New Stuff....

Just got back from a week in Chicago - one of my most favorite cities to visit! So fun and so many great things to do there!

I've got a few projects to share but first I wanted to tell you to make sure you go over to The Hybrid Chick where we are celebrating Christmas in July!

Lots of great projects there so make sure to check it out!

I've got a few projects for Sweet Shoppe Designs to share:

If you'd like to see the credits for these projects, you can visit my SSD Gallery :)

Have a GREAT week!

A Chance To Win!

Don't forget to head over to The Hybrid Chick for a chance to win the altered picture frame I've got up for our online baby shower! All you need to do is leave a comment at the bottom of the "Altered Picture Frame for Baby" post and you'll be entered in the drawing. Hope you'll stop by and enter!

A few new things to share :)

I've got a few new projects finished that I wanted to share. The first few are for Sweet Shoppe Designs. I LOVE this project, I love the way it turned out in the end and it actually ended up being quite simple and quick. It all started with this project I saw on Paper Source. It's a kite! It's pretty big too. I have it hanging on the door of my craftroom and it makes me smile when I walk in :) The photo does not do the kite justice, I couldn't get a good photo because of the size. Also the tail of the kite looks black in the photo but is actually brown.

These are firecrackers made from Life Savers candy. I just removed the existing cover and re-wrapped them with digital papers that I printed. I wrapped ribbon around them prior to wrapping the paper.

Last from SSD is quick card I made for Father's Day:

If you'd like to see the credits for the projects above, you can go to my SSD Gallery here for the info.


Here's another card, this was for Marks Paper Company. The card slides out of the top (sort of hard to see that) and this is another example of colors getting funky with the camera - the flower in this matches perfectly with the greens and purple in the papers but looks totally off in the photo....can't figure that out.

Last is a mini-album that I made for My Creative Scrapbook. I'm sad that this will be my last project with them as I had to resign. Just not enough time to get it all done so something had to go :(

ATTENTION - YOU CAN'T MISS THIS:

All this week and next week we are having a Baby Shower at The Hybrid Chick. The projects/tutorials are AWESOME, but what's best of all is that you get to win some really great prizes! I made an altered picture frame that I'll be giving away on June 25th (can't show it to you now so you'll have to go check it out then ;) but there are some many fun prizes and all you have to do to win is leave a comment on the blog post!!! How easy is that??!! And, if you post a link on your blog, Facebook or Twitter - you will get entered for a second chance to win!

Come check it out!

That's all for now! Have GREAT weekend!

Postapolooza! Tons of projects to share!

I have been soooo busy lately...but not too busy to get some crafting done :) So I'm catching up my blog today!

First off, Marks Paper Company. They've got a new kit out called English Garden and it. is. beautiful. Here are a few things that I made with English Garden:

This is a mini-album that I made from the English Garden Add-On Printables:

I also managed a few Digital Layouts with the English Garden Digital Kit:

Still Marks Paper Company, here are a few things with the Old Fashioned Courtship kit. This is a wooden tray that I painted and altered:

I also made a little Pinwheel Bouquet:

And lastly is the August Kit - this started off as a bookmark but got a little bulky to function as a bookmark so it turned into a tag :)

And I made this notepad with a matching pen (actually it's a push pencil - Target's $ section always has these in packs - they are soooo easy to cover with paper!)

I've also got some new things that I did for Sweet Shoppe Designs. If you want any info on the kits used in these projects below, you can look here at my SSD Gallery - this will give you the names of the kits.

This is a little cupcake box I made. Since I didn't have any real cupcakes I decided to make a fake one :) I made the cupcake out of a styrofoam ball that I painted pink and glittered. I made a cupcake wrapper to hold the "cupcake" and added a red pom-pom to the top.

Here's a sign I made for my laundry room. It says "Laundry" at the top and "Loads of Fun" at the bottom :)

This kit, called Lil' Stinker, it so cute. I just loved the colors in this. I made a little gift bag with it:

We hosted a pool party for my daughter's class last weekend. Here are the invitations I made (I edited the info here for obvious reasons). I packaged them in a clear bag with a squirt gun. I used clear return address labels to print the children's names to put on the squirt guns.

