Orlando Mini Album

So as usual, I am a very infrequent blogger. Guessing no one is reading anyway so it probably doesn't matter. If you are reading, please leave a comment so I know, OK? :o)
Anyway, here is my latest creation...the long-awaited Orlando Mini Album. I say that because all the pictures are from 2007! Here is the cover page. This is a very old Rusty Pickle chipboard mini that I picked up at CKC St. Paul many years ago. I used the October Afternoon Rocket Age collection Sprinklers on all the pages. I took the spray nozzle off and dripped them on from the tube. Also used here on the cover is a tag from We R Memory Keepers (Orlando - I cut off the top hangy part), a sticker from the American Crafts Amy Tangerine sticker book, some Prima flowers from my big tube and a cloud brad from Recollections.

This second page is pictures taken on the airplane. I used the picture of the clouds in place of background paper and added some clouds stamped with my Hero Arts Studio Calico stamps and punched out with my Fiskars cloud punches. The ink is from Jenni Bowlin for Ranger. I stamped out and punched a bunch of these so I could just add them in as needed. The stickers are from the Echo Park Splash collection kit.

For this page I just cut some of the EP Splash papers into flag banners and adhered them with the ends hanging off, kind of as a photo mat. Then I added this October afternoon label sticker to the top of the picture and it was done!

Here I cut a circle with my Creative Memories circle cutter. I cut it in half and adhered it to another piece of the patterned paper. Now it looks like a sideways purse. Oh well. Then I added my photo and another EP Splash sticker.

This picture is hilarious. Here I just cut a piece of the EP Splash border paper and adhered it so it was going off the edge of the page. Then I took my craft knife and cut the excess off. More stickers from the EP Splash collection finish it off.

Here I did the same thing with the EP Splash paper across the page and a bunch of various stickers from October afternoon, Bella Blvd., EP Splash and some old ones from Scenic Route.

Here I didn't use any patterned paper, just a couple bigger stickers from EP Splash and another of my Prima flower concoctions with a Basic Grey bling in the middle. I am mad because my journaling got smeared because of the shiny sticker surface. I used a Copic multiliner figuring it would work like a Sharpie, but it didn't. Oh well, lesson learned...

Here again, I didn't use any patterned paper, just EP Splash stickers and another Hero Arts/SC/Fiskars clouds.

EP Splash patterned paper and stickers.

EP Splash stickers, AC Amy Tangerine sticker, Hero Arts/SC/Fiskars clouds. LOVE those cloud punch/stamps together. (By the way all the ink is Jenni Bowlin.)

EP Splash stickers, Cosmo Cricket tiny Type, Prima flower and Papertrey Ink button.

This is the back cover page. I just treated it like a regular page. Here is a picture of my Grandma smoking a cigarette. Wish I would have gotten one of her NOT smoking, but I wanted one of her in the album in the context of the pool part of the trip. Oh well... Again it's the EP Splash stickers, Hero Arts/SC/Fiskars clouds and a Bella Blvd sticker finishes it off (Life is Good).

Just to brag a little...I have been done with my Christmas cards for about a month already. It really feels good to be ahead of the game. Also, I got about a month behind on Project Life, but I sat down this week and got it all caught up so that feels good too. However, in the process I realized that I hadn't taken a single photo for one of the weeks. I decided to just completely leave that week out of the album. I doubt anyone will ever notice, especially since nothing apparently happened that week. :o)

I've got a lot of projects brewing in the craft room, so hopefully I will be back soon to report on them all.

See ya peeps!
Melissa

I made a tray!

Hi! I've been crafting but nothing worth posting about until now...behold - the tray!!

This is something I wanted to do for a very long time and finally was able to accomplish! The tray itself is a 7 Gypsies printers tray. The insides are from a kit designed and sold by Kerri Bradford. I absolutely LOVE her style. Recently Kerri had a giveaway on her blog and I won $50 worth of die cuts/kits from her store so I was able to grab this kit along with a lot of other amazing stuff. It is called "This & That: Family". I chose it because it isn't holiday themed so I can leave it out all the time.

The kit contains the printable background elements and the cut files for your digital die cut machine. I own the Silhouette and would recommend it highly. It also includes a photo template for use in Photoshop as a clipping mask. Everything is already sized perfectly so all you do is print, cut, assemble and you are done! Kerri's got the links from her store to the blog posts which give all the details on how to use the kit. She also has video and written tutorials on her blog. This was really helpful to me in learning to use the clipping masks in Photoshop.

This piece has taken center stage in our living room and has even inspired a new addition to the color palette around here! Let me know if you have any questions.

Until next time,
Melissa

A Birthday Card

Well, I haven't posted in a while, but have been very busy crafting! I went to a scrapbooking retreat toward the end of July and got completely caught up with the girls dance albums. I also was able to get the books separated by girl. So now each of the three girls has their own dance album! I will try to get pics of the layouts posted sometime soon.

This is a birthday card I made for my father in law. He likes birds and wildlife - and even flowers, so it was nice not to feel trapped into using something completely "manly".

It's a 6x6 card using a kraft base. The bird is a print and cut shape from the Silhouette Store, designed by Echo Park and cut with my Silhouette (love that thing!). I used thick foam adhesive to pop up the birdie. Here are the details of the products used:

Cardstock - Bazzill, Archiver's and Close To My Heart; patterned paper - Basic Grey; die cut - Silhouette designed by Echo Park; Stamp - Close To My Heart; Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black and Antique Linen Distress by Ranger; Flowers - Petaloo and Prima; ribbon - Stampin' Up.

