A "MINI" BIT OF LOVE :-)

Good morning stampers!! I hope you are all enjoying a fabulous weekend - I am sitting here drinking coffee in a quiet house! The kids are out doing things with friends, my sweetheart is golfing, and the dogs are snoozing :-) Later on, my friend is coming over so we can plan out the crafty things for her daughter's baby shower - YAY! So, it is a good day here in sunny California (although it is really not too sunny today).  I am going to be prepping things for my next downline meeting, but I thought I would share the project we did at our last downline meeting. I like to have a couple of stamping projects for my team to do using new products, techniques, and ideas so I decided to do a mini page for them this time, and they loved it! Okay, I know I shared the bird yesterday but I just love it so you have to see it again - at least it looks different, right??! Heehee,  I see lots more birdies in my future :-)  This is a 6x6 mini page that will eventually end up in an album, but I need to make the matching page for it and then decide what book, lol! We used a lot of new products on this page, and bright, fun colors from this year's In-Color family. The base of this page is Calypso Coral card stock, which made it easy to choose my designer series paper- Enchanted!! LOVE it, and it is also a FREE pack of paper from the Sale-a-Bration catalog so it makes it that much better :-)  I seem to reach for this paper again and again, sooooo pretty! The wing of the bird is also from this same paper pack, I just love the pretty colors! We also played with three of the Sale-a-Bration stamp sets, which is always fun because they too were FREE :-)
The bird is stamped with an image from the Fresh Vintage Stamp set; we just stamped at an angle all the way across the bottom of the bird to give it some texture. See the frame around the sentiment? Well, that is a stamp from the set called Elementary Elegance, and it is beautiful! We stamped the frame on Poppy Parade card stock in Soft Suede Ink (Yummo) and then trimmed around the frame, which is popped up on dimensionals. This frame is gorgeous and can be used in several different ways - there is even a little crown at the top of the frame so I could totally see a picture (of me, bwahahahaha) in that frame wearing it :-) The sentiment is from the Sprinkled Expressions stamp set - isn't it fun??! The whole stamp set is super cute; it's on page 8 of the SAB catalog which can be found in the sidebar of my blog - just click on it, and it will take you there:-)  The other new product used on this mini layout is the ribbon. The ribbon is also a SAB freebie and actually comes in a two pack of ribbon with matching brads and they are FABULOUS!! The whole pack is called the Everyday Enchantment Ribbon and Brad pack and so of course it coordinates beautifully with the paper! I hope you like this fun little layout - I will have to make the matching page and share that one too, and add some pics too *wink*  If you like the products you see here, all you have to do is place a $50 order for each item you want FREE and you can do that in my online store OR you can email me your order and I will be happy to place your order for you!  Enjoy the rest of your weekend, I am off to get ready to stamp the afternoon away on fun baby items!
Layout Recipe:
Paper - Calypso Coral, Pool Party, Lucky Limeade, Soft Suede, Poppy Parade card stock, Enchanted Designer Series paper
Inks - Soft Suede, Poppy Parade classic inks
Stamps - Elementary Elegance, Sprinkled Expressions, Fresh Vintage (all SAB sets)
Tools - Big Shot, Elegant Bird die,Crimper, Scallop Ribbon punch, Fancy Label punch, Dimensionals
Accessories - Everyday Enchantment ribbon, Basic Pearls

A LITTLE BIT OF SCRAPPY LOVE

WHOOHOO!! It's Friday!! I love Fridays because that means no homework, no practice, AND lots of stamping :-)  I actually have two workshops in the next two days - one tonight, and one tomorrow! I am excited because that means stamping with new friends and seeing some old friends :-) I just love getting together to make pretty things, it's the best part of my job! Heck, every part of my job is amazing :-) I also hope to get some scrapbooking done this weekend as I have not been able to do much lately and I miss it!  I did get a chance to one layout and I wanted to share it with you today! It is one of my daughter and her very close friend Sam - these two girls are glued at the hips, but they are so much fun together! I have never heard so much laughter, they make me smile every time they are here at the house together :-) I used a lot of new products on this page, and I love the way it turned out! I wanted something soft and pretty, and that is what I got! Not a whole lot of stamping going on with this page, but the sentiment is one that makes me smile every time I see it - "Friend Good" by Frankenstein! LOL - it is part of a set called Smarty Pants, and I hope it never retires, it is one of my all time favorites!!

Oh, but look at that beautiful patterned paper!!! Isn't it just gorgeous??!! It is from the Gorgeous suite of papers called Attic Boutique and is in the Occasions Mini. I just love all the patterns and color combos in this pack, it is all soooo very pretty and definitely has the vintage touches that I love!  The pretty details of each pattern make this an ideal suite to use for all kinds of projects - and I have *giggle*. The strip across the bottom of the page is also from the same suite, it's just the flip side of the pattern used on the main strip. It is mounted on Melon Mambo card stock, which I border punched along the bottom with the Pinking Hearts border punch! I often forget I have this punch, and it is an awesome punch, I just love the little hearts border it makes!

