design by diana

imaginisce monthly challenge

2012-02-01T05:00:00.000-05:00

I am so excited! Not only am I revealing a monthly challenge page for imaginisce, but it is also my first sketch for them. That's right, as promised, I am still supplying sketches for you to play along with even though Sketchy Thursdays is no longer an active challenge blog.

I do hope that you'll be able to find a moment this month and play along with us at imaginisce. Use the sketch I made as well as including 3 pattern papers and 3 embellishments, and then link up your entry. Easy peasy!

For my page, I used a combination of Sole Sisters and Happy Harvest collections. The picture of Nate is one of my favorites. It's so unlike him not to smile for the camera, but having a mustache is serious business. I had bought this mustache at Party City for his advent calendar, and when he got it, he just thought it was the funniest thing.

Here is the sketch that is over at imaginisce. Stop on by to see what the other girls on the DT made using the sketch. There's plenty of inspiration to get you started!

Thanks for stopping by to see my page and my sketch. And I hope you week is going well so far!

New Ruffled Blooms {and a giveaway}

2012-01-31T15:33:00.003-05:00

I'm currently taking custom orders in addition to what is in the shop. Email me at dianadesigns [at] rochester.rr.com with your idea and I'll make it happen!

Also, you now have the option of telling me how you want your ruffled bloom. Place the order through Etsy and in the notes section you can specify bobby pin, alligator clip or pin. If you are interested in a headband or something more detailed, convo me! (Did you know any Ruffled Bloom can be made into a Shaggy Bloom? LMK if you want the other style!)

GIVEAWAY!

Leave a comment here telling me you shared my Etsy shop or this blog post on Facebook, Twitter or your own blog, and you'll be entered to win 2 Ruffled Blooms of your choosing. Keep them both for yourself or share with a friend!

Example Tweet or Facebook post:

Win 2 Ruffled Blooms of your choosing from Design by Diana @dianajfisher Share to win! Details: http://bit.ly/wNnW2M

You have until Feb 7th to share and comment to win! Thanks for helping me spread the word about my new Ruffled Blooms patterns and colors!

Hey there, cupcake!

2012-01-28T19:50:00.000-05:00

Hi there! I spent some time this weekend playing around with some cards. I love the kraft-on-kraft look for this one. And (tragedy!) I'm down to my last 2 kraft doilies from Maya Road. I'm already planning on hoarding them. Or I could just get more (LOL)!

For this card, I am playing along with The Kraft Journal and Challenge #55: Tie It Up.

Thanks for stopping by to see my card.

Winter CHA 2012 {must-haves}

2012-01-27T05:00:00.000-05:00

So here it is again — that time for the CHA reveals. I've been furiously keeping tabs on the new lines to see where the trends are this time around. I love the bright colors, and love the mix of patterns and colors. Chevron is running rampant, and I'm pleased that woodgrain and clouds still have their place in our hearts. Hexagons and houndstooth are eye candy, too, for sure.

Here are just some of the individual items that have caught me eye, not in any particular order.

Twenty three by Cosmo Cricket

Studio Calico

Chevron Mask - Studio Calico

Studio Calico kraft papers

Jillibean Soup - Game Day (love this line!)

Jillibean Soup - more Game Day (have to have this!)

itty bitty by Unity (this is adorable!)

Paper clips from Maya Road

My Mind's Eye Be Amazing (it IS amazing!)

MME 6x6 papers for Be Amazing

My Mind's Eye Be Happy buttons (need these for sure!)

MME Be Happy 6x6 papers (I can already see the cards I'd make!)

Jillibean Soup Labels (these sayings are the best!)

Studio Calico

Studio Calico stamps

Jillibean Soup alpha (available in tons of colors)

So there you have it! Basically this could be my Mother's Day shopping list once it's all released. Which of these are on your must-have list? Are you going to CHA? Stop by these booths and take a peek at some of these new items.

Thanks for stopping by today to see my "shopping" list.

Introducing {Remember This}

2012-01-26T05:00:00.001-05:00

The February kit for Scrapbook Circle, Remember This, is ready and it is chock full of the latest and greatest you'll be seeing at the Winter CHA.

