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 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

Create old school...

Yesterday it was 85 degrees, today it is 72.  Fall is in the air, and that means it's time to go back to school.  I'm going "back to school" with my project today too.  Over at the Chicagoland Scrapbooker blog, we are going "old school" all month.  Not only did I use an old school photo of me, but the patterned paper I chose has an "old school" feel to it too. The tweed background, stripes, chalkboard alphabet, the phonics blocks, and the penmanship lined paper---all bring back those grade school memories.  

I was in school in the 1970's, so inking over a groovy circle looped stencil with a bristled brush was just one more way to return to my old school ways. Over at the Scrap It Girl blog, the challenge this month is to show us your project that includes use of a stencil or mask.  This groovy one that I used is an older one from Crafter's Workshop. Join in the challenge and you can win a prize pack. Check out more info about the monthly challenge, HERE.

Now, do you remember the popsicles that had jokes written on the bottom of the sticks and then you had to eat the popsicle to reveal the punch line?  I didn't have to eat any popsicles this time, but I thought using popsicle sticks to frame my photo was one more way to bring nostalgic thinking to this layout.  

This oak leaf and Polaroid frame (turned into a chalkboard with black paper and a white gel pen) are wood embellishments from Unique Laser Designs.  To color the the leaf, I used Twinkling H2Os (from Creative Imaginations).  In this picture, you cannot adequately see the amazing shimmer from this copper paint.  For the frame, I quickly and simply ran some Distress Stain (wild honey) over the wood to give it a hint of golden color.

Last "old school" item---an apple sticker.  I've been a sticker collector for a  L   O   N    G     time.  I think it was scratch-n-sniff smelly stickers that were my first love.  I still have a LOT of stickers, and while I don't use them as often as I used to, they are still a go-to embellishment for me.  That's my old school style. What's yours?

~Kelly

Create for a birthday, a birthday, and school

August---full of birthdays and then onto eeeek--"school".  The mere mention of it sends shivers down my spine.  But, I will acknowledge its upcoming presence by the end of  this post.  First, I just wanted to share a few quick cards with you that I made using the Polaroid frames from Unique Laser Designs.  Yes, you can use them to frame a photo, but look how cute they are on a card!

On this ice cream card, I colored the frame with a creamy metallic silver gelato.  The little hexagon is colored with a sparkly gel pen. Did you guess that the scoop of the ice cream is really a cloud? I'm so sneaky!  I colored that with a Copic marker and then swirled Stickles (rock candy)on to make it sparkle.

I know I showed you this card already, but I'm showing it again to remind you to join in the Scrap It Girl challenge for August---use an arrow or a # on your project.  More details are HERE.  

Hexagons are the theme for this card.  I dry embossed a hexagon pattern on the card and then added a Polaroid frame again---this time I used a paint marker to color it black. The small wood hexagons with the sentiments-- I rubbed on different ink pads, just like I did the cute bee (see below)---easy easy easy and quick! 

I used a Sharpie to color the black stripes on the bee and then covered it (really thick) with a layer of Stickles (rock candy again). It looks like a suncatcher--so crackly and sparkly at the same time.

Now, onto school. We are being extra creative with Back to School ideas on the Chicagoland Scrapbooker blog.  Something new every week during August.  My daughter is going to be in 5th grade and is SO excited to find out who her homeroom teacher will be.  To celebrate that first day of school, I used a Unique Laser Designs ATC card and made a chalkboard by painting on a few layers of chalkboard paint before adding some die-cut letters and leaving some room to write with chalk.  The soda stamp is from Unity and I stamped it with glue from the Rubber Cafe and then sprinkled on extra fine glitter.  Sparkly goodness!  A few strings of twine hot-glued onto the back and it's ready to hang around a soda bottle. Now, it's re-usable and her teacher can pass a message on and  be "soda-lighted" for someone else (for a birthday, a great test score, a travelling award around the classroom).

Hope you are "soda-lighted" with these projects that you are feeling inspired to celebrate a birthday, a birthday, and school!

The birthdays, I'm ready for!  School---not so much.

Enjoy these last few weeks of precious summer.

~Kelly

Create with these colors (a challenge)...

Navy, Red, Cream, and Kraft.

In my recent over-zealous cleaning rampages, I have been throwing out a LOT of old, damaged, dated, faded, weird holiday decorations.  That means it's time to make some new ones! Just in time for Scrap It Girl's July Challenge, which is to create a project using the colors--red, cream, navy blue, and kraft.  

I took a 9" x 11" canvas, painted it cream and splattered it with red and navy paint. Then, I added star die-cuts cut from scraps of red and blue paper. 

Lastly, I added my new addiction...burlap paper from DCWV.  I am VERY quickly going through my 6" x 6" stack--better get some more!  With some die-cut "star spangled" letters and few small wood stars from Unique Laser Designs, my canvas is ready for hanging!

Next, remember this pic from last week?  I hinted as to what the shape is that my favorite die makes...

 This Tim Holtz long Sizzix Thinlit makes Mini Paper Rosettes!

It makes perfect rosettes, and believe me, I have tried to accordion fold strips of paper on my own and have gotten a rosette that is well...not a rosette.  It looks like my paper fans did when I was a kid---precise folding is not my forte'.

These rosettes are great on cards and banners...and here they are on a patriotic card where I used a WeR flag stamp.  Oh beautiful...

~Kelly

Create with your favorite...

It's "Favorite Thing Friday" at Scrap It Girl and we are sharing our favorite dies this week.  Mine is this Tim Holtz long Sizzix Thinlit that makes...ooohhhh, I'm not going to tell you quite yet.  Tune in on Tuesday, July 1st ("same Bat-time, same Bat-channel") for the announcement of the July Challenge.  If you "get" this, you must be old like me.

~Kelly

Create with your favorite scissors...

Just a quick post to remind you to check in at Scrap It Girl today. We are doing are "Favorite Things Friday" and this week we are showing off our favorite scissors.  Mine are these small, very precise, very SHARP Fiskars Micro-tips.  I have the mis-shapen finger tips to prove it.  Join the fun...you also will see you have one more day to enter the May Challenge at Scrap It Girl, which is to be inspired by "Mother" or "Mother Nature" in your project.

~Kelly

Create simply for Mom...

Sometimes simple is best.  Simple can be elegant.  Simple can be cute.  Simple can be perfect.  All these describe my mom so this card is simple perfect for her.  The Scrap It Girl Challenge for May is "Mother" or "Mother Nature" and I seem to have gotten both of these topics into these cards.  

Groovy Deb from the "rogue" FiskaFriends at Facebook gave us a challenge to use this simply happy card that she found at Splitcoaststampers.  I'm thinking it would be so fabulous using sport-balls for the circles (baseball, soccer, basketball)...I never seem to have enough "boy" cards in my stash.  I also need to make a wedding shower card and I think I will use this design for inspiration for that one too.  I'll show you all my takes on it in the future.

I liked this simple design so much, that I just simply decided to use it for cards for my grandma and mother-in-law in addition to my mom.  None of them follow my blog so my secret is safe!

~Kelly