Ooh, and look at that pretty birdie!!  Sorry for the shadow, I had a heck of a time with this close-up, lol! However, you can see enough details to know that his is a gorgeous die, and so much fun to play with! I cut the body out of another piece of the Attic Boutique suite, and the wing is Regal Rose Card Stock. See how the wing has some beautiful texture? That's because I ran it through my crimper and oh, I just love how it looks!!!

I added some pretty ribbon (whisper white) and one of the new buttons from the mini from the Twitterpated suite - I love how super cute they are and you get tons of them in different shapes and designs in two different colors! 48 buttons for $6.95 is a heck of a deal :-) I also used a couple more buttons on the bottom right hand side of the page - aren't they just so pretty??!  Most of my little embellishments on this layout are actually dies for the Big Shot - I use my Big Shot every day and I honestly have no idea what I would do without it! So many fun new dies, and embossing tools - I have lots of fun mixing and matching and just playing around with them!

See the hearts? They are so cute, and I actually used two different embosslits to cut these. One is called Scalloped Heart of Hearts and is actually the bigger hearts at the top of the page - soooo very pretty!  I love the textured look at the pretty finished edges it creates. The smaller hearts are from the brand new embosslit in the Occasions Mini called Fashionable Hearts and it has different sizes and patterns for these hearts. You can see them scattered on the page and the close-up of one in this picture. I actually used that heart to cover up the camera that my daughter is holding since they took that picture while looking in the mirror at themselves - ROFL! Silly girls, right??!

Embosslits are fun and easy to use, and at $11.95, they are a great deal to boot!  I really love that our new embosslit has so many different patterns and sizes to choose from because it gives you an instant variety to your embellishments, especially when you mix and match papers and colors to cut them out with! Super cute! Another one of our new products that I used on this layout is our new frame designs. I used the Labels Framelits for the sentiment pieces and I love them! They all nest together so well, and you can use both the negative pieces (just the outline) or the whole shape like I did here! The great thing about these frames is they also coordinate with one of our new stamp sets called Apothecary Art, and, although I did not use it here, I have played with that as well, and it makes cutting out those shapes quick and easy.  I love this layout and now I have decided I need to make a matching page so that both sides of my book are complete, lol! I like double layouts, it keeps all my books looking pretty :-)  So, hopefully I will have time to do that this weekend and I can share it later on next week! If you like any of the products that you see here, you can buy them in my online store, or you can email me your order and I will be happy to place it for you! Don't forget: with every $50 you spend, you get something FREE from the Sale-a-Bration brochure and you don't want to miss out on that!! I love FREE, don't you??!!  Now, I am off to do the last minute prep for my workshop tonight, and hopefully do a little stamping before it is time to go! The kids both have plans tonight, and Tony is enjoying a golf weekend with his buddies down South so it is just me and the dogs! Enjoy your weekend and don't forget to take some creative time for yourself!!
Layout Recipe:
Paper - Regal Rose, Soft Suede, Melon Mambo card stock, Attic Boutique Designer Series Paper
Inks - Soft Sued classic stamp pad and stampin' write marker
Stamps - Smarty Pants
Tools - Big Shot, Labels Framelits, Fashionable Hearts embosslit, Heart of Hearts embosslit, Elegant Bird Bigz Die, Crimper, Pinking Hearts border punch, Scallop Trim border punch, dimensionals
Accessories - Whisper White thin grosgrain ribbon, Twitterpated buttons, Basic Rhinestones

SWEET MINI BOOK

Good afternoon stampers! Sorry I am a little late with this one, but today is my birthday and I spent the morning doing NOTHING but drinking coffee and watching some of my shows that I needed to catch up on, lol! I love being lazy every once in awhile BUT then I get restless and need to get back to it, lol! I am spending the afternoon stamping, and then out to dinner with the fam :-) I am excited because we are going to the Japanese Steakhouse, one of my all-time favorite places to go! But before all that, I wanted to share a sneak peek at my mini of the month! You see, every single month I offer a mini book class of some type - I try and change it up to keep it fresh and exciting! This month we are going to do a paper bag book with with some super fun elements like 3d pages :-) I am hoping that they all love it as much as I loved putting it together! I am going to share just the cover; I will share the whole mini at the end of the month once the class has been held. I want them to see it first*wink*
For this mini, I am using the Enchanted Designer Series Paper that you can receive FREE as a SALE-A-BRATION choice with a $50 order - yep, FREE! It's is BEAUTIFUL - easily my favorite paper right now!! I just love all the colors and patterns in this pack, and I can't believe it's FREE!! There are lots of pretty details in this mini - I love to use my Big Shot and all the fun embellishments and of course the STAMPS!!!

