Wednesday Mai Kai

Happy Wednesday!
 

Today I am continuing with my 2 page layout week.  Today's layout features Graphic 45.  I am normally not a Graphic 45 fan (I think their paper is totally cool- I just have to admit- I don't know how to use it! LOL!) however a kit became available at Simply and the paper was totally perfect for my photos from the Mai Kai, a restaurant in Fort Lauderdale,  Florida.  We had so much fun at the show and dinner.  The boys had so much fun!

 

supplies

cardstock- bazzill

pattern paper- Graphic 45

twine- the twinery

I hope everyone has a great day!  I will be back later this week with another 2 page layout!  See you then!

Have a wonderful and crafty week!

-mp

Tuesday Dinosaurs

Happy Tuesday!

Did  you have a wonderful long weekend?  We did here!  Had a bunch of fun at the last crop at Simply Scrapbooks, and then on Saturday we went to Columbus to go shopping at Cord Scrapbook Studio.  We had a blast!!  I had so much fun!! Everyone at Cord is so awesome!  I can't wait to teach my class at the end of June.  Sunday was a great family day- the pool- hanging out- adventure golf!  Just fun!  Then on Monday we really just relaxed!

This week on the blog I am going to feature 2 page layouts all week.  I have a bunch from Simply that I have done so I am going to highlight them all week!  For those of you that love 2 pagers I hope you enjoy!  I find 2 pagers to be a bit challenging.  I do enjoy making them depending on the number of pictures that I have and also the paper.  So let's get to it!

One of the things that I love about Michael's is that you can always find fun activities for the kids.  In their sale bin awhile back they had some dinosaur eggs.  Jack loves to do these types of activities and then I saw this adorable paper from Bazzill and I knew I had to make a layout!  Jack loved cracking the egg and finding the little baby dino inside!

supplies
paper- bazzill
washi tape- bazzill
die cuts and stickers- bazzill
cardstock- bazzill
tools- Silhouette

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

Friday Miracles

HAPPY FRIDAY!!

Friday has finally arrived and I am so happy.  Now I just have to get through this last day of regular classes with my 10-12th graders.  I do have my final crop with the girls at Simply Scrapbooks to look forward to!  I can't wait!! I am only taking 2 projects to work on because I know I will be talking WAY MORE than I  will be scrapping! LOL!!  Then on Saturday my girlfriend and I are taking a scrapbook road trip and we are heading to Columbus to go to Cord Scrapbook Studio where I am on their Design Team and where I will be teaching this summer.  I am so excited!  Then the rest of the weekend is REST- RELAXATION AND SCRAPPING!

Over the NSD weekend- Little Yellow Bicycle had a fun challenge to use and "old" collection and create something.  Yesterday I showed the card and today is the layout.  I have to say this is one of my favorite layouts right now.  I just love everything.  I love the colors- I love the misting- I love the negative space- I love the Polaroid photo that I created.  Do you ever " love " your layouts?  Any hoo--- this picture was taken outside on day and the boys were just being awesome to one another.  It was just perfect and magical.   

Supplies
paper- Little Yellow Bicycle
stamps- Ali Edwards
ink- jenni bowlin
die cut and stamp- paper trey ink

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I hope everyone has a wonderful day, weekend, and Memorial Day.  Spend time with your loved ones this weekend!! I know I will be!  I will be back on Tuesday on next week.  Enjoy!! See you then and have a wonderful and crafty day!
-mp

Thursday Thanks

Hi Thursday,

Oh I want the weekend to be here!  I seriously don't think I can make it!  But we must go one, right? 

During NSD weekend Little Yellow Bicycle had a wonderful challenge to create with one of their "older" collections.  This line is very old in my collection- it is at least 2 years old.  It is called Clothesline.  I made this card- once again- very simple and very easy but I really like how it turned out.  I added some pearls to it the center to give a hint of bling!

supplies
paper- lyb
bling- hero arts
stamp and ink- hero arts

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I will be back tomorrow with a layout using this same collection.  See you then!  Have a wonderful and crafty day!
-mp

Wednesday Thinking of You!

Happy Wednesday,

Just popping in today really quick.  My allergies/cold are not letting up but I wanted to share this fun card I made for Cord Scrapbook Studio.

Are you getting tired of the Bo Bunny Ambrosia projects yet?  I hope not!  This is the last of my projects.  I am ending my 3 days with a cute and simple card.  To make this cute I layered my paper, cut out a scalloped circle and butterfly, added some gems, sewed around the edges and then added my sentiment!  Very Simple and Very Easy!  I love it when things come together so easily!  It makes me so happy!

