Friday Sunshine on a Rainy Day

Happy Friday!!!

So excited because at 2:30 my Spring break officially begins!! Oh do I need a  little break!! I am ready.  Do you have any crafty plans this weekend?  I am hoping to get a bit in.  I have to finish up some Design Team projects and then start some more!!  Lots of awesome products in my scraproom!! I don't know which to  play with first!

The weather here today is rainy so I thought I would share this cute card that I made using Bella Blvd.

Supplies

cardstock- bazzill

everything else is Bella Blvd.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.  I will be back on Monday!  See you then!  Have a wonderful and crafty day!

-mp

Thursday - Home Decor with Jillibean Soup

Happy Thursday,
This week is moving so quickly again.  I have been busy creating and reading.  I started the 2nd book in the Hunger Games trilogy and it is really good!  Trying to juggle everything.  At least next week is Spring Break!!! Hooray!!!

I want to share with you a home decor item that I made.  It took me a little bit of time because I was squeaking it in between other projects.  I wanted something to put under my Easter Egg Tree.  I came up with this little scene made with my Silhouette and Jillibean Soup Chicken Dumpling Soup.  Can I just say that I am totally addicted to Jillibean.  I can't seem to get enough.  Well, here is my Easter decoration.  To adhere all the little shapes, I used my various Xyron adhesives!

I found the old distressed frame marked down at Michael's and I new it was perfect for my scene.  I just love it and the boys love it too. 

supplies
old frame
jillibean soup
bazzill cardstock
silhouette
Xyron

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I will be back tomorrow with a new project.  See you then.  Have a wonderful and crafty day!
-mp

WOYWW 3/28

Happy Wednesday!!

Things here have been calm this week.  The weather has been cooler so that means that we have been inside after school and I have been able to get some work done.  It has been great working in my craftroom again. I have missed it.  I took the little break last week with reading and then the warmer weather so I have really missed my desk!

Speaking of  my desk- I am linking up with Julia over at the Stamping Ground.  Here is peek at my desk. I am currently working on my Design Team work with the April kit.  Let me tell you this kit totally ROCKS. 

If you want to check out the April kit please go to Burlap and Buttercups and take a look. It is awesome!

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I will be back tomorrow with a new project.  See you then! Have a wonderful and crafty day!
-mp

Tuesday Flowers for Mom

Happy Tuesday,

I am popping in today to show you another layout that I finished up from last Spring.  My boys were outside in the back yard and they were picking "flowers" for me.  They brought me a huge bouquet and I nearly started to cry with the kindness of my boys.  They are just so sweet.  If you haven't peeked at the layout- the flowers were actually the weeds from our yard! LOL!  Oh I love my boys!!

supplies

cardstock- bazzill

paper- jillibean soup

diecuts and stickers- jillibean soup

misc.  sewing machine

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I will be back tomorrow.  See ya then.  Have a wonderful and crafty day!

-mp

Monday in May

Happy Monday,
Did you all have a great weekend?  We did but for my taste it was just a bit too busy!  We went to Lego Fest and I have never seen so many Legos in all my life.  The boys had a great time.  We then had a a date night which was very nice.  I love date nights with the hubby.  Sunday was just trying to do everything that I usually do on Saturdays and Sundays.  No reall crafting going on.  The temperatures are going down a bit this week so hopefully I will get some in this week!!

I don't scrap chronologically anymore, and I don't put an real pressure on myself to get things scrapped, but I don't like being a year behind.  Does that make sense.  So I kind of been  playing catch up just a bit.  Here is one of my favorite layouts of all times and I think this is one of my favorite collections from Jillibean Soup. 

Each May the town that I am from has a little festival and we take the boys every year.  It is so much fun.  These are the photos from That Day in May 2011.

Supplies

paper- jilllibean soup

diecuts and stickers- jillibean soup

cardstock- bazzill

twine- the twinery

stamps- ali edwards

ink- jenni bowlin

misc- paper crimper, tiny attacher, fiskars border punch, sewing machine

I hope everyone has a great day.  I will be back tomorrow with another project.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful and crafty day!

