Guest with Scrapbook & Cards Today

Today I am SOOOO excited to be a guest over on the Scrapbook & Cards Today Blog !!!  I had the absolute BEST time creating this fun project to share with all the SCT fans and wanted to post it here for you to see as well .....

This sweet burlap tree was made completely from scratch ..... starting with a styrofoam tree/cone ......

All the cardstock bits are from Core'dinations ..... Mini tags and burlap by David Tutera for Darice ..... Wood Veneer  snowflakes by Studio Calico (LOVE) and you can find the Silhouette cut file for the tree topper STAR here and the DOILIE 'tree skirt' here ......

...... and ALL the details can be found over on the Scrapbook & Cards Today Blog INCLUDING a step by step tutorial !!!  Head on over for my project and so much more .....

TFL ..... Talk soon.

Christmas with Bella Blvd.

Christmas is in full swing around our house and so is the card making !!!

I'm in LOVE with the Bella Blvd. 'Christmas Countdown' collection and it was perfect for this fun holiday card for a certain special someone ;))

I started with a red glitter card base by David Tutera Celebrate by Core'dinations and then just started to LAYER ..... Patterned papers mixed with die cut shapes, designer tape and a wooden button too !!

EXCITING blog post tomorrow so come on back .....

TFL ..... Talk soon.

Chic Tags Challenge

Today I am sharing a layout I created based on the current sketch from Chic Tags ..... LOVED their designers' take on Ashely Horton's sketch and I had fun playing along !!

I have had 'Persimmon' by Basic Grey on my craft table for some time now and thought it went perfectly with these fun mini polaroid pics i took of Em and Alex just before we went trick or treating on Halloween .....

I snuck in a great strip of gold shimmer polka dot  paper from the American Crafts Dear Lizzy '5th & Frolic' collection .....

What I love so much about this collection is the mix of colors lends itself to adding embellishments from so many different manufacturers ..... I was able to add stickers from the 'Persimmon' collection as well as wood veneer, alphas by Jillibean Soup, Thickers from American Crafts and some fantastic shiny gold star sequins by Studio Calico too .....

So much fun playing along with this great sketch ..... Thanks Chic Tags and Ashley Horton !!!

TFL ..... Talk soon.

a thank you card

I have a happy little Bella Blvd. thank you card to share with you today ....

I've had the negative piece of these butterfly punchies sitting on my desk from another project for a while now and finally decided to use them on a new card !!

They were created by adhering Designer Tape onto cardstock and then punching the butterfly shapes out of the cardstock piece. I love the cut out that was left over and was able to mix them in with the new 'Snapshots' Collection by Bella Blvd.

For the sentiment I typed 'so much' onto white cardstock with my typewriter and then clipped it to the inside of one of the butterfly cut outs with a pre-stamped 'thanks' mini clothespin .....

A couple of stickers, some twine and a few little gems and it's ready to go !!

Okay, now back to my studio to work on more Christmas gifts :)) .... which of course I will share in the coming days !!!

TFL ..... Talk soon.

Thank You Bag

Today I thought I'd share a 'Thank You Bag' today instead of a thank you card ?!?!

I was feeling pretty inspired with some new bits that just arrived from Elle's Studio so I decided to create a Thank You Bag instead of the standard card - and I'm pretty happy that I did .....

I started with a small plain kraft handled bag from the David Tutera wedding collection and added a distressed tag before I pulled out my new die cut pieces from Elle's Studio.

I lightly sanded the edges of a journal card and adhered it on top off to the right edge.  I LOVE the bits that Elle adds to her kits and the 'thanks so much' tag was great to centre on the front of the bag.

I clipped a small faux stitched circle in a pre-printed mini clothespin by Pebbles Inc. and added a wooden butterfly and button from Studio Calico and a 'smile' pin from Little Yellow Bicycle too !!

To finish it of I wanted just a touch of another color so I punched this butterfly silhouette from a piece of Core'dinations cardstock and really sanded off the top to distress it ..... a couple of pearl adhesive dots by Studio Calico added that last little touch .....

...... With a gift bag as cute as this - who needs a card to go with it !!!

TFL ..... Talk soon.

Winners Winners .....

Winners Winners chicken dinners ..... okay so you're NOT winning chicken ..... but you are winning CARDSTOCK from Core'dinations - lucky ladies !!!

HUGE congratulations to JOY for her adorable star ornaments for the David Tutera Ornament Challenge !!!

..... and LINDA who created her own pattern for this pretty ornament for the Core'dinations Ornament Challenge !!!

Thanks SOOOOO much to all of you that played along with all of us for the latest Hard Core Crop .... As always Core'dinations was so generous with their prizes - see you at the next one !!!

WINNERS: 

Congratulations and THANK YOU for playing along with our Hard Core Crop !!  Your entry has been chosen and we'd love to send you some more cardstock to use for your next projects !!

Please email: coredt@coredinations.com

INCLUDE:

• your full name
• address
• phone number
• challenge name in the email subject line

Again, thanks for playing and CONGRATULATIONS !!!!

TFL ..... Talk soon.

a 'spooky' little layout

I know I know ... halloween is over BUT ..... I had to share some of the fun I've been having with Bella Blvd's 'Trick or Treat' collection !!

I figured that I needed to get 'caught up' on the kids' pictures from last year BEFORE i started to work with this years' pics ;))

I am LOVE LOVE LOVE-ing the die cut pieces with Bella's latest collection ..... don't be afraid to even cut them up a bit - i punched the grey 'October' from a larger piece - mixed with all the fabulous stickers - PERFECT !!!

