Instagram Mini Album

A few weeks ago I took Kelly Purkey's Insta Moments class as part of ME + KP in NYC. During the class I didn't actually make the album though because I'm no good at scrapbooking without pictures so I simply made the pages and cover and tucked it away for a later date. The class included a kit full of Mon Ami papers and stickers. Right now you can get a great deal on that collection at Blitsy. This week I sat down with the supplies from class and a package of Basically Bare arrows. I went with the Basically Bare pack because I like to make mini albums quick, easy and cohesive.

I decided I would use a few basic techniques to alter the arrows and make sure that each technique appeared more than once for a cohesive look. I used the Basic Grey Tape Strips from the class to cover two of the arrows. You can see that I easily trimmed and tucked the edges in the photo below. I think covering the chipboard in washi would be even easier.

I decided I would also quickly alter the bare chipboard pieces with Distress Stain. I like using the Distress Stain because it is faster than paint but still vibrant. It's also super easy to stamp over. I used the Mama Elephant set I got in the workshop as well. Like many of you I get a bit nervous stamping on my only piece of a product and as you can see my stamping wasn't perfect. Never fear though, just use a thin pen to add in the line. You would never know in the final product. 

I used the same technique and a different Mama Elephant set on this yellow arrow. I love how vibrant the Basically Bare chipboard was when stained. It has a smooth and  more evenly colored surface than a lot of bargain chipboard. It's also firm enough to result in a crisp stamped image.

I also covered some of the black pieces with patterned paper from the collection. The black didn't really work in my color scheme but covering chipboard in patterned paper is a super easy way to make custom embellishments that add dimension to a project.

This album chronicles my journey into running for the first time so I'm entering it into the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge this week. The theme is journey.

Mini albums are a great way to tell a longer story and can be super quick if you limit your supplies like I did here. I hope this quick and easy album inspires you to pull out a small grouping of supplies and make fast work of an important story. Remember if you're in the market for some fabulous Mon Ami papers Blitsy has a great sale on them if you catch it in time.

Squeeze A Palooza 7 and Simon Says Anything Goes

Fresh Squeezed Stamps' Squeeze a Palooza is back and this month the theme is spring. I used Soda-lighted and some older Basic Grey Hello Luscious supplies. This is my third entry. I loved the soda bottle vase pic shared as inspiration. There's at least two chances to win but the more people who play along the more chances to win so check it out. I'm also linking this up to the Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes challenge.

Squeeze A Palooza 7 and Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes

Fresh Squeezed Stamps' Squeeze a Palooza is back and this month the theme is spring. I used The Sweet Life and some older Basic Grey Hello Luscious supplies. This is my second entry. I was already playing with the bees and I just adore them so much so another card was born. There's at least two chances to win but the more people who play along the more chances to win so check it out. I'm also linking this up to the Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes challenge.

Little Tangles and Pumpkin Spice Shop

Here is a card I made with two challenges in mind. The Little Tangles challenge is to make a love themed card preferably using Neat and Tangled stamps.  The only set I have so far is Little Bear but the sentiment and cute bear worked fab. I used Basic Grey True Love papers and added Glimmer Mist and paint to a chipboard heart. The Pumpkin Spice Shop challenge is to make a valentine so it came together easily. I'm thinking this valentine will be perfect for my aunt who loves bears. 

Basic Card Sketch 1.14.13

Basic Grey posts fabulous sketches on their site on a regular basis and very often offers prizes. This week I am playing along with a card sketch using the Lauderdale collection.

Shopping Our Stash #79

Hello! I'm so excited that it's December and I can officially start preparing for Christmas. I understand the idea of respecting the seasons and not decorating for Christmas in October but after Thanksgiving I just feel like it should be time to start. But I held off the extra week. I hung up some fabbie Christmas cards today and tomorrow I will be adding the Christmas books to the shelf at school. I can't wait for all the fun crafts with the kids. Anyway I had fun adding to my Christmas card stash while drinking from my Owlie Christmas mug this weekend. This card is for the Shopping Our Stash challenge to use up Odds and Ends. The square gems are something my mom generously picked up but I don't reach for b/c of the strange shape but I'm using up some today. The papers are Basic Grey and the stamps are Lawn Fawn and Mama Elephant. This is also for the Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes challenge. 

Little Tangles #1

Neat and Tangled makes some super cute stamps and I recently took advantage of free shipping to treat myself to this set Little Bear. I got my stamps just in time for the new Neat and Tangled challenge blog Little Tangles. The challenge is to make a card to say hello. I created this simple scene card with stamps from Little Bear and a sentiment from Lawn Fawn. Check out the challenge blog for your chance to win!

Fresh Squeezed Stamps: Happy Hexagons

I was the lucky winner of the Happy Hexagons set from Fresh Squeezed Stamps. It was a set I was really loving so I was excited to win it. 

I thought it would work great with this old Basic Grey line because they both have a really fun graphic quality. So I played around with different arrangements of hexagons on the various papers. Some of these cards could even be given to a guy which is definitely a feat for me personally.