-mp

Friday Project Life Week 7

Happy Friday!!
Oh I am so glad it is the weekend.  We are jammed pack every minute.  Tonight is my crop.  So excited!  I have a couple of layouts that I want to work on and I want to get some project life in.  Then Saturday we are getting up early and heading out to LEGOFEST in Cincinnati.  My boys LOVE Legos so we decided to go.  We have no idea what to expect but I think it will be fun.  The brochure said "millions" of legos.  I would have to say that is Lego heaven.  What are your plans?

I finished my book The Hunger Games yesterday and as soon as I got home from school I bought the 2nd book -Catching Fire.  I am so addicted.  I was going to take a break but I just had to find out what happens next.  If you haven't read this series yet- I know it came out about 3 years ago- I highly recommend it. 

Today I want to share my Week 7 of my project life. 

Left Side--

Insert- I had so many cute pictures from the boy's parties I inserted the 4x6 insert. I was able to include 12 more photos.  I love this.

Right Side

I once again used my Silhouette to create some 3x4 cards and I also used imdb to get the movie poster of The Secret World of Ariette.-- Totally awesome movie by the way!!

I hope everyone has a great day and a wonderful and crafty weekend.  I will be back on Monday with a new project.  See you then!

Thursday My Snowmen

Happy Thursday!

Still no craftying going on in my house.  I have been totally addicted to reading.  I hope to finish The Hunger Games today.  I bought it on Tuesday and will finish it today.  Awesome read!!!!

I know it is Spring but I have been going through all my layouts and am finding a TON that I did for the store that I have not posted here.  Sometimes I totally forget about some layouts and this is one of them.  We really didn't have an major snow this year but we did get a light dusting.  The boys went crazy and went outside for about 2 hours running around.  Here is a double page featuring the Echo Park Winter collection. 

Sorry for the lopsided photo!

Supplies

cardstock- bazzill

paper, stickers- echo park

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I will be back tomorrow with a look at my Project Life.  Have a wonderful and crafty day!!

-mp

Wednesday Card from Burlap

Happy Wednesday,

Another beautiful day expected here again today!  I am so loving this weather.  Have you been getting your scrapping in?   I have not but I knew that I wouldn't and it is ok with me! I have also started to read a new book, "The Hunger Games".  I know this book has been out for a long time but I just got it and I am totally hooked.  I am the type of person that once I start a book and I like it- I have to finish it.  So every free moment of my day I am reading.  I totally become obsessed.   Scrapping usually takes up most of my free time but I do try several times a year to put it aside and do something else.  This really gets my mojo flowing again.  Have you read this series?  Did you love it? 


Today I am bringing you my card that I made using the March kit from Burlap and Buttercups.  This card uses the Basic Grey papers.  I made my flower using my Silhouette.  Can you believe that this is one of the first flowers that I have made with my Silhouette?  With boys I very rarely use flowers.  It was very fun and I loved tucking the pins behind the flower. 

All supplies from the March kit from Burlap and Buttercups.

I hope everyone has a wonderful and crafty day today.  I will be back tomorrow with a new project.  See you then!

-mp

Tuesday Buttercups

Happy Tuesday!

I tell you we have been loving the "summer" like weather here in southern Ohio.  For the first part of this week we are supposed to be in the 80's.  You can bet I will be using the grill ever night to cook.  I know the grill is supposed to be the "guy thing" and hubby does grill out on Sundays when it is nice but I use the grill during the week to cook our dinners.  I love it-- fast, easy, little clean up-- right up my alley!!

Today I wanted to bring you another layout using the March kit from Burlap and Buttercups.  These are photos of Michael last Spring and I still haven't had a chance to scrap them.  I thought the paper and embellishments worked perfectly with the photos.

supplies

the march kit from burlap and buttercups

I made the background using my Silhouette.

