Moving ON....with Purpose

Well....I didn't make the Jillibean Design Team, but..that's totally OK. :)

I had fun making my projects and NOW I get the fun of sharing them with you.

This is the one I did the sneak peek of. It has fun, hand-rolled flowers and the unexpected use of paint chips to add some bold, solid colors. I varied the texture of my flowers by using regular scissors for some and going old school with deco-edge scissors (yes...I still own them!) for others.
 I loved this whole "Miss Caroline" collection by My Mind's Eye and knew exactly what I wanted to do with it when this design team call came out!

7 Gypsies tray of my fantastically adorable family! All of our initials are "K.S." so we call our self the "KS5." I loved playing with embossing for the house and trees and figuring out fun little ways to make each section interesting. The only problem? Don't ask me which Jillibean collection I used! :) I used such a little bit of a bunch, I'm not sure I can name all of them.

I have to say...this is my favorite of all three. The bright colors of Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist, used with a Pink Paislee Mistables Screen are so me! I brightened up the Jillibean journaling spots by inking the edges in fun colors and pop-doted some at various heights to add some dimension. I used the negative space of the Jillibean  corrugated letters as a stencil for the "me", using modeling paste, colored with acrylic paint.

So...what now? I'm moving on...with purpose.

My history tends to make me take rejection to heart and take people's opinions way more personally than I should.

But..I've been striving to be selective on whose opinion I choose to allow to take root in my heart-not EVERYONE'S opinion is VALID. It doesn't make them wrong...I don't believe the people who picked the Jillibean Design Team where wrong in their decision not to choose me. They picked those who fit best with their format and how they want their team to look. It doesn't mean I am LESS talented because they didn't want me...I'm just not their type. :)

So..we stepped out in fear together and now, my friends, we will move on...with purpose...together.

Until next time...

Who knew Blog Hops can lead to epiphanies?

I love Blog Hops! I think they are so much fun, but I am sssooo surprised at how many people don't know what a 'blog hop" is!

Here's the reader's digest version...two companies swap products and during the same time, they each post projects featuring both companies and link between the two blogs so people can "hop" back and forth.

Makes sense, right?

This week, I had the privilege of participating in a blog hop between Canvas Corp and Sweet Stamp Shop.

Now I am not a big stamper...my mind has a hard time of looking at a stamp and seeing beyond making a card with it. (Is that just me?)

BUT, when I saw Sweet Stamp Shop's "Against the Grain" stamp set I was like "huh...that kind of looks like  Zebra print (instead of the woodgrain it was suppose to be!)

And then when I got to looking at Canvas Corp's new "Baby Girl Sampler" I was inspired to do something that is way out of my normal style.

Why is it out of my style? BECAUSE IT'S SIMPLE! LOL

I love the words on the Canvas Corp sampler and I really felt like they spoke to what I wanted for my little girls, so I kept the layout as a whole very simple, so that the words became the focus and the pictures supported it.

Here is a closeup of the journaling strips that were just cut from the sampler.

I LOVE this background stamp! I stamped it with embossing ink and the covered it with thick black embossing powder to add some shine and texture to the whole project.

Through this project I learned something new...

Sometimes we scrap to learn a new technique.

Sometimes we scrap because we have the perfect picture.

And sometimes we scrap just because we have something to say.

That’s what this layout is about.

Have a blessed day and see you next time.

It's ME!!

I thought it would be fun to show you some of my creations that have ended up on a couple of blogs!

 

First up is a tray I did for the 7 Gypsies booth for Summer CHA in Chicago. It featured the Trousseau line.

 

 

I just recently found out it was on their BLOG! Check it out! 7 Gypsies Blog

 

Next up, is a Blog Hop I participated in with Imaginisce and Canvas Corp. I used Imaginisce's "Soul Sister" Collection along with some great Canvas Corp basics to make this cute Painter's Tray from 7 Gypsies.

(sorry...the picture is a little fuzzy!)

 

Here is a the actual blog post for more pics! Blog Hop by Keri

 

Next is a project I made as a class from Canvas Corp's Valentine Line. I was super excited when I saw it as their blog cover during the month of February!

 

This little gate-fold album was an album of songs that meant a lot to my husband and I.

 

 

 

Here is the link with all the pictures! LOVE BOOK

 

Lastly, is a pic of the Christmas Section of Canvas Corp's booth. You can't really see my project very well, but hey...it's still cool that they are there! :)

 

I made the burlap mini album under the wreath, the rectangular paper bag album towards the bottom right corner, and 2 cards and 2 burlap stockings that are the 3rd wall of the vignette that you can't see.

 

 

 

That's my journey so far! I hope to be able to post many more soon.

Putting Myself Out There is Scary!

Like any artist it is ssoo hard for me to put myself out there and let people critique what I do, but if you don't will you ever get any better?

 

I've decided not to live in fear of the unknown and put myself out there...no matter how scary!! LOL

 

In 9 days I will be submitting projects to audition for Jillibean Soup's Design Team!