It has:

Echo Park A boy’s Life Energetic

October Afternoon Farmhouse Kitchen Cupboard

October Afternoon Sasparilla Stagecoach

Crate Paper Heart Love Letter

Crate Paper Heart Delivery

My Mind’s Eye Follow Your Heart Geo Star

My Mind’s Eye Follow Your Heart Honey Blue

My Mind’s Eye Follow Your Heart Be the Best

My Mind’s Eye Follow Your Heart Societe

My Mind’s Eye Be Happy Adorable

The included embellishments are:

October Afternoon Farmhouse Flour Sack

Crate Paper Farmhouse Alpha Sticker Sheet

Whisker Graphics Chevron Aqua Bag

Whisker Graphics Chevron Yellow Bag

Set of 8 Elle’s Studio Collected Tiny Tags

Elle’s Studio Lil Snippets Treasured

Whisper Graphics Large White Tag

Bird Silhouette Stickers

My Mind’s Eye Be Amazing Button Card

Scrapbook Circle Printable

Yellow Twine

Is this not the best kit you've ever seen?! The DT is just starting to dig into it, and it is going to be amazing! I'll be back here soon with layouts from the kit to share with you. I'm sure I'll be making so much with this one!

Scoop one up soon! These are sure to sell out fast. And check out the additional Be Amazing add-on for February, too. YUM!!

Wordless Wednesday {ruffled blooms}

2012-01-25T05:00:00.000-05:00

I've been working with some new patterns and colors for my Ruffled Blooms. If you're interested in any of these, I'm opening up orders. Send an e-mail to dianadesigns [at] rochester.rr.com, and I'll get one shipped off to you right away!

Thanks for stopping by to see what I've been up to.

Wreath in progress

2012-01-24T05:00:00.000-05:00

Hello! Today I am sharing with you a wreath I made. I tied muslin strips to a wire wreath frame, resulting in this style of wreath.

And now I don't know what to do with it! LOL. One part of me loves the simplicity of the muslin. The other part of me is dying to add a few pops of color.

Here is a picture of the back of it where you can see all of the knots that secured the strips to the wire frame. I loves this, too. It reminded me of a rug.

I'm pretty sure that the "pop of color" option is going to win me over eventually. I'm thinking red for Valentine's Day. If I do add to it, I'll have to post an update here.

For now, let's vote! Write in your comment which you would do: Leave it as it is or add in a pop of color. I would love to know which way gets the most votes.

Thanks for stopping by (and for leaving a vote, too). Have a lovely day!

Simply poppin'

2012-01-23T05:00:00.000-05:00

Hello! Hope everyone's Monday is going fabulously.

I was a little late to the new ScrapFIT schedule, so I'm playing catch up here. This layout is for the current challenges over there:

• Workout #60 - Its The Simple Things

• Weekend Warm-Up #23 - Kraft card stock

I am also playing along with Frosted Designs sketch challenge #32. It is sponsored by Paper Issues, a store I personally love and run by a crafty chick I totally adore!

These pictures are from New Year's Eve when we broke out the new popcorn maker my mom and stepdad sent to my husband for Christmas. Nate could not believe that those little kernels become popcorn. Guess we've spent too long eating the microwave kind, eh?!

Sometimes it's the simplest things that mean so much. It really was the highlight of the evening for him.

If you have some time, stop by the above mentioned blogs and get crafty. And thanks for stopping to see my layout!

Using photo challenges

2012-01-22T05:00:00.000-05:00

Some of you know that I got a new Canon EOS T2i for Christmas this year (thank you, best husband ever, for surprising me with that). After a few days of using it in the auto and other pre-set settings, I started to explore the Manual option. I am so hooked on manual!

And now I am determined to get really good at this. I started a Pinterest board for tutorials, tips and tricks. I also started hunting down other photo bloggers and challenges for inspiration.

I'm excited for the challenges. It gives me a definite time period and a skill to concentrate on. I like having that extra pressure of not putting it off, and I love the sharing aspect.

TwoPeas had a Shallow Depth of Field challenge this week and here is my final photo for that challenge.

I am really happy with how it turned out. Especially since I had a five year old modeling for me.

Do you have any recommendations for photo challenges to send me? Leave the URLs in the comments section! Thanks for stopping to see my photo today!

Thank you card set

2012-01-19T05:00:00.000-05:00

Hi there. I made this set of thank you cards for a friend this week. I used the Card Patterns sketch #148 (condensing the lines in the back to more of a strip rather than bars all the way across).

Love this little flower stamp?! It is new from the Sole Sisters line at imaginisce. I can tell you that I already know I'll be using this one a lot. Such a versatile stamp for card makers.