Be sure to stop by Practical Scrappers today because today's inspiration is how to incorporate die cuts on your pages and cards.  There are some awesome examples.  I have a card up!  Stop on over and say hi! Thanks! 

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I will be back tomorrow with my Wednesday Card.  Have a wonderful and crafty day!

Monday March Challenge

Happy Monday!
Did you have a great weekend?  We sure did.  The weather was beautiful so we  were outside a lot and I loved every minute of it.  Jack is into Monster Trucks and there was a Monster Truck show on Saturday so we took him.  He had a blast so that made it awesome, but it was a little too loud for me even with the ear plugs!  Oh well, all that is important is that Jack had fun!  I was also able to get a little bit of crafting in.  I was working on my last project for Cord Scrapbook Studio. It is a Spring home decor piece.  I can't wait to show you!

It is time again for my monthly challenge over at Burlap and Buttercups .  This challenge is really fun.  The challenge is to use my sketch ( go to the burlap and buttercups blog)  along with one of the following things (a) a cell phone photo or (b) use your paper as an embellishment.  For the challenge I used both.  I am totally addicted to Instagram photos and how they look when they are printed and I used the paper as a HUGE embellishment.

I would love it if you headed on over to Burlap and Buttercups and checked out the challenge.  The prize package totally ROCKS--Jillibean Soup, Queen and Co. trendy tape, 2 packages of Smash book products!!  You don't have to have the kit to enter the challenge.  So what are you waiting for!  Let's start scrapping!

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I will be back with more tomorrow.  Have a wonderful and crafty day!
-mp

Friday Project Life Week 6

happy Friday,

I am so glad it is the weekend!  I hope to get in some crafty time because I have not had any real time after school because we have been enjoying the nice weather!  Do you have any great plans?

Today I am bringyou my Week 6.  For this week I jused my Silhouette a lot to make some embellishments. I made a 3x4 card with the zig zag pattern. I love I also used my Ali edwards stamps.  On this page I printed off the Nikki Sivils email that I received from her asking to be a guest on the blog.  I love that I will now have it forever!!

Right Side--The boys right now are addicted to the Batman cartoon series that netflix has.  So I was able to find a photo on IMDB.  I also used my Silhouette for the title Everyday live.

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I will be back on Monday.  Have a wonderful and crafty weekend.

-mp

Thursday I love Your Smile

Happy Thursday!

Did you do anything exciting yesterday?  Not here.  I did my usual- grocery store, 2 loads of laundry, and the boys and I sat on the driveway and ate Popsicles. It was close to 80 degrees.  We had a blast!!!  I love times like those--just the 3 of us talking and having fun.  I cherish those moments!!  I am so lucky and I count my blessings every day!

Well, this is a layout that I made with my son's school picture.  The title says it all.  I so love his smile.  I can have a down moment and then I see him smile and everything is better!. 

supplies

cardstock- bazzill

paper- bella blvd.

chipboard- bella blvd

stickers- bella blvd.

title- silhouette

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I truly appreciate all your lovely comments.  Thanks!!  I will be back tomorrow with my project life!  Have a wonderful and crafty day!

-mp

WOYWW-3/14

Happy Wednesday!

How is your week going so far.  Here it couldn't be better.  I am LOVING the Spring weather.  Yesterday was sunny and 73 degrees.  For me this is PERFECT!  I picked up the boys from school, changed their clothes, and we headed outside.  We stayed out till dinner time and it was wonderful.  After the boys eat and had their baths, I was able to get about 20 minutes in my craft room and I finished a card that I had started.  I am working with 2 new lines from Nikki Sivils for my guest Design Team spot in May.  Oh, I have to tell you the new lines are AWESOME!  I am working with Messages right now and I am LOVIN' it!  I can't wait to show you everything but it won't be until May.  I should have some sneak peeks coming soon!  I also started to work on my Project Life for Week 10.