I played with two of my favorite new dies to make things for this cover.  The first one is the XL Designer Rosette Die, which I used to make the fan! I just love the versatility of this die, there is sooo much you can do with this one! I have enjoyed experimenting with this one, and coming up with all kinds of cool projects and elements for my cards, books, and scrapbook pages! Such a wonderful die! It is located in the Occasions Mini, and was one of the first things I ordered, lol!

Here is a close-up of the fan that I made using the die. What I loved about it is I can make it as big or as small as I want just by the paper size that I use. So cool! And, isn't that paper just sooooo yummy??!!! Remember, it's FREE, LOL!!!! I used some super cute Lucky Limeade Ruffled ribbon to the bottom to hold the fan together, and I just think it gives this cover the WOW! factor is deserves :-) Plus, it looks purdy, heehee!!!
The second die that I used is called the Elegant Bird Bigz Die and it is just that - elegant! I love this bird; I actually squealed out load when I first saw it in the Mini, and yes, it was also on my first order, lol! Not only does it dress up ANY project that you make, but there are TONS of different projects you can use this die with as well! It is one of the things I love about the Big Shot - there are limitless creative ways to use all the fun dies and folders you can get! See how cute it turned out??!! I did stamp some on the bird, and I used Lucky Limeade Card stock as well as some more of the Enchanted DSP for the wing. I also added some pretty ribbon and bling because well, I LIKE it :-)  I had such fun putting this mini together - the inside pages are full of all kinds of different techniques and elements that everyone is sure to be happy with! It makes a great gift, OR you can keep it to yourself as I tend to do, lol! I always have good intentions to give them away, but then I fall in love with them and I don't want to part with them....so now, I make two so I have one to keep :-) If you like what you see here and would like to order it for yourself, you can do so in my online store OR you can email me and I will be happy to place your order for you! Remember, the patterned paper you see here can be yours FREE with your order of $50 or more - what a great deal!!! So, now I am off to stamp some and then get ready for my birthday dinner! I am excited to be going out tonight - no cooking for ME, LOL!!! Have a wonderful day and don't forget to make time to be creative, it's good for the heart!!!
Mini Cover Recipe:
Paper - Pool Party, Lucky Limeade, Soft Suede, Naturals Ivory card stock, Enchanted Designer Series Paper(SAB item)
Inks- Lucky Limeade, Pool Party classic inks
Stamps - Elementary Elegance, Fresh Vintage (both sets are Sale-a-Bration sets), Petite Pairs(sentiment)
Tools- Big Shot, Elegant Bird Bigz Die, XL Designer Rosette Die, Pinking Hearts Border Punch, 1 1/4 inch and 1 inch Circle Punches, Scalloped Square Die, Crimping Tool, Dimensionals
Accessories - Victoria Lace Ribbon, Lucky Limeade Ruffled Ribbon, Whisper White Thin Ribbon, Basic Rhinestones, Basic Pearls

SUPER CUTE MINI BOOK

Hi stampers!! I hope someone is reading this, I know I took quite the hiatus!! I was battling quite a bad sinus infection which ended up going into my chest and caused me all kinds of grief! And, just when I was getting over that, I caught a bad head cold that I am currently at the end of  - sheesh!!! So, I am back on track and have TONS to show you this week!!! Today I want to share a cute mini book I made for one of my husband's staff that is leaving for a new job. He wanted something they could all sign and then add pictures to from her going away party so this is what I came up with! I got to attend the party as well and she loved the book, which made me happy :-) I have several pages to show you so what I will do is list  the main products that I used as I show you the pages. As always, if you have any questions, feel free to email me, and I will do my very best to answer them! This first pic is of the cover - it's an accordion album so it is held together by the Daffodil Delight wide striped grosgrain ribbon on the side. I used Pacific Point card stock as my base for the whole album, and the patterned paper is all from the Beyond the Garden Designer Series paper collection.  I used several stamp sets in this album; the ones on the front cover come from the BFF stamp set, and the Friends Never Fade stamp set. Although you can't tell from the pic, I sprayed the accordion flower with Frost White Shimmerz - looks so pretty IRL!

In this mini I tried to keep a similar theme going for all the pages as there are some on the front AND back pages of this book. So, I am going to show you the front pages as I repeated the themes from the front onto the back. These first two pages show how I did the pockets and tags for them all to sign and leave little notes, and then there are places for pictures as well! I used the Kindness Matters stamp set, and the Just Believe stamp set for the images and the borders on these pages.  I also used the Triple Layer flower punch, I just love that! The ribbon is the yummy Tangerine Tango Scalloped Polka Dot ribbon, which you will see throughout the book. The border on the pocket was made with the Eyelet Border punch, one of my favorites that I tend to reach for over and over. There are some blingy items on this page as well - I used some of the Antique brads as well as some rhinestones and pearls - a girl has got to have bling, right??

