Friday, February 25, 2011

Freebie Friday!


One of my all-time favorite designers at Jessica Sprague is Nisa Fiins, owner of Splendid Fiins. Her digi-kits are chock full of color and playfulness--and many of them feature her own whimsical sketches. (I also swoon when she releases new photo masks!) Nisa is today's featured designer and not only are all of her amazing products 25% off through the weekend, she has also created a fab kit called "Sampler Platter" that you can pick up here for FREE! You will love how versatile it is--I used it yesterday to create this little layout of my son and his two besties:


Have a great weekend!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Mouse Paper Scissors

So, Jessica and Heidi's class "Mouse Paper Scissors" started this week and I am having so much fun! I love that these two amazing women joined forces to bring this great hybrid class! Most of the projects require printing out digital goodies and creating art that you can touch and feel (which I do miss sometimes with straight digi crafting). One of my favorite parts of the class is that Jess and Heidi put together a box of supplies for each student...and there is almost nothing I love more than a box FULL of crafting goodness! I mean, that is truly one of life's greatest pleasures, as far as I'm concerned!

I had to take a picture because there were so many treasures in there, including Glimmer Mist, Glam, new House of 3/Pink Paislee paper, a mirror with an easel...and then the sweetest little tag with a note:



Hope you're having a great week! Can't believe tomorrow is Friday (and next week is March)!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Echo Park Goodness!

I just love Echo Park's style: lots of great, vibrant colors and tons of fun embellishments! This week they released their "Little Girl" line at Jessica Sprague's site. I have to admit I squealed just a bit when I saw this kit...it is just so, well, girly! (And there are 27 different patterned papers in the line!) I know it is a kit that I will keep going back to, especially with spring on the horizon! Click here and here to check it out!


Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Amazing weekend!

We had so much fun celebrating Suzanne's 40th birthday this weekend! Kim, Suz and I hunkered down in our hotel room from 3pm on Frday night until 1pm on Sunday afternoon, scrapping our brains out! We ventured out just a few times for a quick supply run and some sustenance. Kristie and Debbie were able to join us for a few hours as well and made the celebration that much more fun! I got a ton of things done, including my first project for "The Scrapbook Page" and some canvases for my cousin's engagement party. We try to have these scrap weekends 3-4 times per year, and I am always a bit sad when they end. I look forward to the time with just the girls so much!

Here are some photos from our weekend:


The birthday girl! I've been friends with Suzanne for 20 years, and honestly--the girl does not age! She looks amazing, just like she did when we were sorority sisters at KU!


YUM! We worked on these all weekend! Kim picked them up for us at a fabulous cupcakery--we had peanut butter and chocolate, red velvet, raspberry lemonade, chocolate with sour cream icing, chocolate cheesecake and good ol' vanilla.


Here's Kim scrapping away. Don't you just love the fabulous hat that she made? She is so talented! Kim is the next of our group to turn 40! (Girls, we need to get that weekend on the books!)


Kim, Kristie and Suzanne late on Saturday night. Just look at this poor hotel room! When we move in with our scrap goodies on Friday night, we flat out MOVE IN! There is stuff everywhere, but we wouldn't have it any other way!


Suz and I...just LOVE this girl! Amazing friend, mom, wife, person! Looking forward to the next 20 years of friendship with you!









Friday, February 18, 2011

Where Women Create, she ART, and a crafty weekend!

Many of you may already know Christy Tomlinson--she owns Scarlet Lime which has monthly scrapbooking kits, as well as darling jewelry kits. I had the good fortune to meet her in person at Spark last September and she is doll. Yesterday, she introduced a new shop to Scarlet Lime: Mixed Media! You really need to go check it out...great vintage paper kits, fabric kits, canvases and even her favorite doodling pen! She allowed those of us signed up for her upcoming "she ART" class the opportunity to shop early and I have to admit I went a little nuts!

What is "she ART"? It is a fabulous new 3-week online class Christy is teaching starting Feb 28th. Her canvas art is A.MA.ZING. Check out this little beauty she created this week:



See what I mean? LOVE.

The class is very reasonable at $35...but the "Where Women Create" blog is giving away THREE spots in her class today! You can also read a bit about Christy and how she and her husband turned a hobby into a full-time job they now enjoy together. You must check it out. Please join me--it's going to be so much fun! (You might also want to watch a little video Christy put together about the class...she is just so cute.)

Finally, I am so excited about this weekend! Three of my besties and I are spending the weekend at a hotel here in town and are going to get our scrap on until Sunday afternoon! Can I get a WOOT WOOT? No kids, no husbands, no cooking, cleaning, giving baths...whew! I have my car chockablock full of everything I could possibly conceive of creating this weekend and now I am just counting the hours until we can check in! Does anyone else have big weekend plans? Thanks so much for stopping by!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

From bored to ADORED!

I saw a little tutorial earlier this week from a gal who took an old, flat wooden clock and covered it with paint chips she had gotten from various trips to the hardware store. (As is par for the course, can't find the post!) The finished product was amazing and it looked great in her kitchen. Her new fab clock got me thinking about a clock that I bought about 10 years ago, thinking it was country cool (oxymoron?). It has been stashed in a kitchen cabinet for about 8 of the last 10 years. I have almost given it away several times, but let's be honest...who would want it?? I wish I had an actual "before" picture, but this is a close approximation:


Seriously. This hung above the fireplace in our hearth room at one point.

