Father's Day cards

Crackle background stamp, spritzed marker, made flag wrapped in twine, stamped sentiment, used Big Shot to cut it out, cut out sentiment in darker ink.

Used the Big Shot to emboss the lines, created a boy out of ribbon, stamped sentiment and cut out.

Used color spritzer tool and a marker on background, cut out multiple flags out of cardstock, stamped image, cut out, used crop-o-dile for eyelets and twine.

Used patterned paper to make corners and as background, sanded paper. Stamped sentiment on paper then used punch on bottom, added wrapped wire to side for a 'masculine' touch.

Love, love, love the SU wood embossing folder! Made flag wrapped in twine, stamped sentiment, used Big Shot to cut it out, cut out sentiment in darker ink. Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!

Playing card album/smash book

I actually got this idea from my little sister. She gave me a little book of playing cards for my birthday that was a book of memories. It took us about 2 hours to go through, as every page contained a memory, which we had to tell the story to. One of the best presents I have ever received and will cherish it forever.

I went to Michael's and got some rings, tied misc. ribbons around them, and used them as the binding of the playing cards. I used my crop-o-dile to punch through like 5 cards at a time (LOVE that little guy!). I found so many sets of cards at garage sales this summer, I scooped them all up and now have lots to make these projects out of.

I used some punches (hearts, stars, butterflies, flowers, etc) to punch out of papers and other cards to add dimension and interest to the pages. This actually didn't take too long and would make a great gift for mothers &/or fathers day, Christmas, birthdays, Valentines, or just about any other occasion!

Family Command Center

This is how our family of 5 (currently 8) keeps it all together. We have our calendar up and i put everyones activities on it. Guess what? COLOR CODED!! I assigned a colored marker to everyone so at a glance I know who has what.

Got the boards from Wal*Mart and guess what... they're magnetic!!

I hate to hear "What's for dinner" at least twice per kid, per day. That's at least 12 times per day!! Sooo, dinner is planned out in advance and all I have to do is point.

This is a 12x12 shadow box that I found at a garage sale. I painted it white, distressed it, added a lovely piece of paper as a background, and viola! Ready for my menu! I printed the menu out on regular printer paper, tore and inked the edges, then straight pinned in place.

Found this big ole frame also at a garage sale, SUPER cheap. I created a mat around it with scrapbook paper so my regular printer paper would fit inside it. I printed off the kids daily, weekly, and monthly chores on one side, the other side is for miscellaneous stuff I want them to get done. With the paper under the glass, we get to use it as a dry erase board!!

I was given the chalk board clip board as a birthday gift and decided to use it with this project. We have 4 hanging clipboards under the big board to keep individual papers from getting lost in the shuffle. Everyone has their own board so they are responsible for keeping track of their own papers. LOVE the accountability!

Home Made Smash Book

At one of our last M.O.P.S. meetings, the craft was "Smash Books".

I teach the class using the books from K & Company at my local Michael's store, but honestly I prefer this kind.
This is what I call the "Cram-What-You-Can Book"

Seriously. To save money on scrapbooks, make your own. Head to the craft store to get some rings (like $3 for 6, I think) and then just use scraps!

I decided to go for texture. I got canvas pieces, rope, twine, netting, magazine paper, cardstock, envelopes, cardboard... anything that I thought might not get used, I used. A lot of the pages are made with 12x12 paper cut into fourths (so 6x6 squares) and glued to each other. I only glued 3 sides though, make every page a pocket! Give me glue, a paper trimmer, a pile of junk mail and a Crop-o-dile, I'll give you a Smash Book!

This has been in the works for months now, I wanted to get as much in it as possible before giving to hubby for Father's Day. I got all the ticket stubs from our outings (Plays, Seahawks & Mariners games, Museum trips, etc), included family pictures of us & our parents, and found miscellaneous stuff that I know he loves. I found a great vintage koala bear postcard at a garage sale for next to nothing, also found some vintage Father's Day cards that just happened to say the perfect things :)

A gift from a lovely

This was one of my birthday gifts this year from my youngest sister. She's so freaking talented and CRAZY creative!
I had been having a hard few months, it was so difficult getting off that pity party train! My sister flew in from San Fran to surprise me. Boy did she! Hubby helped orchestrate her home-coming and a surprise party for myself and our daughter (who's birthday is around the same time as mine), once again, they did a great job. He had about 40 people hiding in our garage when I came home from church.

I think this is such a cute idea. We sat around for hours talking about the documented memories of our childhood that filled the pages. We laughed, we cried, I felt ashamed at not helping do her hair at Homecoming, and we laughed some more. I decided that this could be a great tradition for us, plus a great way to keep track of all the crazy, funny, scary, embarrassing stuff that we lived through together.

Whoooo's birthday?

I made this card for a lady in my community. I believe it's for her nieces 1st birthday :) So many layers, so much texture. i LOVE it! Some fun things I did on this card: --distressed using sandpaper and razor blades --paper pieced the owl (stamped him in pink first, cut out his eyes & belly, then glued them on top of a brown stamped image) --made a paper medalion (maybe this will be the next tutorial I do?) --threaded a (very) cool button with patterned paper instead of thread

Altered Journal

I head to ladies retreat this afternoon!! I was packing for it and realized that I didn't have a cute journal/notebook to take, so I decided to make one! This was just a $1 spiral bound journal that I got out of the dollar bin at my local Michael's store.