Today I am hooking up with Julia over at the Stamping Ground for a look at what is on my desk.  For me my desk is boring again (at least to me).  I have my Project Life on my desk.  I have the clementine kit.   I am really enjoying the Project Life process.  The one thing that I love about it is that I can keep it very simple (using just the kit itself with little or no embellishments) or make it totally embellished with stamps, die cuts, etc.  This week because of time I used the  kit as is.  I don't have a lot of time this week so it is clean and simple and that is ok with me. 

Oh and you may want to pop on over to Practical Scrappers today if you need a little inspiration because they have a fun post about using basic shapes on your layouts and cards. I have a layout using circles.  Stop on by.  There are so many talented ladies over there!!

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I will be back with something new!  See you then.  Have a wonderful and crafty day. 
-mp

Tuesday Gun Slingers

Happy Tuesday!

I have to say I have Spring Fever super bad!  With the time change over the past weekend all I want to do is be outside!!  This weeks forecast calls for sunny skies and temperatures in the 70's.  You can bet that there won't be a lot of scrapping going on at my house this week!

Hubby last summer went on a business trip and he brought the boys home some toy guns.  They LOVED them.  I HATED them because they made this snapping sound when the shot them.  It totally bugged me and drove me crazy.  So they could only play with them outside.  The two of them ran around and played good guy- bad guy and they had a blast.  These are some pictures I took of them. 

supplies

cardstock- bazzill

paper- bella blvd

chipboard- bella blvd

misc.- sewing machine

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I will be back tomorrow!  Have a wonderful Spring and crafty day!

-mp



A Layout from Start to Finish

Happy Sunday,

Start to Finish blog posts have become very popular, and I have had several emails about my process and how I work.  So I thought I would let you see how I create.  If you don't want to see all of it just scroll to the bottom to see the end result. 

1.  First I start with my photo. 

2.  Next I pick the paper.  I knew I wanted to use Jillibean Soup's Hearty Barley for this layout.  I also added a couple of older lines to the mix.
3.    Next,  I make a rough sketch of my design.  I carry my paper pad with me at all times because you never know when that idea is going to come to you. 

Here is the main idea of making my photo the center piece and below the photo adding layers of pattern paper. Iwould then add some pattern paper at the top of the page and the bottom leaving the center open.

4.  Technique #1 Misting-- Have you tried this technique yet?  If not it is super duper fun!  First, you start with a box to keep the mist from splattering everywhere.

Here is my box-- you can see it has been used A LOT!

5.  Now I like to use Mister Huey by Studio Calico and I like to uncap the bottle and flick the mist onto my paper by tapping the side of the cap.

For this layout I wanted to add white as my base and place the spray droppings in the top left corner and bottom left corner with a couple of drops in the top right.  I then added a bit of red ontop.

6.  It is important to let the paint droppings to dry.  While it is drying I like to set up all my pattern pieces and embellishments.

Technique #2-- Use your pattern paper as embellishments 
I like to use my pattern paper as embellishments.   I love this piece of pattern paper

but I really only wanted to use just a couple of hearts so I cut them out to use as embellishments.

All my pattern pieces and embellishments ready to be used.

7.  Now the fun can begin!!  It is time to build the page.

Here is a look at the misted page before I added the top and bottoms with the pattern paper.

8.  Next I worked on all the layers that will go under the photo.  There is no right or wrong way to layer paper.  It is whatever looks good to you.  I wanted some banner pieces to start out with.

Frugal tip #1-- I didn't have a long enough strip of the light brown polka dot paper so I cut it in half and placed on stripe on each side giving the effect of a long strip.

9.  Next, I layered my photo and mattings on top.

Loved the way it looks so I glued it all down.  For all my projects I like to use the various Xyron Products!

9.  Now embellishment time-- Here are the embellishments that I knew I wanted to use.

Time to build the page.  I like to start with the embellishment cluster near the photo first.  It is just trial and error to see what looks good.

I like my added hearts that I cut out.  They worked out perfectly.

10.  Now time to build the top.

I added some more hearts and then my title.  Love how it looks and time to glue it all down!