Supplies
paper, gems- bo bunny
stamps- hero arts
ink- hero arts
tools- silhouette, sewing machine, border punch

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 Spring Wreath

Happy Tuesday!

How is your week going?  So far so good here but I have been struggling with either a cold or allergies- I am not quite sure.  Whatever it is it sure is kicking my butt! 

As I mentioned yesterday one of my assignments from Cord Scrapbook Studio was to create using the Bo Bunny Ambrosia line.  Yesterday I shared the layout and today I want to share my home decor piece.  For this Spring wreath I used my Silhouette to create all the layered flowers.  I cute out 74 flowers in different pattern papers. Here are directions to create this beautiful wreath.


Instructions:

1.  Start with a 12 inch base- I used the base from Michael's.
2. Cut flowers out of 3 coordinating pattern sheets of paper.  I used a 2.5 inch 3 layer flower from my Silhouette.
3. Cut 1-12 leaves.
4. Arrange on the base alternating patter paper and color. 
5. Tuck the leaves randomly around the wreath.
6. Use any fake flowers that are seasonal and glue on. 
7. Cut a coordinating element.  I used a 5.5 inch butterfly from coordinating cardstock.  I also cut a second image out of thick cardstock to give the butterfly a little substance and glue on top of the flowers. 
8. You can make this for any season.  It is so fun to make!

supplies
paper-bo bunny ambrosia
floral wreath base, flowers- michaels
cardstock- bazzill
buttons- paper trey ink

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

A Monday Thank You and Best Friends

Happy Monday!

I first have to say Thank You to Everyone who took the time to go over to the Jillibean Soup  blog and voted for my Layout.  You all are awesome.  I can't wait to see the results!

How was your weekend?  Ours was so busy on Saturday, but then I had some relaxing time on Sunday which was so awesome.  I was able to get my last project completed for Cord Scrapbook Studio and clean up my room.  You know me I hate to leave a messy area.

Last month Cord Scrapbook Studio gave me  the Bo Bunny Ambrosia line to create with.  This line is not the usual type of paper that I work with because it is very feminine so I felt a little out of my comfort zone.  However, as I started working with it I really started to like it!

I made 3 projects using this line- a card, layout and home decor piece.   Up first is my layout.  This photo was taken of my mom and I last year.  I have mentioned several times that my mom is my hero and my best friends. So this layout is for her!

supplies
everything is Bo Bunny Ambrosia
tools- ek success border punch, sewing machine

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I will be back tomorrow with the home decor piece from this collection.  See you then.  Have a wonderful and crafty day!
-mp

I NEED YOUR HELP!!!

Hi Everyone,

This is my second post for today because I need your help!!  Jillibean Soup had a challenge awhile back about how to use their buttons on a project well we just found out today that my Layout " I love you!" is in the final 3!!!!!!  My heart is racing right now!!

So here is where you all come in!  I need your vote.  The voting takes place this weekend.  All you have to do is use the link below and in the comment section vote for the layout "I love you!"  I would truly appreciate your help.  Click HERE
The winner gets to be a guest design team member for a month!  How exciting is that?

I so appreciate your help!

Have a wonderful and crafty day!
mp

Fridays and Saturdays

Happy Friday,

Who is glad it is the weekend?  I am soooo ready.  This has been a really long week for me. We have a REALLY busy Saturday- soccer game, spring fling event for Micheal's school and then That Day In May festival!!  I am going to have some tired kids Saturday night.  Then Sunday---NOTHING.  I am so going to relax!

Last month one of my kits from Cord Scrapbook Studio was the Saturdays by Little Yellow Bicycle. On the LYB blog they asked the question - what is your favorite LYB collection?  I said that this collection was one of my all time favorites.  It is just perfect for all those everyday pictures.  It has no theme and it goes literally with everything.  It works great with with both masculine and feminine projects.   This is the card that I  made using this wonderful collection.  I love how it turned out!

supplies
cardstock- bazzill
paper stickers- little yellow bicycle
die cut- paper trey ink
gems- little yellow bicycle

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

Thursday Debut!

Happy Thursday!

I know I mentioned awhile back that I was asked by Nikki Sivils to be a guest Design Team member for the month of May.  Of course, I screamed YES!!!! I love her paper collections!  They are always such fun.  Her lines that came out at CHA Winter 2012 where awesome and the idea that I got to play with two of them just about drove me crazy with happiness!

