Celebrate Banner

Sharing another oldie today, but it is so appropriate for the week!  It has been a very successful few days here.  I've managed to get quite a few valentine kits ready for this winter, I started tutoring (at a ridiculously early time) and the kiddos were great, and....drumroll......................................................... Cida and I passed the Therapy Dog test!!!! Whaaaaahoooooo!

This banner has me, once again, jonesing for some sassy nautical paper.  Nautical stuff is so yummy! I'm trying very hard to resist getting some new paper until I finish a few more projects.  There's no room for any new stuff!!!!  Of course I could always order the paper now and stash it until I'm finished with my projects.  But then there is the risk of never finding the stashed paper.  Ya know, 'cause by the time I actually get those projects finished I will have forgotten where I hid the paper!

For this "celebrate" banner, the base is cardboard coasters covered in lots of different patterned papers.  I ended up with a huge stack of these oval coasters and for some reason they just screamed banners to me.  It was a bit of a learning curve with that though.  The holes to string them together have to be a little more than halfway up, otherwise they might flip and then you have celbte instead! ;-) The layers used PTI dies and the letters are stickers that were part of the ancient (seriously like 8 years ago or something) paper line. 

Going to load this banner into the shop this weekend.  Make sure to stop by and check out the new goodies!

June Lobsters!

Well, did you think I dropped off the planet?!?  I have been buried in 6 FEET of snow up here in Massachusetts.  The good part of that is that I have been busy crafting and I am finally getting around to sharing. :)

It's been crazy with snow, so I just had to share this much more beach inspired set of cards.  I had a request from an Etsy customer to make a June birthday card, so I made an extra too!  The best part is that I used lots of bits I already had ready.  I was going to make something else, but it just never looked like I wanted.  Then I got the month themed birthday stamps from PTI and voilà!  Love when that happens!!!

I have some pics of all the snow, but honestly I haven't the heart to share them right now.  It's actually a balmy 30 degrees (that's Fahrenheit), so we are going to take the pup for a nice walk.  Once it stops snowing that is!

Enjoy your Sunday Peeps!

Rays of Sunshine

Hiya Peeps!  Happy Monday!  Hope you had a relaxing weekend.  On Saturday I taught a new 5x5 class and had a great time with a wonderful group of gals.  I'm already thinking about another one after seeing all the CHA releases this past week.  Totally crushing on a bunch of the new lines for Halloween and Christmas.  It's gonna be so hard to wait for them to become available for purchase!!!!!  Well, in the meantime I dug into my current stash (gotta make room for the new stuff) to create this ray card.  Have you made one?  They are so fun!

I knew I wanted to make this card have lots of eye candy so I pulled out my chipboard stickers, dies, ribbon, and enamel dots.  These colors make me think of lemonade on the porch on a summer evening.  Ah, the idea of being able to sit outside tonight is exciting!  The humidity has finally broken and we may get the chance to eat dinner outside tonight and enjoy that lemonade too. :)

I'm getting ready to head down to the Cape tomorrow to meet up with friends and get our craft, beach, shopping, and fabulous eats on!  Each summer a group of us get together to catch up and have fun.  Some years we make cards, some times its jewelry and sometimes we just end up looking at ideas for both!  LOL!  This year we are going to make a few Christmas cards for our craft and we get to catch up with a fellow teacher who retired 2 years ago- so we've got lots to catch up on!!

No worries though.  I'm leaving you with a tutorial post for tomorrow and a couple of other fun posts.  Have a great week and stay tuned!

Cards by Katie

A quick post today showing cards I made in a class a few weeks back at my favorite store, Ink About It.  Katie's classes using goods from MFT are always inspiring.  So many layers and textures- luscious!  I know the pic is kinda small.  Click on it to see more detail.

I'll be on planes for the next bazillion hours getting from the Alaskan Time Zone to the Eastern Daylight Time Zone.  Heading from chilly weather 'n long days to warm weather 'n short days.  Kinda weird huh?  Don't usually have those combos.  

I'll be back soon with the rest of those Christmas cards, one last post from the "If you give a girl a lighthouse" series, and random other stuff. :)

Hope all of you have a great weekend!

