Glimmered Feathers and Foilage

If you are anything like me, you have dozens and dozens of crafty things you want to make. I spied a basket of glittered feathers on one of my outings this summer and added them to my list of " I have to make those" (its a long and ever growing  list) I'm happy to report that these were so easy that I wish I had made them a little earlier in the fall! I cut them with my Cricut using the fall tablescapes cartridge

A calligraphy pen and a generous sprinkle of champagne glitter dress up the feathers in mere minutes they are ready for the Thanksgiving table!

I love how simple (and still a little bit glamorous) they are!

I had two packages of SEI homestead die cut leaves that I literally dipped in glue and dusted with glitter! fast, gorgeous, and a shimmery good time!

 I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving,I'm looking forward to seeing the place cards on our table, pumpkins pie and most of all our traditional whipped cream mustache party!

26 Monkeys

A little monkey business! Perhaps an explanation is in order. A friend of ours just turned 26, and is a walking talking cartoon! He claims his brain is run by the banging monkey in his head..... And sometimes I swear I can hear the cymbals clapping, and the monkey chattering! He believes that from time to time the monkey falls over on its' side but continues to clap one handed *giggle* 

 Well of course with such hilarious material to work with,we had to honor the monkey behind the man for his birthday.  

 I wanted to use a fun image of a cymbal banging chimp, and found this amazing artwork by Steve Simpson  I contacted Mr. Simpson to ask him if I could make a card and tag using his fabulous illustration, he also gave me permission to post them here and share them with you.{Is he fantastic or what?} I fell in love with his style as soon as I visited his site, I invite you to visit his blog, or do a little shopping for some seriously cool stuff!  I know where a chunk of my Christmas shopping will be done!!! ;)

  Please please always be respectful when using the artwork, photos, images, or ideas of other artists, these folks work very hard to create original works. Its wonderful to be inspired by each other, share with everyone, to teach or to learn from one another, but always ask permission, always link, and always give credit where credit is due! 

I printed Steve Simpsons art onto glossy cardstock and trimmed it close. I layered the image with a bit Stampin'Up! wood sheet, and My Minds Eye red chevron printed paper, I added some bakers twine and a fun pennant sticker from Echo park. The sticker sentiments are by SRM and add an extra bit of fun! Its no surprise that he loved the card, and went "bananas" for the tube of runts!

 He worked for a long time as a pastry chef and is not too fond of cake, so pre-made cookies topped with a Wilton candy monkey seemed the way to go. They were a hit...with everyone!  And easy, I love it when party items are easy! 

The only thing missing from his day was a barrel, he provided much of the entertainment just by being himself, goofy, wacky, brains filled with a Monkey- cymbals banging away! As usual making us all laugh! 

Special thanks to Steve Simpson for helping to make my friends day special! hugs to you!!!

A Song Of Spring

 "Hello" Today I'm sharing a Cricut-Stamping fusion card that was published in Cricut magazine in March. There are a few key elements I used making this card that you can add to your technique arsenal. Lets start with a the imagined barrier that seems to loom over stampers, Cricut gurus and scrapbookers alike, and that is that  the three papercrafting styles don't mix. Its way past time to put that myth to rest, mixing a scrapbook title with a stamped sentiment is not only doable, its downright fabulous!
 How about using a Cricut designed frame as a card base? Those intricate lacy cuts in yellow are gorgeous, and would be stunning cut at 11" to create a layout background! Concentric cut shapes layered and framed create a nesting look that is super fast for stamped images, cards, and scrapbook pages as well.

If you love paper, {and I know you do} than push away any crosscropping stigmas you have about mixing styles,. Stampers, scrapbookers, and 3 dimensional artists all have a common bond. Paper, beautiful, thick, delicate, scrumptious paper!  If you want to expand your world beyond the limits, say "hello" to mixing, mashing, and making the most of all papercrafting supplies! Break a few rules, have a little fun, be a rebel and do it all!