Here are pictures of the whole set all together.

Thanks for stopping by to see the cards I made. I am having so much fun with the new Sole Sisters line.

Sole Sisters reveal {imaginisce}

2012-01-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited for my first reveal as a DT member for imaginisce. When I got the Sole Sisters collection, I immediately loved the stamps and stickers. And, being a scrapbooker of a boy, I am happy to share with you how you can make this collection work for a boy, too.

Here are some of my creations using Sole Sisters.

Here is my boy page using a very girly line. Some of the pattern papers are just fun! They reminded me of "party fun." Lots of polka dots and stripes. Just love 'em!

Here is my girly page, but I have to laugh because there are guys in it. The guys are Dave and Bob, the CEO and the Sales Manager for NextStepU. They won't mind. This page has all of the corporate office staff in it. We are quite the fun crew, so I had plenty of pictures to work with.

What I couldn't believe, was that this was the first page I'd made about the NextStepU peeps. Just love this gang. There is nowhere else I'd want to spend my work days!

(The Paper Variety wants to see a paper creation using fan-fold embellishments, and I included one on this layout. If you'd like to play along, head on over to their blog for more info.)

I also made a fancy change jar for saving money to buy shoes. This is a great idea, right?! You can't feel badly about buying more shoes if you saved your change for them, right? *wink* (A little enabling going on there…)

And last but not least, a card to give that perfect girlfriend. I used the canvas stickers for the "I pick you" sentiment. Such a great collection for those girlfriend cards. I could make dozens of them with this line.

And there you go! As I said before, I'm quite excited about my first reveal as a DT member for imaginisce. It has been an amazing experience so far. The ladies over there are fabulous to work with, and the products are excellent. I can't even begin to start with my new love for the i-bond! :)

Thanks for stopping by for my reveal—I really appreciate it! If you get your hands on an Sole Sisters, let me know, I'd love to stop by and see what you made.

My new gig!

2012-01-17T03:00:00.000-05:00

When I announced the closing of Sketchy Thursdays last week, it was an emotional and overwhelming few days. I received so many heart-felt comments and emails full of understanding and sympathy for how difficult it must have been to close the door on that chapter in my life.

One email stood out from the rest. It was from Sara, who I have known for quite awhile as she runs ScrapFIT and our paths always seem to be crossing. (Isn't that always the way?!)

Let's just say she made me an offer I couldn't refuse.

I'm so excited to be the new Creative Trainer for ScrapFIT — the in-house trainer that offers up a well-diagrammed plan for every workout. I'll be contributing sketches and also color/picture inspirations for some of the workouts.

I'm so excited that Sara has made room for me on her amazing team. I just know you'll love what we have cooking, so please, if you loved what I was up to before, join me over at ScrapFIT. I'd love to see some friendly faces popping up over there for the first time to play along with us.

And thanks again to the ScrapFIT girls for having me! This is going to be fun!!

New Year's {layout}

2012-01-16T05:00:00.000-05:00

Hello and happy Monday. Here's a quick little page I whipped up this weekend. I sat down with my bag of scraps that has just the smaller, narrow pieces in it and made this page using only those papers.

When I cleaned my supplies up a few weeks ago, when I switched craft rooms, I promised myself I would start more pages with my scraps instead of whole papers. I think in this case, that theory worked out really well. I love the finished look of this.

This picture is from New Year's Eve. Hubs and I were supposed to go out to a party. He didn't feel well, and after calling his parents (our sitters for the night) and realizing that Brad's dad didn't feel well either, we ended up everyone just staying put right where they were and having a New Year's at home.

Once I realized we were in for the night, I had to make Nate an impromptu party hat. It isn't New Year's without a crazy party hat! He was nice enough to pose for a picture for me, even though he thought his hat was silly. I love this picture—especially since I know he was being overly cheesy for the sake of the hat.

Thanks for stopping by to see my page today. Hope your week is starting off well.

You've got mail!

2012-01-13T05:00:00.000-05:00

Have you seen the adorable little mailboxes at Target in the dollar section? I was lucky to snag one before they were gone, and I altered it using the You + Me kit from Scrapbook Circle.

Nate had such a great time with the advent calendar this year, that I think I'm going to do a week of Valentine's Day by using this little mailbox. I'll put little notes, stickers or candy in there from the Wed. before Valentine's until 2/14. I know he'll get a kick out of that.