As a fun side note, I am a huge fan of Nichol Magouirk and Kerri Bradford. I entered a giveaway on Kerri's blog for her new site launch and I won $50 worth of products from her amazing store! Yay me!!

I will try to make it back soon with more stuff to share!


~Melissa

Birthday Fun!

In case I haven't mentioned this on the blog before, I am doing Becky Higgins' Project Life. I started in January and have kept up-to-date and current with it and am very proud of myself! In addition to the regular photos I decided to add in an extra 8.5x11 layout for special occasions and other events when I have a lot of photos to scrap. I am also adding in extra memoribilia in the 8.5x11 page protectors. Other than that, I am doing Project Life (PL) really straight forward. I've seen others who are not using the products that came with it or really getting fancy, but I am just sticking to the basics. The point of getting it in the first place was to make it easy for me to keep up with documenting everyday life for our family.

This layout was done on the front and back side of an 8.5x11 pice of kraft cardstock. At the bottom of the first page I stamped the word "together" but the ink was too light and it doesn't really show up in the picture. Also, I had to re-stamp "real life" and it wasn't lined up good so it looks kinda crappy, but that's OK because I'm not perfect! The borders are up on foam adhesive.

The pictures are so funny! It was my middle daughter I's birthday, but my youngest daugher S blew out her candles without permission! The photo caught S getting ready to blow and you can see I looking at her like "she isn't about to do what I think she is, is she?". The photo on the right is my husband sticking his fishy smelling hands in her face. She hates fish and fishy smells so the look of revulsion on her face is priceless.

With this second page I just cut strips of patterned paper for above and below the photos. I also fussy cut this sentiment out of the patterned paper from Echo Park's Little Girl collection and put it up on foam adhesive.

The photos here are also funny. In the left photo S was jokingly going to "hit" I and this photo caught it all in a hilarious way. On the right, I is checking on her birthday dinner. We had ravioli, which was her choice.

Here are the products I used: cardstock - Archiver's; patterned paper - Echo Park; cardstock borders - Martha Stewart Crafts; chipboard letters - Cosmo Cricket; stamps - Technique Tuesday; ink - Tsukineko and Close To My Heart.

I have plans for a card for my Grandma next so stay tuned!!

~Melissa

I'm On A Roll!!

Wow, I'm on a roll! Another card already...and not waiting until the last minute even. Here is the Father's Day card that all 4 of our "fathers" will be getting this year. What do you think of my photography? Is it horrible? I am using a point and shoot so I know that is one disadvantage. I took the above pic in direct sunlight. The detail pic below is indirect. Well, I will keep experimenting until I figure it out. Maybe eventually I will set up some kind of special area with lights if I keep blogging regularly.

I used the Silhouette to cut the star and create the sentiment banner strip. I used the print and cut feature, so easy! I also busted out the sew mini and stitched on the woodgrain paper with red thread to tie the red star into the design. I used the Papertrey Ink Mat Stack 4 die to cut the mat out of cork paper. I have had that cork paper for at least 5 years. Isn't it funny how you can hang on to something for so long and then all of a sudden you finally find a use for it? Makes a good case for hoarding, ha ha! Also used on this card: cardstock - SU; patterned paper - My Mind's Eye, Echo Park and Cosmo Cricket; ink - antique linen distress ink by Tim Holtz; cork paper - unknown.

I have big plans to create a 8.5x11 birthday scrapbook page insert for Project Life, so hopefully I will be back soon!

Have a great day!

~Melissa

I made a card!!

Hi everybody!

Yes, I made a card. I kinda had to. My hubby is attending a graduation party for the daughter of one of his co-workers and needed me to make one. I made two since we have another grad party coming up soon. I am really happy with how it turned out. I did a sketch first and then let creativity rule from there. It's hard to see in the picture, but I used a notebook lined background stamp on the yellow mat piece with light blue ink. Kinda gives it an academic feel with the staples and paper clip.

Truth is, I made three other cards since I blogged last. Mother's Day cards. I didn't have time to photograph them (and then blog them) since I had to take them straight from my craft room to the post office!! Nothing like waiting until the last minute!

Here's what I used on the card: cardstock - CTMH; patterned paper - Scenic Route (really old!); Stamp and Ink: Hero Arts; Print & cut - Silhouette (House of 3); Dies - Papertrey Ink; staples & paperclip - Tim Holtz.

Hopefully I will be posting again soon!

~Melissa

A Layout!!

Well, I've made a bunch of stuff since I posted last, but I have a hard time getting a picture and posting it on the blog for some reason. Oh well.

This layout is a scraplift of Nichol Magouirk's "From Start to Finish" layout from March 23rd, 2011. Here's a link to her original post. When I saw this design, I couldn't get it out of my mind. I had to replicate it with my own photos and supplies. I got the photo template from Kerri Bradford (Picture That - Go Long). The papers and stickers are mostly Echo Park - Little Girl collection. I also included some Sasafrass and KI Memories. Stamps are from Hero Arts (grid background) and Technique Tuesday (Ali Edwards Simply You).

As a side note, there is one photo of my daughter sleeping with a kleenex on her face which is quite disturbing. We have no idea to this day why she did it, and she is 13 now, and doesn't remember why either. I would love to go back in time and ask her and this time - write it down!!