Latest Twelve works

Posted on January 22, 2012 by daydesigns

I’m not going to bombard you with a ton of angles of these layouts or even my thought/design processes, if you want that please visit my Flickr gallery. Quickly, here are the last two layouts I’ve completed this month. If you’re keeping track, I’m up to 8 so far. Woo hoo!! Only 4 more to go to reach my Twelve goal of … wait for it … 12!!

Okay, this one is of Paige’s first taste of “solid” food.

Wasn’t she just so cute! Sigh.
This is for my Family Stories category.
The second layout is this one from Thanksgiving of 2006.

I realize that the colours look more Hallowe’en than Thanksgiving but I admit to fighting with it a bit. Anyway, this is for my Holidays category.
And now for some shots of life lately …

Greg. Poor Greg. 
This was taken on Wednesday after he came home from work because he realized he was NOT as better as he thought he was! He had come down with a flu bug the Friday before and missed most of the week because of it. I think he is finally feeling human again but it’s been a long slow recovery. I thought I was coming down with it this past Friday too but for whatever reason (maybe it was the 4 hour nap I took in the afternoon) I woke up Saturday feeling fine. Go figure! 
It’s really a good thing … you all know that Mom’s just don’t GET sick days!! 

Thursday was Paige’s skating lesson day. She complained before leaving, fought me as I put on her skates and then spent most of the lesson skating on her own while the teacher focused on skaters worse than her. Sigh!
Love the tongue though!

Oh yeah, she also spent a huge amount of time on her butt on the ice! I swear she was a better skater last year when it was completely new to her! At least she’s smiling!!

Marley and LC were very vocal cheer (or is that jeer) leaders.
Last night we got to hang out with the old Ultimate crowd. It’s so nice and familiar and easy to get together with these people. We’ve known them for (in my case) 10 – 12 years (okay, except my brother!), we’ve all gotten married relatively close together and had our kids at approximately the same time so even if we don’t see each other for months, conversations seem to start up where they left off. 
Of course, even though I took my camera, it sat unused in the diaper bag while I visited. Sometimes you have to get busy MAKING the memories rather than RECORDING them! Right?
Here is a sneak peak of what is new on my Stampin’ Up! blog – it’s a card for my niece who turns 3 tomorrow! Click the link above to see it in more detail.

Okay, thanks for stopping by. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Posted in Greg, layout, LC, Marley, Paige, Scrapbook, Twelve | Comments Off on Latest Twelve works

Sweet Shop birthday card

Posted on January 22, 2012 by daydesigns

This cute card (completely cased from a card hanging on my sample board – would give a shout out to the original designer but there’s no info on the back of that card) is for my niece Sadie who turns 3 tomorrow.

I used the new Sweet Shop DSP, Create a Cupcake and Elementary Elegance stamp sets, Whisper White, Calypso Coral and Pool Party card stock, Cupcake and Postage Stamp punches, 1/8″ Organdy Ribbon in Calypso Coral and some Dazzling Details.

You can see how the Dazzling Details on the candle flames and cherries (on the cupcakes) add just a little bit of sparkle to the card. 

This is the inside of the card using some more of the stamps from Create a Cupcake. Such a cute set!!
Anyway, now all I have to do is actually GET it to my niece!
Have a great day everyone!

Posted in Cards | 3 Comments

Sketchy Thursday layout

Posted on January 18, 2012 by daydesigns

Hmmm … I just realized that I forgot to put a title on this layout for Sketchy Thursday. Oh well.

Here is the sketch:

And my take on it.

The background paper is from the Flirtatious Specialty DSP line – a gorgeous girly line! I inked the edges in Concord Crush ink for a slightly distressed look. I used a piece of Basic Grey card stock to mat the larger photo of my youngest daughter and then put that on top of a large piece of Concord Crush card stock. I ran my Scallop Trim Border Punch along the bottom of this for a bit more detail.

I mounted this small black and white photo onto a piece of Concord Crush card stock and Silver Glimmer Paper that I cut out using the Hearts Collection Framelits Dies. Onto the card stock I stamped  the wood grain heart image from I {Heart} Hearts in Whisper White Craft ink. I love the subtle pattern it gives.

