Distress Stain.  Speaking of paints and stains, that is the challenge this month over at Scrap it Girl.  Show us your projects that you've added some additional color to (watercolors, paints, stains, gelatos, etc.)  I'm going to have some more colorful projects to share soon.

I glued the snow globe to the tag along with some song lyrics and now this tag is a perfect addition to a simple hostess gift (maybe on a bottle of wine?).

Wishing you lots of crafty time as we begin these seasons of being grateful and being sparkly!

~Kelly