So anyhoo- it is May and I can finally get to  show off my designs to you.  It has been hard since I created all my projects 2 months ago.  I have been dying to show you.  So today I want to share my Home Decor Piece that I created.  I used the Messages collection for my  message board.  I took an old 8x10 picture frame and turned it into a dry erase message board.  I decorated the 8x10 insert with various papers and embellishments and then put the glass back on.  Did you know that the glass acts like a dry erase board?  I love that.  The board started out to be a board to write our schedule down on the weekends but it has evolved into something else.  I use it daily to write a personal message to my kids.  I set it on the kitchen table every morning.  I leave for work before 6:00 am every morning and I never get to see them.  My youngest son was having a hard time awhile back because he didn't see me so I came up with this idea to use the board to "talk" to the kids.  The boys LOVE! this.  Jack is learning to read and so every morning he reads the message to Michael.  It has really helped!! So it is a permanent fixture in our kitchen.  I just love it!

Supplies
old picture frame
Everything else is Nikki Sivils, scrapbooker

Now here is the awesome news.  My post and all my projects ( yes there are 7 projects-- I got a little carried away but I loved the paper and couldn't stop- I had so many ideas! LOL!!) are on the Nikki Sivils blog they are giving ONE person who leaves a comment their choice of paper collections!  Now how awesome is that.  So go HERE and leave a comment saying which one is your favorite and you could win!!  I would love to see one my blog followers win!!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I truly appreciate all your kind words.  Every day your kind words just amaze me!! Thanks soooo much!  I will be back tomorrow with a new project!  See you then!
Have a wonderful and crafty day!
-mp

Wednesday Anniversary

Happy Wednesday!

Well, we made it to the 1/2 way point of the week.

A couple of weeks ago hubby and I went to my aunt and uncles 40th wedding anniversary party. It was a surprise party and all my aunts and uncles were going to be there.  I need to make a card and it just so happened that I had some scraps left over from some of my DT work for
Cord Scrapbook Studio.
The paper comes from the Swoon collection from Little Yellow Bicycle. It was perfect!  So  I whipped up this card.  I used a die cut and stamp set to create the tag from Paper Trey Ink.  I must say I am totally addicted to the color grey right night and the Jenni Bowlin ink was perfect for this card.  I then just scattered some gem stones to bling it up just a bit. 

supplies
paper, rosette, gems- Little Yellow Bicycle
die cut, stamps- paper trey ink
ink- jenni bowlin

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

Lucky Tuesday

Happy Tuesday!

National Scrapbooking Day (NSD) was 2 weeks ago and I was able to create several projects along with entering a couple of fun challenges.  Little Yellow Bicycle had several prompts that I loved.  I love the prompts that let you create what you want with just an idea.  The first one was a spring challenge.  Here is the description of the challenges:  submissions should use the spring color palette (blue, green, brown and cream) from ANY of our collections.I had the perfect picture and papers for this challenge.  

This is a photo of my boys on St. Patrick's day.  For the paper I used an older collection from LYB.  I loved how it turned out!

supplies
Everything is Little Yellow Bicycle.

In case you didn't know- I have a facebook page called Siehled With A Kiss.  It is here that I have sneak peeks on my projects, share more of my process and other crafty good things!  I would be honored if you jumped over there and "liked" me.  Please click HERE to go directly to my page.  I would truly appreciate it!

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I will have more layouts and cards that for all  this week!  You aren't going to want to miss a day here! See you tomorrow! Have a wonderful and crafty day!
-mp

A Monday MME Challenge

Happy Monday,
Did you have a wonderful weekend and Mother's day.  Mine was wonderful.  I must say I am looking forward to a relaxing weekend though.  Hopefully there is one in my future fairly soon.  I am just exhausted!

Last Friday I shared my layout for the My Mind's Eye challenge to use Brads.  Well, you know me and I like to use EVERY single scrap of paper so I made a thank you card using my scraps and leftover brads.  I also bought one of the new 3D flowers from Lori Whitlock in the silhouette store.  I love how it turned out!  Very clean and simple! I used 3 brads on my card.

supplies
paper- my mind's eye
twine- my mind's eye
brads- my mind's eye
flower- silhouette

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

A Friday MME Challenge

Happy Friday!

Are you happy it's the weekend?  Boy, I am! It has been a LONG week!  I am so excited because I am meeting my girlfriends for our 2nd to last crop at Simply Scrapbooks.  I have my work from Cord Scrapbooks Studio to keep me busy!  I am loving the new collections.  Then for the rest of the weekend we really have nothing planned.  I am very excited!!