For the journalling block I used the Labels Collection Framelits Dies and sandwiched a piece of grey patterned paper from the new Twitterpated DSP line between two pieces of Whisper White card stock. (The stamped lines are a non-Stampin’ Up! stamp that I’ve had for ages.)

My embellishments were made with more of the grey patterned paper and Silver Glimmer paper which I used both the Hearts Framelits dies and the Heart-to-Heart Punch to cut out several sizes and shapes of hearts.  
In lieu of the banner detail on the sketch I used a row of hearts. I tried adding a banner here but it just didn’t seem to work with what I already had so … Sketches are really just a jumping off point anyway!

Oh, and you may be wondering about the rather glaring yellow-green apple in the middle of the journalling. Well, I am participating in an on-line class over at Big Picture Classes called Twelve. In it we were given 12 topics to scrap book about and we assigned one of (you guessed it) 12 colours to represent each topic. We were then asked to gather 12 or 13 small embellishments from our stash in each of the 12 colours. Every time we complete a layout from one of our topics we add one of these embellishments as a visual reminder to ourselves that it is a) for Twelve and b) for a particular topic. This layout is for my PEOPLE topic which I have designated as yellow-green. So … I went hunting in my yellow-green embellishment cup and found this punched out apple and knew I could use it in place of the word ‘apple’ in my journalling. Clever, no?
Well, must get this entered into the Sketchy Thursday challenge. It’s their last sketch challenge which I’m rather sad about. I’ve entered a few in the past and always enjoyed the process. I wish the design team over there all the best. Thanks for all the fun!

Posted in Christine, contests, layout, LC | 5 Comments

New products to showcase

Posted on January 14, 2012 by daydesigns

I’ve been playing a bit (lot) lately in my craft room (hole) and wanted to share some of the items that I’ve cranked out. First up are some Valentine’s Day cards using new products from the Occasions Mini and the Sale-a-Bration catalogue.

I will be sending these to 4 of my fellow ScrapHappy members for our Valentine’s Day Card Swap.
They were fun and fairly easy to do so I am thinking I may have to offer a class!

For this one I started with some Very Vanilla card stock (cut and folded to make a 5.25″ x 5.25″ card) which I inked around the edges with Poppy Parade. The patterned papers are a DSP from the upcoming Sale-a-Bration and called Everyday Enchantment. I used the new Framelits Dies Hearts Collection to cut out my hearts and edged the largest one with the 3/8″ Pleated Satin Ribbon in Pear Pizzazz. The stamped image in the centre is from Take it to Heart as well as the banner image. I used stamps from I {Heart} Hearts and Itty Bitty Bits to decorate the banner.

I played with the colour scheme on this one but the general design is identical. The ribbon I used here is Victoria 5/8″ Crochet Trim which is normally vanilla but I ran it over some Poppy Parade ink as that matched the paper better. Love how the look is completely changed! 
Note: make sure the ribbon has extra drying time before you start manipulating it or you will be left with red fingers!! 🙂
And since I had all the papers out and was in a crafty mood I created this.

This is my most favourite layout to date! It was pretty involved but I am so in love with the results I think it’s going to get framed!
I started with the HUGE rosette. I’d started making one weeks ago when my friend Sandra came over to play with all our new products. Once I saw just how big the rosette was going to be I put it aside until I could figure out how to use it. 
Well, inspiration hit yesterday! 
This is a new die for the Big Shot called Designer Rosette. Here I used the die 4 times and glued the 4 rosette quarters together to form this giant one. Then I went hunting for some paper to set it off and found myself drawn back to the Everyday Enchantment that I’d already been using. 
I had cut out this scalloped heart earlier using the Heart Framelits and tried layering a doily I’d also cut out earlier using the new Paper Doily Sizzlits Die. I liked the look and when I added a the stamped image on top I was in love. I stamped the image in Basic Grey to match the framing of my black and white photo.
This picture was one taken in December when our family went for formal portraits. I mounted it first on Sahara Sand and then on Basic Grey card stock. Then I wrapped it with some Calypso Coral 1/8″ Organdy Ribbon from the Sale-a-Bration catalogue. I affixed the bow with a matching Printed Designer Brad – the brad and the ribbon are being sold in a combo pack and they match the Everyday Enchanment DSP. Yummy! Finally I punched out a butterfly, added the date and tucked it under the bow (see below). 
A close up of the bow/brad/tag combination.