These two pages have lots of room for journaling and also for pictures. I used my Scallop Circle die on my Big Shot to create the pull-out from the right page, which can hold two pics all on it's own. The stamp sets on the right hand page are from the Vintage Vogue stamp set.  As you can see, the pocket on the left side is a repeat pocket - I did these all the same throughout the mini and it looks great! It gave a lot of continuity to the book, and the other pages really added the pop to the book with all their different elements!

These two pages are once again showing two pocket pages, one of which should look familiar *wink* The right side is another pocket similar to the last one, but with different images. These come from the Friends Never Fade stamp set, a great set that can be used for many, many different occasions! The Eyelet Border punch was used along the diagonal of the pocket as it was on the last page I showed you!

These are the last two pages of the book, and they are primarily for placing pictures. Lots of stamping going on here as well! The butterflies are from the Kindness Matters stamp set - I just stamped them on Whisper White card stock, cut them out, and then placed some rhinestones down the center of them. I also used the Just Believe stamp set on the left page, adding some cute little pink flowers punched out with my Bitty punch.  And of course, I added some pearls :-) The outline of the Scalloped Square shape is left from the Scalloped Square you see on the front of the album cover - I hate to let it go to waste so I used it here. Another stamp set used on the right page is called My Friend, and it is one of the first stamp sets I purchased from this catalog, I just love it! Lots of fun images to play with :-)  So, there you have all the pages (some I did not show as they are duplicates of ones you see here) of the cute mini I made for a going away gift! This is the best part of being a scrapper and stamper, that I get the chance to make these handmade gift items for people - I just love how much they appreciate them - much better than a sweater, don't you think??!! Although, I tend to give both, lol!  If you like any of these items you see here, you can purchase them in my online store, or contact me and I will be happy to take your order. I hope the pictures are clear enough for you to see, there was not the best light when I took them, and well, I don't have the book anymore to get better ones, lol! I will be back tomorrow with a frame that I made for my husband's grandma who turned 86 yesterday! Yep, another handmade gift item :-) Until then, I hope you have a wonderful Monday, and take time to stamp something!

IT'S A MINI BUT A GOODIE

Happy Friday everyone!!! This week really flew by, I can't believe it is already the long weekend! Tony and I are going away for a much needed couples weekend and we are really looking forward to it! We really don't get very much time alone with two teens - they do their own stuff, but still need us around to take them, give them money, remind them of homework, chores, etc.  You get the picture, lol! So, I am excited but have TONS to do today before we leave!  However, I did not want to leave without sharing a cute little mini layout  I recently did at a workshop.  I like to teach 6x6 layouts because if they have never scrapbooked before, it does not seem so overwhelming, and I usually show them how they can "grow" the layout into a 12x12 *wink*  The base of this layout is the new in-color Island Indigo, and I love the deep, rich blue of this color! The accent colors are River Rock and Cherry Cobbler with some Timeless Portrait patterned paper used with the Lace Border Punch.  I love using this punch with patterned paper, it always comes out looking so very pretty!  That fabulous, giant stamp in the corner is called Hello Doily, and is fast becoming a favorite for me! The sentiment is from the stamp set Language of Friendship, a beautiful set that allows you to use our punches on everything stamp in there! I used the Decorative Label Punch and popped it up on dimensionals over a piece of Victorian Lace ribbon - total YUM! The pretty border on the Cherry Cobbler strip was made using the Scallop border punch, and adds some softness to the layout.  Simple, but pretty, right??! I love doing 6x6 layouts, they are quick, and you usually can create an album in a small amount of time.  Love that! So, if you want to have any of these products, all you have to do is go to my online store and shop  your heart out! Or, you can contact me and I will be happy to take your order! Now, I am off to get ready for my weekend with the love of my life! I hope you all enjoy the long weekend! Don't forget, all next week I will be doing Product Spotlights featuring projects using all New Holiday Mini items so make sure you check in and see them! I would love to know you stopped by, so leave me a comment :-) Happy Stamping!!
Layout Recipe:
Paper - Island Indigo, River Rock, Cherry Cobbler, Naturals White card stock, Timeless Portrait Designer Series Paper
Inks - Island Indigo, Cherry Cobbler classic inks
Stamps - Hello Doily, Language of Friendship (sentiment)
Tools - Lace Border Punch, Scallop Border Punch, Corner Rounder, Designer Label Punch, Dimensionals
Accessories - Designer Buttons, Victorian Lace ribbon