Paper Pretties Scrapbooking Challenge!

Well ladies....I have a challenge for you today! I know that many of you are wonderfully talented card makers, but that many of you don't scrapbook! So, the challenge this month is going to give you card makers a chance to try your hand at some journaling! I challenge you all to love your handwriting and journal, in your own hand, on a scrapbook page.

Use your Paper Pretties stamps if you have them, and if not, feel free to play along anyways! You have until next Thursday, Sept. 4th to upload your creations to the Paper Pretties Gallery under weekly challenges. You can use keyword PSC2.

Here is my sample:


The patterned papers that I used are from the Chatter Box Reading Room Collection. I LOVE this collection! It is one of those that has been in my stash for a while...just waiting to be cut into. I feel like I should enter a support group or something.... "Hi, my name is Colleen and I hoard pretty paper...". :)

The stamps that I used are Sealed With A Kiss from Paper Pretties and Office Accoutrement from SU! I did my journaling with a Le Plume pen in dark brown. The flowers were stamped in White Daisy ink from CTMH onto chocolate chip card stock from SU! and then they were cut out by hand. I then coated them with clear embossing powder and heated them with my heat gun.

My main image was coloured with CTMH water colour pencils and then blended with OMS. I used an edge distresser around my journaling block and a corner rounder on all of my photos.

Red buttons in the flower centers and brown metal photo clips provide little accents to tie the page together!

Thanks for stopping by today and I can't wait to see what you create!

Growing Up Fast!

I recently made this card for my little nephew in Canada. He is having his 4th birthday, and he will be starting Junior Kindergarten right around the same time. I figured I would kill two birds with one stone, and make him a birthday card with Look Out World from Paper Pretties.

This card gave me my first chance to practice with my new rectangular nestabilites that I purchased over at Papertrey. I got the rectangles to start, but hope to add to my collection over the next few months... *wink*.



The yellow cardstock is Barely Banana from SU! I don't know what it is...I never used yellow before, but ever since I got this package of Barely Banana, I use it on everything! I used my slit punch on the corners of the mat for the main image, and then tucked the stamped image in behind the slits to hold it in place. I then put a button on each corner and tied a piece of American Crafts ribbon around the center behind the main image.

The sentiment is stamped in Midnight Blue StazOn, and the little spiral clip on the right side covers the tiniest little blemish of ink....but shhhhhh.....don't tell anyone, ok? :)

Mr. Cooper was coloured with pencils and blended with OMS.

** Be sure to join me tomorrow for my Paper Pretties Scrapbooking Challenge! I will be posting my challenge one day early this month because we leave for DISNEY early on Thursday morning! **

Thanks for stopping by today!

A Fun Day!

Last Saturday I made the drive to New Hampshire to a scrapbooking store called The Paper Tree. The purpose of my trip wasn't just to shop (although I did some of that too!), but instead it was to take three classes being taught by the Lauren Meader!

The first class was by far and away my favourite of the day....we made this adorable little stationary kit!


It almost looks like a little lunch box, wouldn't you say?!

The belly band slides either up or down, and then the top flips up and the whole thing folds open. Lauren said that this is her favourite project to date....and I have to admit that I love it too.

This is what the box looks like when it is unfolded. There are four monogrammed cards (and envelopes) in each side of the box.

This is one of the cards. I monogrammed my project with a "T" for a lucky friend who has an upcoming birthday! It is in the mail on its way to her as we speak. :)

I have since tried to recreate this box....and I finally figured it out after a couple of mistakes. I jotted down some rough notes while taking the class in hopes of being able to make these boxes again. Let's just say, it's a good thing I worked through my 'rough notes' before tucking this little baby in the mail to my friend! LOL

Have a great day!

Genuine Boy

I have a card tote to share with you today. I have made these totes before, and featured them on my blog many times before...but they are so cute, and they make great gifts....so I can't resist!

This particular tote was made as a gift for a woman who is having a baby boy. The request was to make the cards appropriate to be used as thank you cards for potential gift givers.

I used papers from a Provo Craft Slab with American Crafts Ribbon that reads 'genuine boy' on the outside of the tote. The brackets around this sentiment were traced and cut out of card stock. I used plastic punctuation from American Crafts as my pattern for this task. The buttons are random ones that came from my Mom's sewing stash the last time I raided her button bucket.



I decided to use the kangaroo from Just So Hoppy by Melanie Muenchinger as the main image on my cards. I stamped the sentiments 'It's a Boy' and 'Thank You' onto the balloons in the set, and cut them out and popped them up using dimensionals. Both the kangaroo and the balloons were coloured using coloured pencils and then they were blended using OMS.