When I saw that My Mind's Eye was having a challenge this month I knew I need to participate because it was right up my alley.  The challenge was to use Brads on your layout.  I had just picked up my last kit for Simply Scrapbooks and it was the Miss Caroline by My Mind's Eye.  I LOVE this collection.  The papers are so awesome and the brads are just kickin'!  So I made this layout- I used 8 brads on it.  I love them!

Life is an Adventure Waiting to Happen

supplies
cardstock- bazzill
paper- MME
brads- MME
die cut (journaling spot)- paper trey ink
stamps- paper trey ink
ink- tim holtz distress inks, hero arts
alphabet stickers- cosmo cricket
title- silhouette
mist- mister huey studio calico
misc- sewing maching

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I hope all you MOMS have a wonderful Mother's Day!  I will be back on Monday with a new project.  Have a wonderful and crafty weekend!
-mp

One I Didn't Like on Thursday

Happy Thursday

Have you every scrapped a layout and completely HATED it?  This is how I feel about this layout!LOL!  I always start off with a sketch that I make and it looked great on paper- the concept was good and I like the paper that I picked out.  It is the Celebration line from Authentique.  But something happened when I put it all together.  I mean the layout is o.k. but I am not wild about it.

What do you do when the layout doesn't come out like you thought?  Since this is a layout just for me and my family I plan on doing NOTHING!  I mean all my layouts can't be awesome - right?  Do you redo your layouts if you don't like them?  I never have and with other commitments I don't think I am?  I just wanted to see what everyone else does I guess.

supplies
cardstock- bazzill
paper- Authentique
stickers- Authentique

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

Negative Space Wednesday

Happy Wednesday,

How is your week going?  So far so good here!  I received my kits from Cord Scrapbook Studio yesterday and can I tell you I am soooo excited about this month's work.  I love this hobby so much.  Just the site of all new  paper and embellishments really gets my mojo flowing!! I can't wait to dive in.  Today I am going to be working on my sketches to get them ready to scrap this weekend!! I can't wait.  I will give you a little hint of what I have to work with this month:  Little Yellow Bicycle, Studio Calico, and Authentique! So excited!

On to today's project- Over  at Practical Scrappers  the topic for today is how do you use Negative Space.  I have to say I am totally addicted right now to this  technique!  The Silhouette makes this technique so easy.  For this layout I usually start with a cardstock background but this time I wanted the pattern paper to be the background and I wanted it to peek through the cardstock.  So for this layout I used my Cameo and plotted out my cardstock on the screen.  I used a 10x10 inch base and then plotted out where I wanted to cut out the stars.   For some of the stars I even created an outline so that I could put a white outline on it to draw more attention to the negative space.  I then added my title and photos and I was done.  The negative space makes the perfect embellishment!  Have you tried this technique in your scrapbooking or cardmaking projects?  If you need more inspiration head on over to Practical Scrappers today and check out the amazing work from the other Design Team members.  The work is so amazing!

supplies
cardstock- bazzill
paper- doodlebug
die cuts- doodlebug
tools- sewing machine, silhouette

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

a simple Tuesday

Happy Tuesday,

I don't know if I had mentioned this or not but for the last couple of weeks I have felt like a lost puppy.  My favorite (and only) scrapbook store decided to close their doors.  I first started scrapping there 12 years ago.  I instantly was hooked.  Two years ago I was hired to be a part of their design team and I LOVED it.  I then was hired to teach classes and then I took on more responsibility and managed their social media with their blog and facebook.  I LOVED every minute of it. At times I was extremely busy and even a bit stressed but I still LOVED it.  I guess from now on I will be an online shopper because the closest store is an hours drive.

Then I found out that Burlap and Buttercups was closing as well.  I had so much fun designing sketches and hosting a challenge each month.  I really loved working with everyone. Rachel, the owner, is just awesome.  I totally understand why both places are closing but I still feel lost, but the old saying is true- "when one door closes, another one opens"- knowing that these two doors were closing I tried out for SO MANY design teams and was feeling a bit blue that I had SO many rejections but then last week happened and I was accepted on to 2 manufacturer design teams and I have a  couple of guest spots coming this month, this summer and early fall. I feel very blessed!

My question is to you all that don't have a local scrapbook store near you- where do you shop?  I am not a huge shopper but I do like to have some fun products!

On to my project-- This is a card using the Simple Stories Documented collection that  I received from Cord Scrapbook Studio.  The two people are stickers from their element sticker sheets.  When I saw those stickers I knew right away that I wanted to make a card with the heart background and add a splash of color by adding red hearts.  I then added the sticker sentiments and I was done.   

supplies
cardstock- bazzill
paper- simple stories
stickers- simple stories
misc- sewing machine, silhouette

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

a simple Monday

Happy Monday!