Mini Album Tut- A Revisit

So this is the tut I did this summer over at Craft Goodies and I thought with all the yucky weather we have had on the East Coast lately it was worth a revisit! :)  The pics are a wee bit tiny, so feel free to click on any picture to enlarge.

 The summer flies by so fast that this little gem is fast, easy, and a great memento of warm weather days.  Don't let the supply list scare you off though.  It looks like a lot when listed, but the photo below pretty much includes everything I used (and a few items I did not).

Supplies needed:

2- 4"x4" coasters 

(I bought mine, but I've also gotten them from TGIF's/Chili's/The 99)

4- pre-cut 4"x4"squares of pattern paper for the coaster covers inside and out

3- pre-cut 4"x4"squares of kraft cardstock

2- pre-cut 4"x4"squares of aqua cardstock

5- pre-cut 3 1/4"x3 1/4"squares of assorted pattern papers

1 yard ribbon for tie closure cut in half

1 large parcel tag

additional scraps of pattern paper and cardstock for page & cover embellishment

additional coordinating ribbons/twine in various lengths for page embellishment

assorted small beach/summer themed stamps

assorted stickers & rub-ons

coordinating dye ink pads/ chalk ink pads

1" circle punch

scallop border punch or die

acid free adhesives

scissors & paper cutter

corner rounder

Zutter or other binding machine

I'm so much like my 6 year-old students!  I was so excited to start this book that I for my first step (after deciding on which luscious papers to use), I adhered the 3 1/4" papers to the 4"X4" cardstock squares.  After assembling these I realized I had forgotten to assemble the covers!!!  Be patient, I'll get back to the covers. LOL!

This page lacked a little personality, so before I even adhered the water paper, a little lobster was stamped around the edges of the kraft paper.  Since the covers have wave pattern paper that is slightly different, the additional stamping gives this page a little more stand alone umph. ;)

My next step was to assemble the covers and the back of the pages I had just assembled.  My coasters have rounded corners, so I used my corner rounder to have the pages and cover papers echo the shape.  *Round the corners before adhering the cover papers.  If you don't have a corner rounder, then adhere on side of the cover and trim with your scissors before adhering the other side and repeating.  That way your corners will have a crisper rounded edge.

So back to the covers!  I like my scrapbooks to have a tie closure, so I attach a ribbon with double-stick tape to the inside cover and then adhere the pattern paper over the ribbon.  Then it's all about having fun with inking the edges, adding tabs/ribbon/rub-ons/stamps.

There isn't always much room for journaling in such small scrapbooks, so for this page I added labeled pocket with tag.  Easy to assemble, just edge the sides and bottom with liquid glue or extremely narrow double-stick tape.  The tag could be swapped out for a map or ticket stubs from a water park, but having the pocket labeled with the information rub-on is a great way to remind yourself to include those when/where details for future reminiscing. :)

This page has that fun stamped mini lobster page on the right.  It looks a little naked as layouts go right now, but keep in mind that on a 4"x4" page a picture can take up a great deal of space.  I had to remind myself not to get "too nuts" with embellishments because they may end up covered by pictures later.

In addition to my many addictions (Netflix, Kindle books, fuzzy slippers and tablescapes) I adore dies 'n die cutting tools.  The scalloped edge on the left side is one of my newest go-to dies (just wait to see how cute it looks on a page further down).

Scraps leftover from page one circle punched and some foam tape give these pages a little drama with only a little effort and the rub-on at the bottom anchors the page. :)

Here's that fun scalloped border again.  Isn't it cute as a faux awning for this final page?!?  A little foam tape to adhere this one and the picture can slide under the awning a wee bit to make an awesome ending to this pocket sized memento.

Hope you enjoyed this little tut and you are encouraged to give this idea a go!  Please let me know if you do- I'd love to see your creation!!!!

Water Time!

Here's another little mini album I made before our trip.  Emphasis on little with it only a couple of pages long, it is great for kids to put a couple pictures and notes about their favorite part of water time fun!