The scalloped edges were made with scissors and then I ran the scalloped pieces of card stock through my Cuttlebug using the Swiss Dots folder. Linen thread serves as the string for the balloons. I LOVE the linen thread from SU!. I have been using it a lot lately. It gives a similar feel as the hemp twine to a project (IMHO), but it is much finer and easier to work with.

I made two cards of each design and tucked them into my trusty tote. I just got an email from my friend today (waving 'hi' Stefanie!) and she LOVED it!

Stay tuned for more totes later in the week!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Way To Go!

This card was so much fun for me to make! I have a neighbour who asked me to make a humorous card for her brother-in-law who was turning 5o. I immediately thought of the set 'Way To Go' that I purchased over at Gina K.

The toilet was stamped onto the blue card stock and it was then coloured with a white water colour crayon from SU! The toilet paper holder was stamped directly onto the card base also, but I then stamped it again on white, trimmed it out, and layered it onto the main image to give the look of dimension. I actually popped up the dangling end of the tissue with a small dimensional to make it look as though it is hanging. The plunger was stamped onto a separate piece of card stock and then coloured, cut out and popped up with dimensionals.

The black and white tile floor was made from scrap that I had left in my scrap bin from a 'page-a-day' scrapbooking calendar. I pieced it around the toilet base and then the plunger was put on top. The sentiment was stamped in black StazOn on twill tape. I used black brads and paper piercing to accent the corners a bit and added stickers to punched circles highlighting the recipient's age....I am sure he appreciated that!

Inside the card I stamped the above birthday message (from the same set). I added the little toilet brush to finish it off! Who could resist a smile after seeing that?!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Happy Anniversary!

My husband and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary on August 9th. I posted the card that my son made for my husband...but I realized that I still haven't posted the one that I made! So, here it is!

I made a card previously that I really liked...you can see it here. Since the card was well received...I decided to use the same technique on this card base also. I ran the base through my Cuttlebug using the script embossing folder. I then used White Daisy ink from CTMH to highlight the embossed areas. The stamp is Sealed With A Kiss from Paper Pretties. The sentiments are all from the same set also. I stamped the main image on water colour paper and then cut a heart in the front of the card and put the stamped image behind. I used thin red ribbon to stitch around the heart to highlight it. Luke and Lexi were coloured with water colour crayons.


The big, red brads next to each sentiment are from Imaginisce and they are called Jingle Brads. The ribbon is from A. C. Moore in the clearance bin. I bought it after Valentine's Day and it has been hanging around here ever since.

I have mixed feelings about this card....it is WAY busier than anything I generally make...but, it is going to be around for a long time since I gave it to my husband! Maybe it will grow on me.....


Don't forget to check out the sale that Christie is having over at Paper Pretties! You can find the details here.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Going Places

Phew....what a week! I haven't gone to bed before midnight once this week...and it is catching up to me!! I have been doing a lot of stamping in the evenings...but that means that I haven't had much time to blog...or see my poor husband! I think he is feeling a bit abandoned! :( I have finished a lot of projects that were on my 'to do' list...but I still have a ways to go. The good news is that I will have a lot to share with you over the next few days! :)

The card that I want to share with you today incorporates two past Prettie Girl challenges. First, first Jana's sketch challenge, and second, Jessie's challenge to use three embellishments on one card. My three embellishments are dimensional stickers, ribbon and brads.

This card is for the birthday of a woman who is a travel buff...so, what better stamp to use than MFT Going Places?! Christie has MFT stamps over in her online store here. She also has a sale going on right now! Here are the details:

"From Friday August 15th until August 31st:

When you spend $25 in the Paper Pretties Boutique, you can choose any one of the Paper Pretties' sentiments for free.

When you spend $50 you can choose a Paper Pretties' sentiment and a roll of American Crafts ribbon.

When you spend $100 - you can choose a Paper Pretties' sentiment, a roll of American Crafts ribbon and you'll get FREE SHIPPING!!!

When you check out, simply leave us a note in the comments box telling us which sentiment and which ribbon you'd like and we'll make sure it gets put in your order! Orders over $100 will automatically not be charged shipping. *Please note that these offers cannot be combined.*"



Now, back to my card! The patterned paper is called Legacy Collage by Beth Cote. I used SU! Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon and cardstock. I also used some Barely Banana too...love that combo! The travel words dimensional stickers are by K & Company and the brads are JoAnn Essentials. I then used an oval punch and arrow punch for my accents.

I think that sums it up! Thanks for stopping by today!