The finished page:

 

supplies
paper and embellishments- jillibean soup
twine- the twinery
mist- mister huey
tools& misc- ek success border punch, foam dots, xyron runner, xyron x

I hope you enjoyed my scrapping process, techiniques, and frugal tips.  If you have any questions please feel free to email me!  I love it when you do!!

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I will be back tomorrow with a new project.  Have a wonderful and crafty day!
-mp

Project Life Week 5

Happy Friday!
Thanks so everyone wishing me well with my terrible day and my car. I am please to say that it was just a coil and I am picking it up today after school.  When a repair is under $500 I am doing the happy dance!! 

I have not been in my scraproom now for THREE whole days and I am going CRAZY!!  Hopefully things will settle down and I can get in there tonight.  I am having withdrawal symptoms- shaking, not sleeping because I am dreaming of scrapping, constantly on the internet looking at scrapbooking supplies--I am a mess!!!! (lol!!)

Here is week 5 of my Project Life--This is the last batch of bad photos.  So hopefully next week will look much better!

Left Side

Right hand side

For Groundhog's day I found a cool photo from the internet and used that and I also had this cool photo of me and Michael.  This photo was the inspiration for a layout I did. You can see the layout HERE

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I will be back on Monday.  Have a wonderful and scrappy weekend!

-mp

A Terrible Day!

Hi,
Can I tell you how terrible my day was yesterday afternoon--I left work and started my car and I thought it sounded a bit funny.  As I was driving on Interstated 75 North heading home my check engine light kept flashing and the car wasn't driving well.  I called the dealer and they said to pull over right away because this was bad.  So I barely made it to the rest area and then there I sat for close to 2 hours waiting on the tow truck--YUCK!!! My whole day done with.  My mom picked up the kids for me and then I had to get a loaner card--so by the time I got home it was close to 6:00 pm--and all I kept thinking about was --NO SCRAPPING TIME for me-LOL!!!!

I used up some of my October Afternoon scraps to make this cute card.  I love their playing cards.  I am not usually a ribbon person but i loved this one.

Have a wonderful and crafty day! Thanks for stopping by!
-mp

WOYWW

Happy Wednesday,

How is your week going so far?  So far so good here, but I just haven't had enough crafting time!  I brought my sketch pad to work yesterday and made 5 sketches for future projects but I didn't have time to work on them.  Don't you just hate it when your life gets in the way of your scrapping time!  It is driving me crazy!!

So I am once again linking up with Julia over at the Stamping Ground for another WOYWW.  I always find it so fun to peek into other people's scrap rooms and see what fun inspiration is going on.  I do have to say that my scrap room  always looks a tad boring compared to the many others.  I am a HUGE fanatic about cleaning up in my scrap room and I never leave stuff out- Just the products that I will need for my project.  So today on my desk you can see one of the sketches that I sketched out for my project and the paper and embellishments that I will be working on.  I need to make a display for Cord Scrapbook Studio with this collection.  It is the Simple Stories Documented line.  It is brand new from CHA. I really like this collection and I am already to go-- I just need to find the time to do it!!  Wednesdays I never have time to scrap-- after school I go to the grocery, do 2 loads of laundry and cook dinner.  My big day and then Thursday I have night conferences (YEAH my last one of the year!!!!).  So hopefully on Friday I will be able to get to this.

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I will be back tomorrow with a new project.  See you then!  Have a wonderful and crafty day!!
-mp

Tuesday Card Layout

Happy Tuesday,

What do you do with the cards that your kids make and give to you?  Well, last year was the first year that Jack made me a card in which he wrote in the card.  I had this card saved on my scrap room shelf but I decided to take it apart and save it in album.

To make this layout, I simply took apart the card and then added it to a pretty October Afternoon paper.  I added some tags, a title, "The best card ever", some journaling and I was done!! Now I have saved it forever!!  When I showed Jack the finished layout he was so happy that I made a layout of it!!

The Best Card Ever!

supplies

paper- october afternoon

cardstock- kraft

twine- the twinery

most important item- Jack's card!!!