Thanks for stopping by to see my little mailbox today. It was fun to make and will be a cute decoration on the table for Valentine's Day.

*********

On a side note, I wanted to thank all of you that left such heart-warming and sincere comments on my blog, the Sketchy Thursdays blog, and Facebook about the last sketch challenge. It was a gut-wrenching day to read the comments and realize we were closing up something that is so loved and looked forward to each week.

I just love you all for taking a moment to let us know we affected you in some way or another. Thank you for being there for us each week. Love ya all!

Sketchy Thursdays {huge announcement}

2012-01-12T08:30:00.000-05:00

Here is my layout for this week's Sketchy Thursdays challenge. You can find the sketch on the blog, as well as this week's prize details from ARTchix Studio.

I made my page using the January kit, You + Me, from Scrapbook Circle. The colors in this kit are right up my alley. I love the gray, blue and red all together. The picture in the layout is Nate's school picture this year. The colors in his shirt just went so well with this kit.

I pleated the die cut banner in the kit to give it a bit more dimension and pop. If you haven't tried this yet, give it a whirl. I was pretty happy with how it worked out. It allowed me to curve the banner, too, by doing that.

And here is the huge news…

I am nervous, sad and anxious to announce to you all that Heidi, Julie and I have decided that the 1/12/12 challenge will be the last challenge for the Sketchy Thursdays blog challenge.

Finding sponsors, keeping up this pace for 2 and a half years, and overwhelming lives for all three of us has found us with a decision we needed to make.

I plan to keep the Facebook page live, active and post sketches as I am driven to. I may even come across some random prizes or opportunities that I will post there as well.

I have already been asked to continue making sketches for other sites and companies. Heidi will also be continuing her sketch work with Scrapbook News and Review.

I promise there is no secret agenda—just 3 very tired, overwhelmed ladies that feel we have hit a threshold for this part of our adventures.

Thank you so much for being a part of this journey with us, and I hope to see you playing along with this, our last, challenge. Much love to all of you that have supported the site for the past few years. I have a special place in my heart for everyone who played, sponsored and stopped on by.

Sock monkey

2012-01-11T05:00:00.000-05:00

Hi! I got a chance to play along with this month's sketch challenge at Artful Delight this weekend. You have until Jan. 23rd to play along over there.

I used the You + Me kit from Scrapbook Circle. I feel like a broken record siting that kit—it goes on and on and on. I still have more projects from that kit after this one to share with you!

This page is about Nate's love for Sock Monkey. He has so many of those little monkeys that when we were at Gander Mountain shortly after Christmas, and he saw this hat, there was no question about whether or not we'd let him buy it. He just looks so dang cute in it! I love this style hat, too. It's such a great trend for the kiddos.

Thanks for stopping to see my layout today. I had a lot of fun making it.

You + Me {card}

2012-01-10T05:00:00.000-05:00

Hello! There is a card sketch challenge going on at Scrapbook Circle this month. You have until Jan. 18th to play along with us. One lucky winner will get a $15 credit to the Scrapbook Circle store.

I used the Scrapbook Circle Jan. kit, You + Me, to make my card. Everything in the kit is just so pretty! And perfect for Valentine's Day cards.

I also played along with the Card Makin' Mamas challenge. For the New Year, they want to see New Year's cards or cards using something NEW to you. I used my new Fiskars punch, called Starlets. I have always wanted one of those punches that has the different options for corners. I snagged one of the new ones this weekend, and you can see how I punched out the corners of the layers.

Thanks for stopping to see my card today. I hope you have time to play along with either of these card challenges.

3 wise men

2012-01-09T05:00:00.000-05:00

Hello there! I wanted to share with you a page I made using Got Sketch #136 and a challenge from Paper Issues: Got Your Number.

If you have a layout, card or paper project (old or new) that has a number on it, link it up over at Paper Issues.

This layout is from Christmas Eve when Santa Claus came to husband's family's house while out making his Christmas deliveries to the world. How nice of him to stop by and snap some pictures and give presents to our family while he has to have been so busy that night! *grin*

Thanks for stopping by to see my layout. Hope your week is starting off well.

Sketchy Thursdays {RMSC}

2012-01-05T08:30:00.000-05:00

Today is another reveal day for Sketchy Thursdays. My sketch for this challenge can be seen over on the Sketchy Thursdays site. Play along and link your page over on the blog.