And last, but certainly not least, the title. I took some of the On Board Alphabet Soup letters, covered them with Calypso Coral ink and then put a layer of Crystal Effects over top. Love them!!
Here’s a shot showing the dimensionality of the layout. The letters look precarious but they are glued down pretty well!
Oh, and the spray you see was achieved using the Color spritzer Tool and my Basic Grey Stampin’ Write Marker. Now that I’ve finally figured out how to use it properly, it’s become a bit of a go-to tool. I love the fine mist it creates. Perfect for a slight antiqued look.
Well, there you have it. Thanks for stopping by.

Posted in card swaps | 3 Comments

OLW 2012 – Focus

Posted on January 12, 2012 by daydesigns

In the interest of not boring my family with a million pictures of my scrapbook obsession, I am going to post a few pictures here and give you a link to my Flickr gallery where you can see them all.

I’ve been finding my focus (ha, ha! pun intended!!) falling on my scrapbooking lately. I am loving this! Let me tell you, the time I’m spending in my craft room has been fun and revealing. My ‘homework’ for Twelve (Big Picture Class with Stacey Julian) has had me delving into my old pictures (which are currently spread out all over the living room courtesy of 3 curious little girls) and thinking deep thoughts. It’s kind of awesome! Greg and I were looking at old videos of Marley last night because I’ve reloaded old pictures onto my laptop. Gosh she was cute!!

Anyway, I’ve titled this post OLW so I’d better get to that!
Here are some pictures of my album so far – for more detailed shots please follow this link.

Ali asked us to use a different 4×6 photo pocket which has it’s own adhesive strip along the long side but I don’t have those (yet) so I made my own. It flips up to reveal the January photo. I’m okay with this. It’s kind of fun. The only bummer is that you don’t get a really good look at all the little cards all at once. But hey, that’s a pretty minor thing!!

In my Flickr gallery I’ve included close ups of each little card so please head on over there and check it out.
And just to prove that I’ve been focusing (ha, ha! there it is again!!) and doing some homework for Twelve, here is my first official Twelve layout.
Yes, you’ve seen this picture before. 
Yes, I will be doing layouts of Paige and Christine’s portraits too. 
No, you don’t have a say in the matter! LOL!
I’m actually submitting this for publication so cross your fingers for me! The only difference is that I added the little yellow-green metal tag after I photographed it for submission! 

The tag is a reminder that this is part of my “People” file for Twelve. If you’re taking the class you’ll understand, if not, just know that I know it doesn’t really fit but I don’t care!
On a whim, I decided to climb on board the 12 on 12 band wagon. This is where you take 12 pictures from your day on the 12th of each month. Obviously the 12th isn’t over yet so I’m not going to post any pictures but come back tomorrow (hopefully) and I’ll show you what today looked like around here. Not too exciting as Paige is home with a fever today. Poor thing! Thank goodness for wonderful neighbours who can help with the school run for Marley!
Oh, and I’ve also been working on some fun Valentines cards for a card exchange with Lain Ehman’s Scrap Happy group. I’ll be posting them on my other blog so check them out here … only not yet! Maybe later today but probably tomorrow!
That’s it for now. Thanks for stopping by!

Posted in challenges, layout, Marley, OLW - One Little Word, Scrapbook, Twelve | 1 Comment

Birthday card and notepad gift set

Posted on January 6, 2012 by daydesigns

Okay, I promised a view of the gift I made for my aunt. Here it is …

I covered a piece of thin card board (actually, a cut down cereal box) with some Cheerful Treat DSP  and then added a note pad and a pocket to contain some cards.  

Here are the cards I made. I had some fun with the products and techniques for each card.
These first two may seem occasion/gender specific but I truly believe they can be used for any number of occasions. Graduation, marriage/engagement, new job, baby, etc.