I even put a little pocket in the back to keep some of my Stampin' Up! buisness cards in. Just in case I see some crafty ladies :)

outta this world!

My brother in law has been giving me such a hard time about some lights that we saw one night a few weeks ago. I decided that his birthday card should be justly themed =)

I stamped the UFO in stazon black onto white cardstock, then colored it with watercolor pencils. Using my blender pen, I finished off the coloring.

It needed some texture, but for me that usually comes in the form of ribbon and/or flowers. Let's just say this guy, is not a girly guy. I had to think of something else, the texture plate with my cuttlebug did the trick.

The eyelets are the final touch. Happy birthday!!

altered journal

my daughter is turning 13 this weekend. 13!!
thirteen. *sigh*
i will be the mother of a teenager and a 7 month old, all at the same time. talk about mid-life crisis!

i made this altered journal for her to take with her to winter camp. the good kid she is *cough* (this time, for now, but no really, she's a good kid, sometimes), all she wanted for her birthday was to go to winter camp with our church youth group. i am seriously so proud of that decision! i don't even think there's a boy involved (other than Jesus, of course)!

took apart a spiral bound notebook and covered the front and back with scrapbook paper using mod podge and hot glue. used my crop-o-dile on the edges before putting it back together. if this were for me, it would have beed completely distressed, however, that's just not her. so she picked out her ribbons and flowers and away we went!

prayers for her to not only have an absolute blast, but return home with the beginning of an itimate relationship with her heavely father.

tea bag holders

so i did mine a bit diffrent than the tutorial, mainly to save paper. paper=$ afterall :)

found a great 36pc stack of holiday paper at Michael's for $12.99. i used my 50% off joannes coupon to make it $6.50. i think that was a great price since all the 48pc stacks were "on sale" for $11.99 and not eligible for coupons.

the thing i learned with this project: bone folders can be extremely handy!

Tissue paper birthday card

Well, the focal point is obviously that ginormous, incredible yellow flower!! It's yellow tissue paper, folded over several times, ran through the cuttlebug using a flower sizzix die. Kept it together and embellished at the same time with a rhinestone brad. Patterned paper is feux stitched, layered on white cardstock that was dry embossed with dots. Sentiment (SU) is stamped with pink on white, layered on green. Used pink ribbon to tie it all together. Happy birthday, Lexi! Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

Happiness 2 page layout

This is a layout I picked up at a quick quotes class last fall. They have awesome page kits, great chalk ink, and just amazing canvas sets (check out their website, I didn't know what you could do with canvas until I saw it!). I think the best thing about these pages are the ginormous flowers. Now if you're anything like me, you've never bought these before because you're too cheap. Well, I have some money saving tips for you when it comes to flowers. -typically, those awesome ginormous flowers are a little cheaper in white rather than in color. Buy them in white & color them yourself! Use a sponge with ink, you can make it your own perfectly matched embellishment! -those large flowers look great cut in half, like on my page. Double your usage of them! -if you have a cuttle bug, cricut, or slice, invest in flower dies or cartridges. Its always cheaper to make your own embellishments plus you get to pick the material they're made out of. Great way to use up scraps and match your pages/projects perfectly. -make your own paper flowers using scallop punches or scissors -if your mind is set on using silk flowers, there's three places I recommend you pick them up. The dollar store has bundles of flowers for, drum roll please, a dollar! michaels has the best flowers, get them on sale or make sure to use a coupon. The thrift store usually has bags of miscellaneous silk flowers for cheap, you just can't confirm what you're buying. Buying flowers on the stem is cheaper, you just have to take them apart yourself, plus they already have a hole in the middle for your brads! Well there's my 2 cents on how to save some cents on flowers! Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

Layered & inked

This reminds newer is strawberry shortcake piled high. Absolutely mouth wateringly delicious! Look at all those flourishes (TAC)! What great layers! My birdie (SU) is adorable! And ribbon on top of lace?! I love this card. Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

Thank you card

Ok, seriously, LOVE it!!! Have you ever finished a card and wanted to run to the neighbors to show someone? Anyone?! Yup, love it. I'm thinking of entering a contest in"paper crafters"magazine and use this as my 'thank you' card. Not sure if it will send well tho as my little curlies may arrive flat :( Finished card is 5x5. If you have questions on products or techniques used, feel free to email me. Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

Just because card

So my husband said this is one of his favorites that I've done, which is odd because when I finished it, I was disappointed. Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

My Valentine

Yeah for my cuttlebug! And ink distressing, can't forget that! This was for my incredible husband. He wasn't that shocked when I gave it to him then asked for it back :) Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

She's expecting card

Made this on the fly. My sis-in-law is planning my baby shower and we were messing around with invite ideas. My little guys colors are gonna be green & brown, so this was fitting. We ended up going with a completely different card style, lots of fun and many pieces. When we complete them all & send them out, I'll make sure to post it. Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android