Did you have a good weekend and National Scrapbook Day?  We had a great but busy weekend.  Saturday we had a garage sale and it was a total success.  I sold EVERYTHING!! - the crib, changing table, bedding, room decor, baby toys- It was awesome.  Sunday I rested.  I scrapped a little but not much.  I wish I could have gotten a bit more in but we were so busy and then I just didn't have much energy! I did get a couple of projects done!

One of my kits last month for Cord Scrapbook Studio was the Simple Stories collection Documented.  This is a great kraft line.  I thought the line was perfect for this picture that I took of the boys on the couch playing with their games.  Jack had his DS and Michael had his Vtech e reader.  They had no idea that I was taking the picture.  I loved  this collection for this for  this everyday moment!

supplies
cardstock- bazzill
paper and stickers- simple stories

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

Friday Fun and Some News!

Hi Everyone,

Who is ready for the weekend?  I AM!!!  The boys and I yesterday brought all of the stuff for the garage sale into the garage and priced the remaining items!  We are ready for Saturday!!

So what are your plans for NSD?  Do you know that I don't have any.  I was going to go to a crop but then the garage sale came up and so I am staying here.  Hopefully I can scrap on Sunday!!

Some good news!  I was asked to be a member of the new Moxxie Design Team and I said YES!  I am so excited and honored to be a part of this AMAZING team.  You can go HERE to see the other members!  So I am officially a Moxxie Muse!  I so can't wait to get started!

So for today I have a card using the new Moxxie line Child's Play.  I made a card from the scraps of my layout from yesterday.  If you missed my layout Let's Go Outside you can click HERE.  When I saw this collection I knew I had to use a  pinwheel on something because the colors just remind me of pinwheels. Pinwheels just remind me of Spring and Summer!

supplies
cardstock- bazzill
paper- Moxxie
stamp- hero arts
ink- hero arts
button- bo bunny
twine- paper trey ink
tools- silhouette

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

Thursday Outside!

Happy Thursday,

I think I am having withdrawals from crafting.  I have not been able to create all week.  I also need to clean my scraproom.  I had finished a project on Sunday but I finished it late and I didn't have time to clean up my room before I had to put the kids to bed etc.  So it is still a MESS! This is sooo not like me.  Hopefully tonight I can clean my room so that I can at least just BE in my room. 

We had a VERY mild winter this year.  In February we usually have temperatures in the 20's and lots of snow but his year we had temperatures in the 50's so we went outside to play whenever we could.  These are pictures of Michael on one of these days.  He LOVES to be outside.  He is just so happy!  I love his smile!  For this layout I used the new line Child's Play by Moxxie.  This line was just perfect for these pictures.  I love the colors in this line!

cardstock- bazzill
paper- Moxxie Child's Play
stickers- Moxxie
die cuts- Silhouette

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

Wednesday Bowling!

Happy Wednesday!

I am happy that this week is moving right along.  I have just been swamped with work and then we are getting ready for a huge neighborhood garage sale.  I am getting rid of all baby items- crib, changing table, pack n play, baby toys etc.  Everyday after school the boys and i go outside to mark items.  I can't wait for this sale to be over with! and hopefully things will sell!! I am also going to put in a bunch of scrapbooking stuff.  Just maybe a scrapbooker will come by and buy up all my old stuff!  Fingers crossed!

For this card I used the Moxxie  Bowler Up pattern paper for my background and then cut out some bowling pins to add as accents.  I then made a die cut and coordinating stamp set from Paper Trey Ink for my sentiment.  I always find masculine cards to be very difficult but with this Moxxie paper it was very easy!  I love it when that happens! 

supplies
cardstock- bazzill
paper- Moxxie- Bowler Up!
die cut and stamps- paper trey ink
twine- the twinery
gems- hero arts
ink- jenni bowling and hero arts

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I will be back tomorrow with another 2 page layout featuring Moxxie!  See you then! Have a wonderful and crafty day!
-mp

Tuesday Jillibean

Hi Everyone!

Anything crafty going on with you?  Not yesterday but hopefully today I will get some time in.  I was able to get all caught up on my Project Life this past weekend. I feel so much better not to be 5 weeks behind!

I had to make a quick birthday card the other week and I broke out my Jillibean Soup Spotted Owl Soup.  I just love this line.  I think it is because of the brown, green and blue color combo!

Supplies
cardstock- bazzill
paper, die cut and sentiment- Jillibean Soup

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