I embossed the background paper then inked the edges with Soft Suede. The sentiment was cut out using the new Framelits Label Collection and stamped with the Elementary Elegance stamp set (available soon – it’s in the Sale-a-Bration catty!) Believe it or not, the two pieces of striped patterned paper are from the same sheet of paper! See how where you cut out your label shape changes the entire look of the paper? Makes Stampin’ Up!’s DSPs so versatile.

For this card I embossed the Melon Mambo card stock and then used my 2 1/2″ circle punch to punch out the circle and half circles. The background image was created using various stamps from the Circle Circus stamp set in Melon Mambo, Blushing Bride and Concord Crush. For a little bit of sparkle I added some rhinestones. (I see that one has gone wandering … oh well, too late to fix it now!)

For this one I used my Scalloped Trim Border punch all around a piece of Lucky Limeade card stock which I then stamped in Lucky Limeade with an image from the Take It To Heart stamp set. A banner in Melon Mambo and a few pearls finished it off.

This one may be my favourite. The butterflies are cut and embossed using the Beautiful Wings Embosslit die. I added the little antenae with a Stampin’ Write marker. The curvy sentiment is from the Flight of the Butterfly stamp set.

And last but not least, I embossed the Concord Crush card stock and then rubbed some Whisper White Craft ink over the embossed image. Love that effect! The middle cut out was inked (liberally) with Lucky Limeade and an image from the Posy Punch stamp set was stamped in the middle. The Happy Birthday is popped up with Dimensionals.

To help keep things closed, I added these buttons and used some Bakers Twine to join them together.

Some Lucky Limeade Ruffled edge ribbon along the spine finishes things off.
Hope she likes it! Clicking on any of the links above will take you to my on-line store in case you want to purchase any of the products or check out pricing information. To see the new Occasions Mini, please click here.

Posted in Cards | 1 Comment

Occasions Mini Birthday cards

Posted on January 3, 2012 by daydesigns

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Hope you had a wonderful Holiday Season with your family and friends.

A few days ago, my Upline Sandra came over with her kids for a play date. Really, WE wanted to play! We’d both received our pre-order shipments from the Occaions Mini and Sale-a-bration catties and wanted to try out some of the new items. So we made sure the kids were fully engrossed in Lego or Wii and we got busy!

I have 2 aunts with birthdays coming up so I made a couple birthday cards.

This was the first one I made. I used Very Vanilla Card stock for the base and stamped it in Lucky Limeade with the butterfly image from the Sale-a-bration stamp set Elementary Elegance. The circle is punched out of Blushing Bride card stock with my 2 1/2″ circle punch. Then the flower .. ah, the flower … There is a new stamp set with matching punch in the Occasions mini that I LOVE! It’s called Mixed Bunch and the punch is called Blossom. I stamped the top image and then both punched and fussy-cut it out and mounted it on top of another punched out flower from the Twitterpated DSP (see below for a close up of the flower). I held everything together with a brad from the Sale-a-bration Everyday Enchantment Ribbon & Brad pack. 
The ribbon along the bottom of the card is the new 3/8″ Pleated Satin Ribbon in Blushing Bride and the Happy Birthday tag is cut out using the new Framelits Dies – Labels Collection.

I liked the design so much I did it again.

This time the background stamp I used is from the Mixed Bunch stamp set and I used Basic Grey ink and Baja Breeze card stock and pleated ribbon.
Hope my aunties like these cards! I also made a set of birthday cards for one of my aunts but I’ll show you that in a few days (just in case she checks!)
Thanks for stopping by. The Occasions Mini catalogue goes live tomorrow so check my website for ordering information. Sale-a-bration starts on Januray 24th. For every $60 you spend on Stampin’ Up! merchandise, you get a free item from the list.  If you are in need of some staples this would be a good time to stock up! You still have a few days to order Clearance Rack Blitz items – they go away after January 5th so act fast! These deals are A-MAZ-ING!!!
Have a good evening – see you soon!

Posted in Cards | 1 Comment