I even made my own little 'flag pin' using a flower pin and and 'little spooks' sticker ...... Mix all of that with a whole bunch of awesome patterned paper and you've got a perfect Halloween-y layout to showcase you own 'little spooks' :))

TFL ..... Talk soon.

Hard Core Crop Challenge - Day 2

Whoo Hoo ...... Here we go again !!! 

Today I am sharing my designs for my 'Christmas Ornament' Challenge featuring Core'dinations ..... I've got (3) samples to show you !!!

We want you to play along with us - so remember, you can find the Master Challenge List HERE ..... and the rules HERE so check it all out and then come play along !!  You have all week to finish the challenges and post here to win ..... 

I find it hard to create anything using Core'dinations without running a piece or 2 through my Big Shot with a fun embossing folder !!  For the green circles, I embossed the cardstock and sanded it FIRST and then punched out my shapes.  I find this easiest especially if your punches are small so that you don't tear your shapes when sanding :))

I built all the pieces together onto the green circle and added the doily LAST .... i LOVE LOVE LOVE the Core Couture cardstock - the glitter on it is FABULOUS and you can really see it sparkle on the snowflake punchies !!!!

This swirly ornament is super easy to do and was the perfect shape for more Core Couture to show off the sparkle ...... 

 I cut the strips to 1/2 x 12" and then folded them in half.  I rolled each end in towards each other over a pen and then adhered one curl on top of the other with a glue dot.  Once I had all (6) pieces ready I glued them all together in the center !!  Super quick, super easy and super cute ......

For my last ornament, I really wanted to show off a few pieces of Core'dinations cardstock from different collections ...... I used some Spotted Jillian Dot, Spotted Tillie Dot and Whitewash too.

I embossed the White Wash with a fun snowflake embossing folder by Darice and lightly sanded off the top on all (4) colors.  I cut each strip slightly shorter than the last but approx. 2" wide - enough to roll.

I gently wrapped each piece around a journaling pen and then adhered the end to the roll using a quick dry liquid glue.  Once all the rolls were adhered together, I used my Crop A Dile to punch a small hole through each piece.

I strung a piece of May Arts ribbon thru to create my tree 'trunk' and then created a star on top using a small star punch.  I folded (3) stars in half and then adhered them to each other to make it 3 dimensional and then added it to the loop at the top to hang onto the Christmas tree - LOVE ......

Now go get your stash of Core'dinations out and start cutting, embossing, sanding and creating your own fabulous tree ornaments to hang from your tree this holiday season !!

Can't wait to see what you come up with - don't forget to link them here for a chance to win a fabulous paper pad from Core'dinations Color Core Cardstock !!!

TFL ..... Talk soon.

Hard Core Crop Challenge - Day 1

It's a Hard Core Croppin' weekend ...... so let's get started !!!

You can find the Master Challenge List HERE ..... and the rules HERE so check it all out and then come play along !!  You have all week to finish the challenges and post here to win ..... 

Thanks for joining me today for my first of (2) posts this weekend ...... Today I am sharing my David Tutera Celebrate 'Christmas Ornament' Challenge with you ...... 

For this piece I started with a pearl finish envelope.  I used a snowflake border punch along the bottom of a piece of silver glitter cardstock that I cut from an A5 sized card base.

I adhered it onto the front of the envelope and then added die cut shapes from the new Step 3 packs.  These are SO cool - they come with stickers, die cuts AND chip shapes - LOVE THEM !!!

I thought it would be cool to use this for a gift card envelope so I added some twine and tied it in a bow to hang on the tree - LOVE !!!  Quick, easy and so much fun .....

Now go to your stash and get started ..... then link your projects to THIS POST for a chance to win a fabulous cardstock pack from Core'dinations (one of my faves :) !!!

Make sure you come on back tomorrow to check out the samples for my 'Christmas Ornament' Challenge featuring Core'dinations Color Core Cardstock !!!

TFL ..... Talk soon.

Core'dinations & Heidi Swapp

Happy November 1st ..... 

Today is the day that Christmas starts around our house !!  I know, i know - i can hear you all groaning .... BUT, we love it so much around our house that we need 2 months to really get it out of our system until next year :))

This layout was created for a Core'dinations Color Core Cardstock and Heidi Swapp product trade a few weeks back but even then - sharing Christmas projects was a bit early (even for me ;))

So I thought in honour of Halloween getting packed up and the Christmas music starting here, that I would start of the month with a holiday layout too .......

When I opened my box of goodies for this product trade with Heidi Swapp I got sooooo excited !!  I absolutely LOVE this holiday paper and went straight to my Core'dinations 'Seasonal Impressions' for the base for this layout.  I lightly sanded the top color off of this paper to have the kraft core show through – makes the words completely stand out !!

I mixed my fave patterns from the Heidi Swapp 'Believe' collection with a piece of scarlet 'tillie dot' cardstock for a base to my photo.  I also wanted to have a little layer underneath a few of the cut outs so I ran a piece of 'peeled paint' cardstock through my Big Shot using the 'wire fence' embossing folder by Darice.  LOVE this folder ……

I used a light pattern for my journaling and put it in my typewriter – this is my fave way to add journaling to my layouts ……. and done !!!

Come on back ALL WEEKEND as Core'dinations HARD CORE CROP starts today and I have TWO challenges for you starting tomorrow ..... Check out the details HERE !!

TFL ..... Talk soon.