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!

Marks Paper Company - Yipee!

I'm so excited because today I get to say that I've been asked to join the Design Team for Marks Paper Company! Go check out their kits - not only can you get them in paper, but they also offer digital versions of their kits....which is just AWESOME for a hybrid-girl like me!

Congratulations to the other members of the Marks Paper Company Digital & Hybrid Team:

Michele Ciola

Patricia Komara

Cathy Pascual

Maggie LaMarre

Deanna Kroll

Pamela Young


We'll be joining these fabulous gals:


Jennifer Davis

Ching Tan

Beatriz Jennings

Molly Peckham

Mimi Leinbach

Pam Callaghan

Tracy Polacheck

Patty Schaffer

Marks Paper Company will be having some pretty great special events this month, starting with 25% Off All Digital Kits and a Free Digital Template Giveaway from April 1st through the 7th!

And....there's more - so check back throughout the month!

Catching Up!

I need to catch up! I've got a few projects from the past couple of months to add. I'll start with some things for Sweet Shoppe Designs:

This is an 8x8 layout made from Dani Mogstad's All You Need is Love kit. All of the papers from the kit were printed out and used to make this (non-digital) layout. I decided to frame this so I used an 8x8 shadow box - here's the framed version:

This next project was a little funky - it's a ribbon jar to hold ribbon scraps. I punched holes in the lid and decorated the front of the jar. I used Zoe Pern's Fun For Me kit. I LOVE this kit - I love all of Zoe's designs!!!

Made a little "mini-album" of sorts. It's like a tri-fold brochure with some of my favorite photos of Katie. I used Christy Lyle's High School Friends: Sweetheart kit. I loved the hanging frames in this kit - they were the inspiration for this idea.

I love the elements in Fee Jardine's Doodie Toodie kit! I thought they would look cute on a black background with a B&W photo so I made this little 6x6 layout. This was so easy - I just printed out the elements, cut them out and attached them!

I found this tin box on clearance (think I paid about a dollar for it). I painted it and decorated the front with the Good Morning Sunshine kit by Eva Kipler. This kit has amazing colors!!! I added some note paper and a pen :)

Now I've got a few things for My Creative Scrapbook. The first project was for the February Mini-Album kit:

Next is the March Mini-Album kit. I loved this kit - it featured the Bloom and Grow papers from My Minds Eye that Zoe Pern designed.

Zoe also has a digital version of this kit at SSD. I used the digital kit to make a pinwheel project that was featured in January's Simply Handmade Magazine.

Next is a "Come In/Do Not Disturb" door sign. Everything in this project is Piggy Tales, including the oval "Sliding Door" - the panel slides back and forth to change from "Come In" to "Do Not Disturb". Isn't that clever?

Lastly, I wanted to add a photo of the latest issue of Paper Crafts Magazine. Why? Well, my cake box is on the cover! This is only the second time I've been on a cover so it was a thrill to get this in the mail. Below are the close-ups of the cake boxes.

I'm feeling caught up now! I'll be back soon though because I have a new mini-album that I made with the April kit from My Creative Scrapbook - this kit is to die for so make sure to check their site the first week of April (around the 5th or so) and I'll post the album I made with it then too. Have a GREAT week!