Surprise pockets 'n tags are a fun addition to any album, but with such a small one here this was a necessity!  The tag gives two sides of picture or notes and the pocket means you could add a little extra something too. :)

Doesn't this paper just scream relaxing time by the water?!?  The watercolor boat makes me hungry for lobsta'. :)

A little mini album is great for giving to grandparents too.  They are easy to complete and grandparents can easily show off the pics (and talent of the album maker!).  Why not make one for a loved one today!

No Squares Allowed

Pin It

Remember I mentioned that I wanted to use this palette for inspiration?  Well, I finally finished something and here it is!

It's Tuesday and at Top Tip Tuesday this week we've issued the challenge "No Squares".  As you know, I was in a games class all last week, so I made myself a banner-in-a-card to celebrate finishing the class. :)

While I was getting supplies for making some games, I came across a huge package of oval coasters that were just begging me to take them home. :)  They were so sweet, I just couldn't say no!

The papers are from October Afternoon Seaside set, the yellow polka dots are Amuse, kraft paper from who knows and PTI dies. 

It's not quite as big as the banner I made for Thanksgiving, but it is so summery I adore it anyway.  I also like the idea that this banner can have a cover that can be used as a card from too. :)  There are enough goods left to make another banner that says "celebrate" so it'll be a bit bigger. 

So come on over and join us at Top Tip Tuesday!

I've hung this banner at these fab parties:

Fussy and Fancy- Summer Theme

Dream Valley- Summer Theme

Kraft  Outlet- My Favorite Things (coaster projects are my newest fav!)

Summer Notes

What a luscious day today!!!  It definitely felt like summer.  The nice 70 degree, no humidity, blue sky kinda day.  Ahhhh.  It got me thinking it may be time to get some summer prep in order!

So to help get be prepared for all the summer fun, I whipped up this mini clipboard.  It seemed like a fun kinda way to get those beach lists, grill lists, pool party fun list and all that summer whatnot stuff ready. :)

Gonna post pics of the new 'do later.  Be prepared folks.  It's wicked short!!!

June Wishes

To me June is strawberry picking time, so this little set makes me think of June.  Warm breezes and fresh fruit 'n veggies.  Yum!

A few teachers have asked me to make gift sets for their TA's, room parents, or the teacher's of their own children.  This is one of the sets. :)  It has 4 thank you cards and a matchy-match memo pad.

I used an acetate box I had on hand (like I did with this and this) and used a fun MFT diecut and stamp to create the label.  I got really into these this weekend and made 2 other versions I hop to post later. :)

I tried to catch the lime Stickles I used on the strawberry top.  Not sure the full effect is here.  Guess you'll have to use your imagination. LOL!

Deets-
Image- strawberry,PTI fruitful set  bee,Inkadinkadoo
Sentiment- MFT
Diecuts- PTI & MTF
Card base- Amuse
Paper- Echo Park, A walk in the garden  Cosmo Cricket, Garden Variety
Other- Lime Stickles

Hoping this card is a juicy find for folks here:
Inky Impressions- Spots and Stripes
Anita Be Stampin- Sketch
My Time to Craft- Going Round in Circles
One Stitch at a Tome- Make it Pretty

Sweet Tea

I'm a yankee, but my Grandma Poppy made sweet tea for us every summer. That's how I knew summer had begun. She'd boil loose tea in a big ole pot on the stove top and then poured it all in a strainer over a huge bowl filled with sugar and lemons. No one else had iced tea that tasted like Grandma Poppy. It wasn't until I went to grad school in Clemson, SC that I found out other people had that tea and they had it (gasp) year round!

Gram's sweet tea is still a sign of summer to me.  I'm hoping to make a big pot next week to celebrate the start of this wonderful season.  As much as I dread the heat of summer and the bone rattlin' of winter, it is so awesome to have seasons.  Being in the Northeast we have such a small window to enjoy the offerings of each season, it makes you appreciate what you have.  Take a few moments to stop, sip some tea and savor the small beauties of the moment.
 

PS. stamps- papertrey and stampington & co. Inks- colorbox chalk ronin. cardstock- amuse and memorybox. other- prima flowers, robins egg dew drops, copic markers, gellyroll white pen.