Two page Tuesday #4

I'm taking a break from the holiday projects today, to share with you a fall themed page, for this round of two-page Tuesday.

 

A favorite activity in our household each fall is raking up the backyard leaves into a giant pile fit for jumping in.  Of course, I can't let the memory pass without snapping a few photos of this beloved tradition and the smiles it brings to my kiddos faces. 

 

This post shows a page I did to record this event last year.  This time around I went with a more neutral cardstock base, accenting the two page spread with some collage type elements.



Supplies used: Cathy Zielske - 3x4 printable (from Scrapbook and Cards Today Fall 2014 issue); Pebbles - patterned paper; American Crafts - patterned paper (yellow/white stripe); Studio Calico - wood veneer heart; Crate Paper - wood frame; Maya Road - kraft envelope; Bazzill Basics - cardstock; Doodlebug Design - enamel dots; Kerri Bradford - cut file title; Other - machine stitching. computer font, silhouette.

The majority of my design is focused toward the middle portion of each page.  Because of this I thought the left and right-most edges of my spread needed a little something to frame out the design.  Trimming a 2" section of the width of each of the background cardstock pieces and filling that space back in with some more neutral patterned papers, does the trick.

The journaling is always a key piece in my pages.  I have a tendency to be a bit wordy at times, so finding just the right spot to fit my text and not overwhelm my photos can be a bit tricky.  I found this awesome wooden oval-shaped frame from Crate Paper in my stash.  The wood tones were a great match for the outdoorsy nature of the page and the center of the frame left a good surface area to include my journaling.  I accented the frame with a few layered leaves, cut with my silhouette, a wood veneer heart and a sprinkling of enamel dots.

The 3x4 card that sits just above my journaling, serves as the title for my page.  This 3x4 card, along with the coordinating one I've used on the right page, are printables from Cathy Zielske.  I love the clean and graphic feel to these cards, which is very typical of her style, yet they still mesh nicely with a more collage-y design.

 

The second page of my spread is almost a mirror image of the first.  The photo placement is again concentrated in the center of the page, with the collage elements framing out the ends of the photo arrangement.

 

 

I carried more of the diecut leaves over on to page two, mixing them among a kraft envelope, additional printable and diecut title.  Some machine stitching, to secure the pieces, and a sprinkling of embellishments completes and enhances the layers.  I love how all of these pieces overlap and layer together to mimic the look of a freshly raked leaf pile.

 

 

Thanks for joining me for another installment of two page Tuesday.  See you soon!

Quick and pretty holiday gift bags

Hello!  Good Monday morning! I'm popping in real quick to share some quick and pretty holiday gift packaging that I whipped up for the LMT blog.  With only ten days remaining until Christmas, I'm sure we're all in need of some simple gift wrap ideas, am I right?! 




Supplies used: Die Cuts with a View Candy Cane Lane Stack; Love My Tapes black glitter paper and red & white striped washi tape; American Crafts red twine; Jenni Bowlin red adhesive pearls; Michaels glittery red ribbon.

A kraft colored bag or container is always a good starting point, for a project like this.  Using a neutral base, allows you to work in just about any color palette you might have on hand.  I purchased my kraft gift bags at my local dollar store - 4 for $1.00! 

 

For the two bags I'm showcasing today, I used the Candy Cane lane stack from Die Cuts with a View.  It features a bold combination of red, black and white alongside some graphic yet elegant images.

 

 

Both bags have a wide glitter banner, cut from the Love My Tapes adhesive glitter sheets, as a backdrop.  The banner is not only pretty, but creates a nice focal point for the greeting tag.

The tags were cut from the Candy Cane Lane papers and simply embellished with a strip or two of washi tape and some pretty adhesive pearls.  The back of the tags are blank to write my 'to and from' message, and  are finished off with a tie of sparkly ribbon and some matching twine.

 

 

The best part about this project is that, once my supplies were gathered, I put together these two bags (present inside and tags addressed) in under ten minutes!

 

I hope this gives you some hints for completing your holiday wrapping!  Thanks for stopping by!

 

DCWV and Faber Castell Blog Hop

Good morning crafty friends!  Have you been following along on the DCWV and Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft® Winter blog hop all this week?  If not, you're in for a real treat and have a lot of catching up to do! Starting this past Monday, December 8th, both companies have been sharing beautiful winter and holiday themed projects created by designers from both companies! 

As a brand new designer for DCWV, I'm excited to share that today my mini album is being featured on the DCWV blog.  I created a 'two in one' project.  At first glance you'll see a darling little mini album.



DCWV and Faber Castell supplies used on this project include:

DCWV - Christmas & Winter Cardstock Stack; Candy Cane Lane Stack; Premium Paper Collection Stack; Winter in the Woods 6x6 Stack; Self Adhesive Heart Mirrors

Faber Castell: Glass Bead Glitter Gel; Glaze; Chalk Board Paint; Mix & Match Gelatos Colors & Clear Stamp

 

*Other supplies: Studio Calico wood veener stars; Hero Arts embossing powder; Simon Says Stamp/Kelly Purkey stamps; Crate Paper chipboard frame; American Crafts twine; Stampin Up punches; Michaels - ribbon and holiday berry sprig.

 

However, once that album is removed from the clipboard, you're left with an additional home décor piece. The clipboard is not only decorative, but also functional.  I've covered it's surface with Faber Castell's black Chalk Board Paint, making it ready to leave holiday messages for loved ones or perhaps even to use to countdown the days until Christmas.

To give the surface of the clipboard even more of a chalkboard feel - I rubbed white ink, using my fingertips, over various spots of the surface area.  Doing so, achieves a more permanent 'chalk dust' look.