Thanks to Fresh Squeezed Stamps for the fab set. Next up to play with the Subway Series set.

Feast with Friends

The Basic Grey blog has been posting some awesome sketches lately. Whenever I see BG papers in the clearance bin at the LSS I stock up so I'm using some older Indian Summer paper and stickers for these photos of a squash themed potluck dinner my friend hosted last fall. I followed the Basic Grey sketch from 7/23. I have the week completely off so I'm excited to craft while watching the Olympics. 

Shopping Our Stash 61: Something New

The challenge this week at Shopping Our Stash is to use something new. Of course the idea is to use your stash so this means something in your stash that you haven't used and is therefore still new. Well for me that is the Basic Grey What's Up collection. I had to have it a few weeks ago at the LSS but was waiting to get the matching embellies which arrived last week so it was perfect for the challenge. This is also for the Basic Grey Challenge blog challenge to use things with wings. I've been trying focus on making some cards for the Cards foe Heroes drives out there. In my car is a pack of cards ready to be mailed to the Lawnscaping drive which you can check out here. 

More with Perfect Sentiments

Perfect Sentiments allows you multiple entries and I have a tendency to make more than one card before I'm done playing with a set so there is a another card with some old Basic Grey and Avocado Arts Zip N By set. Some of the hearts are from other sets of theirs as well. I also used my fab Kreaxions Punch 917 to create a simple border for the bottom of my card. Remember the Perfect Sentiments challenge is Anything Goes and they are offering a fab Avocado Arts set as a prize.

Perfect Sentiments with Avocado Arts

I recently discovered Avocado Arts stamps at the Scrapbook Expo in NJ. I love their stamps because you can build scene with them and many have multiple uses. For instance the top of the hot air balloon is also used to create a globe with this set. While checking out the sneaks for the upcoming set on their blog (I'll be adding the new set to my collection as soon as its released) I found a link to a challenge they are sponsoring. The challenge is at Perfect Sentiments and is for anything goes with a double entry if you use Avocado Arts. For this card I used up some really old Basic Grey papers and the Zip N By to Say Hi set from Avocado Arts. An Avocado Arts stamp set is up for grabs so check it out!

Hello Deerie

Even after the holidays I find myself reaching for Punch 312. The snowy season has barely started where I live so why ignore the punch until next Christmas. On this card I punched the corners of a small square piece of paper to create panel for mounting my stamped images on. Combining the punched and stamped snowflakes adds extra interest and as I often do I highlighted the images with a touch of bling. I admit the colors are a little Christmas-y but I know a few people who would enjoy a winter pick me up hello like this.

Wishing You a Very Merry Christmas

I hope you're all having a wonderful holiday season and wishing you a wonderful new year! As a teacher this season has been especially busy, helping the kids prepare gifts and holiday items to share with their families. Also I've been battling a cold for well over a month. Luckily I have the next week off so hopefully I can rest up and maybe do some crafting. The card above was made with Kreaxions Punch 312 and Basic Grey Nordic Holiday.

Circle Cutter to the Rescue

I used to dread and avoid any card sketch that used circles. Before the Kreaxions Circle Cutter, I always cut circles by hand because I had never found a circle cutter I liked. However when I saw this week's CPSsketch I was not intimidated at all. My circle cutter made it super simple and the Crown Punch 611 was a perfect embellishment. I love how the standalone punches can make a quick accent that coordinates with the paper line you're using.

Die Cuttin Divas Challenge 15

Here's my card for this week's Die Cuttin Divas challenge. This week's challenge is to use a "Masculine" cut on your card! Fishing, ATV's, BBQ, etc... be sure to use masculine colors too ladies! I can't wait to see all your lovely projects this week. Also this week I'm happy to tell you there's a few new additions to the Die Cuttin Diva's DT Team and I encourage you to check out their work on the blog.

Kreaxions Challenge

I love working with products that are meant to be worked with together. Some may say its less creative, but for me this hobby is about having fun with great product and if I don't win any 'most unqiue' contests I'm ok. The Kreaxions products are all designed to work together and that makes creating a fun card element so easy to do. I simply cut two circles of the same size with the cutter. I use the star template and Punch 913 to create the fun bold red accent and it will layer onto the other one seamlessly. No guess work or recutting involved.

So based on my card today I am issuing a challenge on the Kreaxions blog. Create a project using only the papers from one coordinating collection. You can use InLinkz on the blog to post your creation and be eligible for the April prize. You get one chance at the prize for using any punch and two chances for using any Kreaxions punch! Use this link to post your creations and I can't wait to check them out.

Jingle Belles 12

Jingle Belles has a sketch challenge this week. I admit, I was at first thrown off a little by the sketch, but I went through my stash hoping to be inspired. I found the oval sticker from the Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses collection and it all came together from there.

You can see above a closeup of the little cross shapes along the side. These are from my Kreaxions Punch 913. I love that this one punch create two borders, two corners, and a little cross shape and that's before the accessories are added which open up the possibilities even more.