That's Where Dreams Live

For most of us its the tail end of the school year, graduation parties are being planned, and the sweet dreams of summertime are being spun in our hearts like cotton candy! I am enjoying some rare and luxurious free time, and feeling a bit intoxicated by the idea that I don't have to wake up at 5:30 AM for a while! {inwardly doing a happy dance} 

 Like most end of the school year celebrations, pre-K or Kindergarten graduation is a really big deal for both the newly promoted child and their proud parents, so of course documenting those memories will be in order! I loved the chance to make a layout with nontraditional graduation colors and instead focus on Brooke's personality. Letting her sassy sunny disposition lead me to my paper choices and colors, I used the playtime collection from my little shoebox. And fun fonts from the Type candy Cricut cartridge.

Lots of stitching, and small sticker alphabets add to the dimension and interest of the page. You guys know I like a lot to be going on when I create a project and even though it is sometimes an accident....... usually I do plan where I want all the jazz to be happening! Placement of embellishments is important, it helps tell the story, or enhances the photo...but please please don't get too hung up on technical scrapbooking!! chant to yourself "this is supposed to be fun" "this is supposed to be fun"  *grin*

I have a hard time with page titles, and find myself wanting to add a boring or cliche' title such as " Pre-K graduation" and although that tells the story it lacks emotion, or the ole razzle dazzle as my grandfather loved to say! Titles can be generic and that's fine, or they can beckon you look further, stop you in your tracks and tell a more meaningful story.  Make them funny, or romantic, or even half written so the journaling or subtitle finishes the sentiment, in short make sure your layout gets really looked at! After all, as a documentor of life events that's what you are working towards!

Graduation Photo Booth Props

These no doubt that graduation is one of the biggest days of a teens life, and a big celebration is a great way to top off 13 years of homework, studying, and school lunches! One of the most popular growing party trends in the last few years has got to be the event themed Photo Booth.For good reason, they are fun, and everyone loves to participate! Its the perfect way to make sure you have a photo memory book!

 I cut out several of these bright and happy bow ties for Katrina's' { my cousins daughter} graduation soiree next week.  

I used the Billionaire cartridge and cut the ties from varied bright double sided papers, hot glued them to sticks and used a 3/4" circle punch to cover the stick attachment point on one side of the tie. Seriously fast, and seriously adorable! "Bow ties are cool" Dr.Who

In contrast to the cheerful bow ties are these super silly face pieces and parts. Eyes, mustaches, glasses and lips! How much fun are these!?

Big foam hats, and glasses were also cut with the Cricut using 3mm foam. Cut any shapes that work for the theme of your part, foam is budget friendly and comes in every color imaginable! A dab of hot glue and a package of sticks and you're finished! 

What to do for the rest of the photo booth? 

A poster or a backdrop in your school colors can serve as a simple photo booth background, or if you are the super creative type build a themed prop and go all out! Either way photo booth silly sticks are a fast and economical way to add a real boost to your graduation party!

Chalkboard style Graduation 2013

 It's been a long while since my last post, and while there is good reason for that I feel I owe you an explanation...and a giant "thank you"! How about this? I'll tell you parts of the story mixed in with some graduation projects,and some fun photos to soak up? That seems pretty doable if you ask me!
 Lets start with the fact that my daughter graduates high school tomorrow... the end! Just kidding, but it has been the busiest time and feels like the days are doing double time! These are the graduation announcements I ordered from Tiny Prints {love them} if you have never checked them out before hop over and feast your eyes on all the amazing invitations and custom photo books etc! Its like pushing the easy button!

I have gone back to working full time in our family owned business, that has really been a tough adjustment for me! I have always had very little free time and had to juggle between my many roles but never as much as this past year! We decided to throw a surprise graduation party for Chelsea and only had 2 full days to pull it off! We managed a pretty cute party despite our time limits! These light bulb jars filled with the school color sixlets are super cute take home favors! I used my cricut to make the dimensional tags and one of my all time favorites SRM Stickers for the sentiment.

Our party fare was simple and best of all easy to clean up after the party was done! We ordered large sub sandwiches in a few varieties and cut them into walk around size pieces. The party theme was chalkboard  so we put up fun little chalkboard signs with school inspired quotes and sayings, this was a fun element and we had a good time being silly with it!
 

Fresh flowers even in small doses can totally change the look of an event. No matter what the theme, a splash of colorful petals or greenery is always a good idea!