Here's another project for Sweet Shoppe Designs, this isn't in my gallery because it was in the past issue of Simply Sweet Magazine (you REALLY need to check it out if you're into digital or hybrid!!!) This is a Family Planner. I made it trifold to hold all sorts of stuff - when you open it there is a calendar held by clear photo corners (so you can change it out each month) and a page that has a pocket made from a clear page protector to hold things (I have some photos there). Then when you open it again, there is a notepad in the middle - held on with a binder clip and another pocket page - this one holding a "Things To Do" list, some change, etc.

Last, but not least, I have a tutorial up at The Hybrid Chick (aka - the best place on the web for hybrid projects and ideas).

Whew! I think I got it all!

*****Warning - I'm going to vent here (I'm not a "complainer" type of person but this has me so upset!):

I also put my projects up on my online gallery but I have been SO sad the past several weeks because something bad happened to my gallery at ImageEvent - all of my photos got all mixed up and out of order but the worst was that about 200 images got deleted - they are GONE! I don't know what ImageEvent did, but that was devastating to me - not to mention that I PAY for that gallery! So after begging for help via phone and many e-mails, I finally asked for a refund on my gallery and then miraculously got a response:

Dear Cindy,

We are looking at this right now, we have engineering looking at this. We have your request on high priority. We will get back to you shortly on this. We apologize about this delay.

Thanks, Jay

That was March 18th. Have I heard back from them? No. But I'm still e-mailing them asking what is going on - they just aren't answering me back. This isn't the first time I've had problems like this from them (this is the worst though) so I'm looking for a new online gallery. If you have any recommendations, please let me know! I'd prefer a pay-site, so there are no ads and I can customize the gallery. I HATE to start over but when one of the things you pay for is customer service and they totally let you down when you really need it, its time to go.

Feeling all caught-up and vented now! Time to start the new week (still can't believe it's already June!!). Have a great one!

Stampin' Out Alzheimer's

See the widget at the top of my blog? I'm asking (begging) you to donate - 100% of the proceeds will go to the Alzheimer's Association. But there is much more....
My friend Jen is hosting "Stampin' Out Alzheimer's" next week (May 25-31) and I HOPE you will join this important event!!! Like Jen's father, my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's about 5 years ago (you can see her photo in the post below). This is a terrible disease that affects everyone involved and there is no cure. For a $5 donation (or more if you'd like), check out Jen's blog {here} to see what this fun, yet important event will hold. I know there will be lots of scrapping, prizes and inspiration for all types of paper crafters. Please invite your friends too! I hope to see you there!

Mother's Day

The May kits are up at My Creative Scrapbook! Since May is the month of Mother's Day I decided to make my album in honor of my Mom - and she's a great Mom too! I hate being so far from her :(

This kit features Little Yellow Bicycle's "Zinnia" Collection and, as always, Pam did an awesome job of selecting some great embellishments to go along with it! On the third page of my album, I made a little photo book (its the one that has "Memories" on it). Not sure if the photos made sense so thought I'd explain it. I guess its a mini-album within a mini-album.

Today I am grinning from ear to ear because yesterday the gals over at The Hybrid Chick asked me to join them! And I said YES immediately! I have been head-over-heels in love with their blog since I first found it and have wanted to try every project they put up - there is some SERIOUS inspiration there! Go subscribe to it NOW - you won't want to miss a single entry!!!

Lastly, I have some business to take care of....I used Random.org to generate a number for the SEI papers and embellishments blog candy I had up and got #10, which would be: Miz. Mason. So, I'll post a message on your blog to e-mail me so I can get your address.

Happy Tuesday!

Marks Paper Company and some Blog Candy!!

Pamela and I have some new projects up on the Marks Paper Company Blog this week. I have a trinket box that I made using the August Digital Kit. You can find more info and details here on the blog, if interested.

Stacy has also put up a SNEAK PEEK of the upcoming English Garden release on the Marks Paper Company site. I got to see a BIG sneak peek and let me tell you....it is AMAZING!!!! I can't wait for this to come out!!!

When I was coming on this morning to make this blog post, I noticed on my Blogger Dashboard that this will be my 100th blog post - I actually thought I've had more posts than that - lol, but anyway - I think I'll celebrate by giving out some blog candy :) I just happen to have a new assortment pack of SEI Oasis papers - this contains 24 sheets of cardstock:

• 12 sheets of beautiful double-sided foil cardstock
• 6 sheets of double-sided pattern cardstock
• 6 sheets of double-sided textured cardstock, plus
• two sets of coordinating stickers

Plus, I have a set of Oasis Rub-On Words and a set of Oasis Die Cuts Accents to go with it.