 

They requested 2 layouts and 1 "other project." Below is a sneak peek of one of my layouts. Afterwards...I'll post the whole thing.

 

This actually features the My Mind's Eye Miss Caroline-Dilly Dally line. I've had the 6x6 pad of this for a while (got a GREAT deal on it on Peachy Cheap!) and since the projects don't have to feature Jillibean, I thought this was a perfect opportunity to use it since it is similar to Jillibean.

 



Had a lot of fun making 3-D Flowers and playing with lace. I only had off-white lace, so I got out my trusty Tattered Angels Glam in "Be Positive" and just changed it up!

What I also did that was fun was to head to my local Walmart Paint section and grab some paint swatches in coordinating colors. This is a fun (and thrifty!) way to add the perfect solid colored accents to any project.

Are you interested? Here is the Jillibean Soup Blog for more details: Jillibean Soup Blog-Design Team Call

Deadline is September 15th, so get on it and step out without fear! (Or at least in SPITE of it!!)
 



 

Win a Scrapbox!

I love supporting other crafty blogs!

Check out this great blog called "Craft-a-holics Anonymous." She is celebrating her 3 (!) years of blogging and as a little bit of fun, you can enter up to 7 times to win an Original Workbox Scrapbox in Cherry finish.

We all could use a little more organization in our lives, right?

Enjoy and good luck!!

Envelope Album Madness!!

At the store I work at, I have started a REVOLUTION!!

It's called an Envelope Accordion Album and it is one of the easiest and most versatile mini albums I've ever made.

It all started when we got in Graphic 45's Old Curiosity Shoppe. Inspired by this quirky line, I wanted to make something a little different.

Here's what I came up with:

As you can see, this little album allows for A LOT of pictures. Not only to you have the fronts (shown here) and the backs of the envelopes, but each envelope allows for a 5x7 insert...Perfect for journaling or MORE pictures!



Once it's all folded and wrapped with fun jute, it's a perfect pocket/purse size album!

Want to make your own?

Here's how:

This Part is super easy:
1) Layout your envelopes as above, with the first one's opening facing to the right. All other envelopes' openings will face to the left. You can use any number of envelopes to make your project as big or as small as you want!
2) To form your cover, you will remove the flap from the 1st envelope before adhering the 2nd envelope's flap underneath it.
3) Starting with the 2nd envelope, you will apply your adhesive to the flap of each envelope and adhere it to the underside of the envelope to it's left. You will to this same process to form your chain of envelopes.
4) Fold it accordion style and you're done! The rest is up to you-dress it up as much or as little as you want!

I used 5 1/4 x 7 1/4 kraft envelopes by Canvas Corp for this project, but you can use any size or shape. This project is also a great use for all those junk mail return envelopes...they'll be covered so it won't matter what they say!

I hope you enjoy this new mini album and remember...get caught being creative!



My First Post!!

I'm so excited to be writing my first post on my first blog!!

As a creative person, I am always wanting to share all I do with people and this blog is my chance to take you along on the journey of my "Creative Life."

Here you will be able to find a small slice of all the things I love...recipes, crafting, writing and whatever else my creative little heart desires.

I firmly believe that all people are destined to be creative in some way. Just look at the first 5 words of the Bible: Genesis 1:1 says "In the beginning, God CREATED..." And since we are made in His image, then we too are destined to be creative creatures. But too often, people thing that if they aren't Martha Stewart, then they are not "creative."

I hope this blog will inspire everyone, whether you see yourself as "creative" or not because...we are all called to creative...we just all go about it a different way.

SSSooo...here we go! There's no way I could do my first post without showing you a little something creative that ANYONE can make.

All I used was 5 sheets of paper from Graphic 45's Travelogue Line and Canvas Corp Mixed Media Glue.

Step One: Cut your 3 Base Papers to 8in x 12 in.
Heavier Weight, Double Sided paper is ideal for this project.
Score each piece down the middle.

Step 2: Laying your 3 folded pieces on top of each other, you will adhere
your 2nd flap to your third flap and your 4th flap to your 5th flap.
Voila! Your album base is done...all that's left is window dressing.

This is my cover page.
Graphic 45's Travelogue line is so fantastic I didn't even embellish the cover!

Page 1: The passport was cut from a Graphic 45 piece of paper (see below for it opened.)
Page 2: Large Mat with the Zebra print adds lots of of fun,
while the "Beach" sign helps leave your picture options open.

Page 1: The passport opens to reveal 4 tags.

Pages 3 & 4: Each of these cute little cards were cut from a full page
of card size images and have their own little pockets.

Page 5 & 6: These are my favorites!
I LOVE the orange background with the pop of flowers
Page 6: The "hidden gem" of this mini-album is this page.
This page actually holds a 6 page mini book! (see below)

Page 6 mini book open

Enjoy! And remember....TAKE TIME TO BE CREATIVE!!