We looked for bottled drinks in our theme colors of black and white, orange and silver. Orange soda was easy of course, but we also found crafted cola and root beer to be great for our colors! There is  just something so wonderful about drinking from a glass bottle, it feels like a mini vacation or at the very least a mini luxury! So much better than a pop top can! 

Another easy treat are the classic "diploma" cookies! Tie a ribbon around them and place them on a tray. Done! If you are crunched for time remember fast can still be gorgeous!

You may notice that these peanut butter cup caps are wrapped in silver, and you are right! I picked up silver foil candy wrappers found in the baking aisle of the craft store and recruited my hubs to wrap over them { no need to unwrap and re-wrap them} I cut 2.25" black squares and inserted a brad with a handmade tassel through the top, adhere with a glue dot and you're done!  P.S. The handmade tassels were a pain but can be done while watching an episode of Dr. Who.... as if you can tear your eyes away from the screen for one second! I know I can't! :)

Chalkboard labels picked up at Michael s in the sticker dept. were placed on shaker jars with humorous school quotes at our DIY "cupcake university" We bought unfrosted cupcakes in chocolate and vanilla and set out frosting, sprinkles and flags for the guests to create their own edible masterpieces!

Our photo booth was one of the most hilarious activities of the night! I made a foam core frame in silver and used the Cricut gel inks to re create the faux chalkboard technique I had published in Cricut magazine a few months ago at the top of the frame. It reads most likely to....and I made a ton of sweet or cheeky signs for the guests to hold up. I had no idea how creatively they would use them to create sentences, or take "mug shots"
 It was so much fun for me to sit back and listen to the laughter and silliness that sprang from the photo booth,and that brings to mind how important spending time with my family has been to me this past year.

{here's the personal stuff}

I think for a while I had my priorities switched and my family and friends often "got in the way" of my design career I woke up one day and the one of the design teams I devoted most of my life to was eliminated by the company I worked for. No notice, no preparation for an ending to my contract, just over. It really put my life into perspective, I had sacrificed so many gatherings, lunches, parties, and dinners with my family! I changed, I changed a lot...I became the real "me" again and the real me loves to sing, and dance, and have fun with the people that I love to be around! I then realized that our family business had suffered tremendously in my absence and it would take all of my effort to turn it around and save the company. Posting projects paled in comparison to what I faced each day, and some days I wanted nothing more than to vent, cry, share, create, and connect with you...but I just didn't know where to start.Before I knew it, it had been weeks, than months and so many of you emailed and asked about me, and reached out to offer friendship, Thank you... thank you for not giving up on me for letting me fade into the list of "the used to be's" LOL

My funny girl, who really does intend to pursue science, I can't believe she will be wearing her cap and gown tomorrow! Its so exciting!

Well you know me! Forever the goofball!!! That will never ever change -not as long as I'm breathing! I will always choose happiness even when things are hard, and they have been. But family, friends, good food, sweet wine, adventures, and of course crafting will get me through! Oh crap and chocolate!!!! how could I forget chocolate!!!? yeah, that too! 

Congratulations Chelsea Class of 2013

Thank you for being a friend!

{the golden girls}

and

Shantaie

10/31 Boo Birds

"Where have I been? That's the question I have been getting in my email inbox and in my messages for a couple of weeks! I haven't stopped creating, I have just hit the slow motion switch for a while. I have been on the go pretty much nonstop for the last two months, having a senior in high school and revamping our business is keeping me rather occupied! Add to that- my need to spend more time with my family, and friends, and to live a well rounded life,frankly it has left less time for the craftroom! That being said, I DO plan to get back into a regular crafty groove in the next few days!

 Let's start with a Spooky card inspired by this weeks mojo Monday sketch! I'm just loving these jailhouse looking birds....they are more funny than creepy so I stamped over them with a spiderweb to darken their spirits just a bit!

A lace doily spritzed with raven and jack-o-lantern glimmer mist and distressed edges on all of the layers add a look of  disheveled Halloween goodness! Do you just love the greeting? me too!!! Its from SRM stickers, and sooooo cute! This will be a fun card to send to my nephews with a little care package....because you know me {always a reason to send a gift}! 

Thanks for sticking with me, and to so many of you who checked in on me to make sure everything is okay, I appreciate your friendship and kindness and genuine care for me! * call me a little awestruck that you even noticed* ;)

happy creating~ hugs!