I hope everyon has a great day today!  I will be back tomorrow!! See you then!  Have a wonderful and crafty day!

-mp

Monday Football

Happy Monday,

How was your weekend?  Mine was pretty good!  Got some work done on Saturday and then on Sunday was able to clean up, relax and work on project life.  I have fallen into a great routine with working on it on Sunday afternoons!

I realized when I was putting work into my albums that I hadn't shown a lot of projects.  So this week I am going to catch up on that.

Are you ready for some football?

Jack played flag football this year again and these are pictures of his season. 

supplies

cardstock- bazzill

paper- american crafts chaps

tags- american crafts

brads- american crafts

twine- the twinery

I hope you have a great day.  I will be back tomorrow with a new project.  Thanks for stopping by.  Have a wonderful and crafty day!
-mp

Project LiFe Week 4 and a Fun Blog Hop

Happy Friday!
I am so happy it is Friday.  I am in the mood for a little relaxation!!  Do you have any plans.  I do not really.  Errands in the morning and the I also get my hair cut and then a quick stop to drop off some projects at the store!  Sounds busy but I know I will have plenty of down time!

Here is a look at my wee 4 of project life.  sorry for the glare once again!! 

Left side-
This week I decided to save some weekly receipts etc and I included those. I also added some October Afternoon stickers for some added journaling just to spice things up a bit. 

Right Side

Blog Hop Information

Over at Practical Scrappers they are holding a Linked with Love Blog Hop.  There has been a lot of talk in the scapping world these days about scraplifting other people's work and not giving credit where credit is due.  For example if you see some awesome layout and you want to use part of it  for your own personal use that is fine, but if you want to post it on your blog, use it for design team work then you need to give credit to the original person!!!!  So over at Practical Scrapppers they are having a linked with love blog hop where you will see one layout by Liz Qualman (I love her work) and then you will see the Practical Scrappers design teams interpretation of it and then link it back to Liz.  This hop starts today and goes till March 4th.  There will be prizes along the way.  So I would love for you to head on over to Practical Scrappers and check out this amazing hop. ( I wish I could have particpated in it but I was swamped with work and my little one has been sick!)

Thanks for stopping by today.  I will be back on Monday with some new work!  See you then.  Have a wonderful and crafty day!

-mp

Thursday Moments and Some Sneak Peeks!

Happy Thursday!

I am so happy that this week has been pretty uneventful, but I still haven't done a lot of crafting time. I did the first part of the week but I have just been a bit slow--but that is ok with me.  I do want to finish up this project that has been on my desk for the last couple of days.  It drives me crazy when I have an unfinished project sitting on my desk.  I am hoping to finish it tonight and tomorrow night. 

I wanted to share this layout that I made with the February kit from Burlap and Buttercups.  This kit sold out but I wanted to share with you my layout that I created.  If you happened to catch my Project Life 3 post (Here) I mentioned about a photo.  Well, I am loving the concept of Project Life in capturing the everyday moments, and these pictures were for my project life, but I loved them so much that I needed to devote a 12x12 layout to them because I fell in love with my hubby doing the awesome things that he does with the kids like reading a story or reviewing vocabulary word flashcards.  Sometimes when I scrap I look at the "big" events and I overlook the smaller things.  Now I am looking at both and I am loving it.

supplies

cardstock-bazzill

paper- lily bee, crate paper, october afternoon

alphabet-american crafts thickers

stickers- october afternoon

mist- tattered angels

misc- martha stewart punch, paper trey ink die

Now on to some sneak peeks at the March kit from Burlap and Buttercups.  This kit is just so bright and cheery. 

Oh, I am so excited for this kit!  You know I am a sucker for butterflies and this just looks so fun!  The kit goes live this week so be sure to head on over to the Burlap and Buttercups site to pick this one up.  I am sure it will go fast!

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I will be back tomorrow with a look at my Project Life week 4.   Have a wonderful and crafty day!

-mp