Contrary to popular belief...

I have NOT fallen off the face of the earth. Feels like it though, huh? Just been insanely busy for some reason. And what should one do when they're so busy they can't think straight? Of COURSE...do a major re-do of the crafting workroom. Yea. I'm out of my mind, lol! And my house is now a complete maze as I have made little piles of product everywhere while I organize everything I removed from the room and now have to figure out how to get back IN the room. Soooo not doing anything for my creative spirit, lol! Just about everything I've done in the past few weeks is off limits for the blog until after publication but I've been busy!

Now that the August issue of Scrapbook News + Review is up, I can share some of the projects I had in the July issue. Here are a few of my cards (there were more of my cards in the issue but I'm trying to figure out where I filed them on my computer, lol) :

This one is simple, using Bo Bunny papers, some Prima flowers, some Queen & Co felt, and a velvet brad.

Again, a very simple card - Prima papers and flowers, and some Target $1 spot adhesive pearls! Ooh - and this could even be considered hybrid (lol) - the words are computer generated!

This one was for a technique article on using glitter. Zsiage papers and chipboard letters, Prima flowers and loads of glitter! The article gives a quick tutorial on each of the techniques I used for making this card glittery (yea, it made my hair and house glittery as well...) Wondering why I scattered pink flowers in front with the teal ones? That's what the small flowers on the card looked like before I glittered!

I guess I really was all about the easy cards this issue! This one features Fancy Pants paper and a bunch of their stickers layered on. I even used a border sticker to add a quick embellishment to a candle to match. Cardstock stickers won't really stick to candles so I just made about a 1/2 inch overlap in the back and stuck a short straight pin in to hold it in place!

For this card I used one of my favorite quick and easy techniques. By simply cutting a chunk of paper into even strips and then lining them up with a little space between them, you retain the pattern and give it a whole new look! Love these papers from Stemma! Oh - and the candle WAS a burgundy thing that's been sitting around my house for years and years. I wanted to use it because the candle holder just looked kinda cool with the card but the burgundy just clashed. So that's white alcohol ink (Jacquard Pinata Ink) toning it down! Please note I have NO idea what would happen if I tried burning it with those inks on it. The round design makes it (in my mind, at least) an un-burnable (my invented word for the day, lol) candle anyways sooooo...I guess I'm just saying if you try this at home I'm not responsible for any sparks, fires, etc.! ;)


There were some really great cards in the July issue! If you missed it, don't despair! Subscribing now gives you access not only to the August issue, but also every back issue we've done! So that's FIVE issues now!

Don't forget the giveaway for my upcoming Blogoversary here!

Some more cards

Yea, I had a weekend where I was working on cards for Scrapbook News + Review and just couldn't stop! I think I ended up with 18 cards that weekend, I'm just not positive where they all went, lol! There are probably some in the pile on my dining room table (it's scary...) so I'll try to dig for them later. But here are a few of them anyways.

Patterned papers - Zsiage. Stickles - Ranger. Stamp - Hero Arts. Ribbon - Ribbon FX. Other - pop up adhesive by 3L.

Patterned papers - Summer Picnic Blossom and Summer Picnic Stitched Stripe from the Shabby Princess Collection by Bo Bunny. Cardstock - Bazzill. Foam letters - American Crafts. Flowers - Making Memories. Brad - Making Memories. Flower shaped brads - Making Memories. White Souffle Pen - Sakura.

Patterned paper - My Mind's Eye. Flowers - Hobby Lobby. Stamp - unknown. Rubon - Making Memories. Flower bling - Heidi Swapp. Ink - Ranger. Glossy accents - Ranger. Chipboard oval - Creekbank Creations.

Some new cards

I know, I've been a bad blogger this past week or so! With school out it's just been much harder to sit down at the computer for extended periods of time...already getting the "Mommy, I'm bored - play with me", lol! We're finally starting t settle down into more of a routine though and I've been planning lots of projects for Michael to do his own arts and crafts. So instead of that guilty feeling whenever I work on MY stuff, I get to share the time enjoying creating WITH him. It's a great thing, knowing my son enjoys getting crafty with mommy!

I have tons of things I've been working on the past few months to share as soon as I can get them all photographed and written up so stay tuned! To start, here are a couple of the cards I sat down and made recently (LOTS more, but most are for upcoming issues of Scrapbook News + Review!). Both were done with the Starr Brights II collection (designed by Jen Starr) from Zsiage. I have to admit - when I first saw this line I wondered how I would ever create anything with it! Totally out of my element (hello, I'm SCARED of orange, lol!). When I sat down with it to make the Scrap-O-Dex for my mom, I found myself falling in love with the line. Pulling out my Xacto knife opened up a whole new world for me with just this one sheet of paper (Dutch Garden). Taking that busy, busy sheet and pulling out elements one or two at a time gives sooooo much to work with!



This first card uses a background of Peony paper and just a few elements cut from the Dutch Garden paper. I cannot stress enough how much easier it is to make detailed cuts like this on a glass mat rather than a self-healing one! I used Zsiage chipboard letters (1.5" Monica font) covered in Frosted Lace Stickles from Ranger and added the Stickles also to anything white in the cutout pieces. Except for drying time, the card still only took about a half hour, with a lot of that time spent just rearranging the pieces until I liked the arrangement.



This next one used the Dutch Garden paper as the background, with a few elements from the Lida paper. I used my Making Memories ribbon slot punch to make the slots to run the strip of paper through. The chipboard letters are Zsiage again, in 1.5" Prim and Proper font. I covered them and also edged different elements using a Sakura glaze pen. It wasn't until it dried that I discovered how different of a purple it turned out though. I also used an Xacto to cut int the patterned paper to slide the smaller element right into the design.

Don't think you can use an Xacto knife? I promise - get a glass mat (or make one - I use a piece of glass I've covered the edges of with electrical tape!) and just play. You will NOT regret honing this skill once you find all the things you can do with it! All your patterned papers will take on a whole new meaning when you can cut big or small elements out to change things up. I am probably the only paper crafter in the world who has not yet given in to the home die cut machine craze, but having discovered the versatility my simple Xacto knife gives me I'm still not tempted! Oh! And one more tip - this is not the place to skimp on blades. Buy them in bulk (you can get 50 or 100 packs at most craft stores - check the drafting aisles) whenever you have a coupon to burn. I change my blades OFTEN. It really makes a difference to have a super sharp blade.