My take on the project was to cut strips of aged paper out of an old book and simply mod podge it to the face of the clock. I was amazed at how easy it was--I bet I spent 20 minutes total placing the strips, and then another 5 minutes the next morning trimming the excess paper after it was dry. And voila:





It's no museum piece I know, but it saved that rooster from becoming landfill! It is now resting comfortably on a ledge in our breakfast nook:



Thanks so much for stopping by!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Material Girl!

Cosmo Cricket just released Material Girl digitally and I am loving it! It is a really fun line, with a vintage feel (which I L-O-V-E love!) and lots of sewing references. I mean, look at this yumminess (just click on the pics to check them out on the Jessica Sprague site):





I made a little hybrid card that I will probably use at Mother's Day for my mom. She is an amazing seamstress so this line is right up her alley! {On a side note, I can't wait to show you the UNBELIEVABLE purse she just finished for me. It is a beautful Amy Butler pattern, using Ty Pennington's new chartreuse and gray fabric line...OH.MY.GOODNESS! If I am lucky, she'll send it to me this afternoon!}


Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Fun News!

I am so very excited to announce that I have been chosen to join the design team for our fabulous LSS in Shawnee, KS: The Scrapbook Page! I am thrilled to be able to work with the latest and greatest products and create little goodies for the store. This will definitely satisfy my need to create with my hands, as opposed to just digitally. :) I met with the owner, Carolyn, today and she is just as sweet as can be. I know I am going to love working with she and her husband!

Take a peek at their website and blog--if you are local here in KC, they have an amazing class schedule and all of the most current manufacturers and product lines.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

V-Day Cards


 

So these are Kendall's Valentine's Cards this year--I think they are hilarious! They really look like she is holding a lollipop. I found this idea on another blog and am kicking myself because I cannot for the life of me remember whose blog it was. (I apologize profusely to the gal with the original idea!)

They are so incredibly easy to make! I took Kendall out on the deck and asked her to pose with one hand out like she was holding something (ummm...like a lollipop!). I added the text and the Foto Frame by Splendid Fiins in Photoshop, printed the picture out on cardstock, punched a hole on either side of her little hand and added the lollipops!

Hope you're having a great week!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

My Girl

My daughter is such a sweet girl...she is almost 4 and I ask her almost everyday if she'll just stay little for me. (She always says no! Darn!) I took her to a play this weekend and needed to go to the restroom during intermission. She did not need to go, but I clearly wasn't going to leave her outside so I asked her to please come in with me. She grabbed my hand and said, "Sure, Mommy. Do you want me to come in because you're afraid?". I just wanted to kiss her sweet little face off. LOVE.HER.

I've had this sweet photo that my Aunt Pam took two years ago at my cousin Carly's graduation and have been waiting to use it in a project. So on Saturday, I made a b&w copy of it (just in case! :)) and put together a fun little mixed media canvas with it. I really like how it turned out. Very girly, just like her!

Thanks so much for looking!




Friday, February 4, 2011

Before and After!

I've been reading crafty blogs all over the internet where these talented women are refinishing/redoing/repurposing/upcycling decor in their homes with simple spray paint! I think it is sheer brilliance and is certainly an inexpensive way to change goodies you already have in your home! I have had this little set of drawers since 1997--before my Kent and I got married! At the time, pine was in and I loved the little metal pulls. Trends have changed, as have my tastes,  so this little treasure has been shoved in the back of the butler's pantry (since 2002 or so). I have been tempted to give it away several times, but thankfully never did.



So, earlier this week, while perusing the web, I started thinking about outdated things I own that I could refinish and dug this back out. I am LOVING turquoise right now so I spray painted the wood--it took several coats, but turned out great! Once it was dry, I sanded the edges for a shabby, worn-in look. Then I removed the outdated drawer pulls and covered the fronts of the drawers with some of my favorite paper from Pink Paislee's "Bayberry" collection. I just mod podged the paper on (thst stuff is MAGIC!) and, again, sanded the edges a bit. Then I picked up some sweet little glass pulls at Hobby Lobby for $2.99 each, had Kent drill some holes for me, and **VOILA**! A fun little updated set of drawers for the table in my entryway! I am lovin' it!




WARNING: This spray painting business is VERY addictive! **wink**

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Now that's some SNOW!

Like much of the country today, we experienced some seriously heavy snowfall here in KC! I bet we got 10-11 inches today, plus 40 mph winds which caused the snow to drift and become much deeper in some areas. I'm ready to snuggle in with the kids on Wednesday. Actually, I'm trying to think of some things to do to keep them entertained all day without losing my mind! Maybe some cookies, some crafts, a movie...

This was the view from my front door this afternoon:




When Kent got home this evening, he dug our tiny 5 lb dog, Zoe, two little paths in the backyard so she could get out to go potty! Otherwise the snow was way taller than she was. Totally cracked me up!


Hope you're warm and safe this evening. On nights like this I feel so fortunate to have a home and am praying that our homeless are able to find shelter as well. God Bless!
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