The chalkboard surface wouldn't be complete without some pretty embellishment.  A few simple diecut snowflakes become show stopping embellishments when covered with Faber Castell's Glass Bead Glitter Gel.  This close up, captures a bit of the texture and dimension that the glitter gel provides, simply by painting it over a smooth cardstock surface.

I wanted to continue the chalkboard look throughout the album, and knew it would mix well with pieces from DCWV's Candy Cane Lane, which features lots of red and black.  Again I painted a small square of the Chalk Board Paint on the cover of my album.  A chipboard slide, frames up the chalkboard paint and covers up the messy painted edges.  I stamped, embossed and stamped my sentiment again, offsetting it a bit, to make it appear more chalk-like.  The diecut snowflake is again covered in more of the Glass Bead Glitter Gel.

 

You'll see as we move through the albums pages, that I brought in a bit of green among the pages.  I wanted a subtle appearance of that color on the cover.  I was able to achieve that by rubbing the edges of the black and white diagonal stripe paper with the Green Tea Gelato, and rubbing it in with my finger to blend and smooth it.

 

The next several pages feature a variety of patterns and pieces from the DCWV stacks listed above.  I love having the pages cut different sizes, dimensions and shapes to add interest and fun to the album.

 

 

 

A strip of red glitter paper from the Christmas & Winter Wishes cardstock stack is the perfect pop of red along the bottom edge of this kraft note card.  The kraft piece lifts to reveal more surface area for pictures and/or journaling.  I bet you are wondering about that sweet little heart too, huh?  It's an adhesive mirror from DCWV!

 



 

This chalkboard tag was cut from one of the patterned papers in the Candy Cane Lane stack.  To personalize it, I added a bit of stamping, embossing and a length of twine.  It's attached to the vellum page with a simple staple.

 

More of the DCWV glitter paper, cut with a scalloped border punch, will create a pretty backdrop for a special photo, on this page.

I couldn't help but fussy cut a few of the pretty poinsettias from the Candy Cane Lane stack for some added embellishment.

I plan to gift this album filled with pictures and memories of Christmas past, to someone special this year. 

 

I hope you'll check out each day's post on both blogs for chances to win lots of fabulous prizes!  See you on Monday with a quick and easy gift wrap idea! 

Glittery Countdown to Christmas

Hello!  Are you in the midst of the holiday hustle and bustle?  It seems like the days speed up exponentially once the month of December is upon us.  I have lots of crafting and making I'd still like to do for the holidays, so I'm hoping I can squeeze a few more projects in before December 25th!  If that's going to happen, I'm going to have to make said projects both quick and easy.  But that doesn't mean they have to be short on style or cuteness!

Here is a project I shared on the Love My Tapes blog on Friday that fits the bill:

Pop on over there to see how I quickly and beautifully dressed up our Christmas book advent countdown this year!

A couple of CUTE pages

Good Monday morning!  I know Monday is not everyone's favorite day, so I thought I'd start off the week sharing something CUTE.  Can't hurt, right?!

I've been digging through some older photos as of late to try and jump start my creativity.  The busyness of this time of year, always seems to zap my mojo a bit.  I thought giving myself some new 'old' material might inspire me in a different way and so far, so good! 

This first page features pictures of my oldest son when he was just about to turn four.  He's now nine - where does the time go? Waaaaahhhh!

Easy to see where the cute factor comes in, isn't it?!?  It's everything Doodlebug, of course!  Speaking of digging out the old to use as new, again - that's just what I've done with this Doodlebug collection.  I've had it in my stash for many years, and used it on several projects.  It's just so CUTE though, I couldn't resist revisiting it.  The colors and feel of this line were a perfect match to these favorite photos of my sweet little guy! 



Supplies used: Doodlebug Design - cardstock, patterned paper, sprinkles (enamel dots), pearls, sequins, mini clothes pin, button, stickers, tag; Crate Paper - chipboard frame; Simple Stories - sticker labelAmerican Crafts - twine; Target - chipboard letters; Photography - Michelle Enebo Photo; Other: Veteran Typewriter font, foam adhesive, machine stitching.

I had fun digging through my stash of Doodlebug paper scraps to piece together these patchwork squares.  A little bit of stitching and strategic embellishing, finished them off quite nicely!

I even dug into my stash of old, old chipboard alphas (these are from the Target dollar spot, of all places) to help spell out my son's initials for the title.  I simply coved them with coordinating Doodlebug paper and dressed them up with some stickers and enamel dots, to ensure the title fit seamlessly onto the page.

 

I did the same with this ampersand, nestling it on top of the Crate paper chipboard frame and alongside my journaling.  More stickers, a twine tied button and some sequins make the perfect little accents.

Don't worry the CUTE doesn't stop there,;I have one more page to share!  It's another layout documenting some memories and pictures from two summers ago and more cute Doodlebug paper, of course!

My brother-in-law is a fireman, so my kids are always treated to the VIP tour of the firehouse on our trips up north.  This sweet USA print from Doodlebug worked great to pair with these pictures of their very own hero!



Supplies used: Doodelbug Designs - patterned papers, sequins; Jillibean Soup - shipping tag, kraft coin envelope; Freckled Fawn - arrow clip; American Crafts - cardstock, star sequins; Other: Silhouette Portrait, Veteran Typewriter font, star punch, machine stitching.

While this page remains fairly simple I added a few fun pieces, like this arrow clip from Freckled Fawn, to jazz it up a bit.

If your couldn't tell from some of my recent posts, I have a slight addiction to cutting out custom titles on my Silhouette.  I love that I can adjust the size and the font to perfectly suit my project.  Throw in a few sparkly sequins and the page is complete!

 

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope your Monday allows for some crafty time!