So... just leave me a comment and I'll randomly pick a winner one week from today (that'll be May 5th). I'll post the winner and e-mail them to get their mailing address - if you're posting anonymously, make sure you leave a way for me to get a hold of you OR make sure you check back on May 5th!!

Have a GREAT week!

Fun With Felt

I made another felt project the other day. I've made some felt creatures for my daughter in the past - some from patterns and some from pictures that she draws (she'll draw a creature and we'll create a pattern to bring it to "life"). She had drawn an owl and wanted us to make that one into a stuffed animal, so instead of creating it free-hand I was sure I could find a pattern online, and I did - right here. I enlarged this pattern 150%, which made it approximately 7" tall. Normally she helps but I made this one myself while she was at school. Here's what I came up with:

I've also got a little project I did for Sweet Shoppe Designs. I made a cover to go over a giant lollipop using the "With Sugar" kit by Tracy Reed. This kit was PERFECT for this project!

And speaking of Sweet Shoppe Designs, you have GOT TO check out the NEW publication Simply Sweet Magazine!

"Sweet Shoppe Designs proudly presents Simply Sweet Magazine. In the debut issue of our in-house idea digest, our team tackles a subject close to everyone's heart, Home & Family. Not only is Simply Sweet packed with gorgeous layouts and inspiration featuring Sweet Shoppe products, you'll also want to think of this issue as your go-to guide for creative ideas that will get you scrapping pages for your loved ones, which you may not have thought to scrap otherwise. "

Oh, and you can't miss this....

What to WIN some yummy Marks Paper Company kits????? Check out the MPC Blog right here to see the "Grow a Flower" blog challenge.

The winner will receive a set of each of the Marks Paper Company paper collections (August and Old Fashioned Courtship), Digital Kits for both lines and a sponsored prize by Short Cuts - SheetLoad of Cards, which includes five (5) each of Clear and Frosted Card Blanks (10 pcs), five (5) each of Clear and Frosted Full Sheets (10 pcs), two (2) each of Gift Card Holder Folders in white, ivory, kraft and black (8 pcs). Total retail value for this prize package is $30.00. In addition, your winning project will be featured on the Marks Paper Company Blog and in our monthly newsletter! Hurry - this contest ends August 29th!

That's all for now - Have a SUPER day!

The April kits are up at My Creative Scrapbook and they are FABULOUS!!! I love all of the mini-album kits that Pam puts together but this month has to be one of my favorites! I made a "Home is the Heart of Us" album:

I've got lots of photos! Here is the cover:

On each page inside the album I decided to make a door that opens with a photo of each of us behind it.

I also make a little keychain album to attach to the bigger album with some of the left-over embellishments:

Make sure to check the April kits out! Also check out the incredible layouts and cards made by the other members of the MCS Design Team! Those girls ROCK!

Happy Easter!

Marks Paper Company - Gift Bag

I've got a new project up on the Marks Paper Company blog today. I made this gift bag with the Old Fashioned Courtship Digital Kit. I LOVE the papers in this kit and also love the fabric-look texture they have. I decided to add fabric to my project to compliment the texture in the papers so I used fabric as the "tissue paper" inside the gift bag and also added a bow made from fabric and burlap. I made a "window" by cutting out the front of the bag and adding a transparency that I printed the flower graphic on.

Don't forget that the digital kits at Marks Paper Company are on sale until 4/7/09 - so head over ASAP for a great deal!

A few quick projects

Today I have a couple of really quick and easy projects - the first is an Easter Goodie Bag. I used a brown paper lunch bag, cut a few eggs and grass to add to the front, folded the top of the bag down and added a strip of paper and a bit of twine and tied the letter "E" for Easter to the top.

I used the Garden Party Kit by ScrapKitchen Designs from Sweet Shoppe Designs.

Next I have a quick card that I also made for Sweet Shoppe Designs. This was made from the Grass Stains Kit by Shawna Clingerman. The flower and leaves embellishments were printed from the digital kit and cut out. I just added a little ribbon and stitching.

That's all for now! I have a few projects that I've finished up for Marks Paper Company that I'm waiting to post once I get the "go ahead" so hopefully I'll get those up in the next day or so. Have a GREAT weekend!