This week we have partnered with Scrappy Chics. Their DT is also playing along with the sketch, so head on over there to see their reveals, as well as the ST site to see the prize info. We have an additional prompt this week—to use blue & silver for your page. Mine seems to be more like teal and gray.

I made this page with the January Scrapbook Circle kit, "You + Me," as well as adding in some items from a past SC kit. The picture is from this fall when hubs and I took Nate to the Rochester Museum and Science Center. There was a pretty cool climbing thing and I snapped this picture while he was on it.

Thanks for stopping by to see my page this week. I hope you'll be able to join Sketchy Thursdays and our partnership with Scrappy Chics to play along this week.

imaginisce intro day

2012-01-04T08:48:00.005-05:00

Today is my Introducing… post at imaginisce.

Check out the 5 things about me (and my secret).

Thanks so much for stopping by there. I am so very excited to be a part of this team. I can't even begin to tell you how fun this will be. Can't wait to bring you loads of inspiration this year!

New craft room for 2012

2012-01-03T05:00:00.000-05:00

I am so excited to share a big project that was in the making for many months. By "in the making," I mean I had the best of intentions to get this done sooner.

Above is the room that I used to use for my scrappy space. It was the smallest of the bedrooms in the house. The other spare room (below) was our guest room. All it had in it was a spare bed and a closet full of stuff we stored away.

It was begging for me to take it over. And now the room I used to be in (the green one), is going to have all of our exercise equipment in it and be a storage room for the husband.

My favorite part of this room (other than the size and the bigger closet) is the way I painted it when we moved it. I had used left over paint from other rooms and done a two-tone, mix-and-match. Now I actually get to enjoy it! It had been one of my favorites when I painted years ago.

Like I said before, the closet space doubled from the other room, and I am loving all of the extra shelves and spaces I have.

I have also been meaning to show this technique on my blog for awhile now. I have 15 albums full of scrapbook pages. They take up the entire top shelf on the left side of the closet. Once stacking those was too difficult in the old room, I started hanging my page protectors on 'S' hooks in the closet.

I have found that not only is it a space saver, but the pages don't flatten and smoosh like the ones in the books have.

And there you have it—my new craft room. As you can tell, I'm quite excited about it. Now I can start to add some personal touches and hang some new artwork. I love a blank canvas!

Thanks for stopping to see the new room!

Wonderful Christmas

2012-01-02T10:45:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year! There are two great things about the holidays (at least for me). Lots of pictures and some extra time off work to do something with those pictures. It's a win-win!

I had a chance yesterday to make my Christmas page. It is a 2-page 8.5" x 11" layout. I also used this sketch here from Sketch Support.

In making my page, I used a mix of My Mind's Eye Lost & Found - 2 Sunshine and Graphic 45. I usually do a more playful and colorful holiday layout each year, but this year I went with a more classic color scheme.

There were a lot of great little moments this Christmas, and the sketch was perfect for adding in all those little pictures. Gotta love husband with his mustache mug! His "cop-stache!" LOL!

I used die cut tags from Graphic 45 for the ornaments down the side, and this picture of Nate was my favorite one on Christmas day.

Thanks so much for stopping to see my holiday page for the year. I hope everyone's 2012 is starting out perfectly!

Best cards of 2011

2011-12-31T05:00:00.000-05:00

On this last day of 2011, here are my favorite cards and projects from this past year. This was a tough one—I made a lot of cards this year.

Thank you for sharing in this with me. I have had such a wonderful year and am so blessed. I am grateful beyond words that you choose to spend a little bit of your time with me and my little blog. Thank you!!

Have a wonderful New Year's celebration and looking forward to sharing 2012 with you!

All my best!!

Diana

Best pages of 2011

2011-12-30T05:00:00.000-05:00

I can't let the year go without a re-cap of the year. Here are my favorite pages from 2011.

This was the year for the 8.5" x 11" layout! I knew I was using that format more and more, but it is quite apparent that I like the end result better since most of my layouts in that size made it to the final cut for the year.

Thanks for hanging with me this year! Stop by tomorrow for my fave cards and projects from 2011.

Sketchy Thursdays {Christmas Eve}

2011-12-29T08:30:00.000-05:00

It's time for Sketchy Thursdays! We took last week off for the holiday, but now we're back with a new sketch. This week, some of us on the DT worked with digital files from Digi Doodle Shop. I used three different holiday images for my page: Christmas 1, Christmas Ornaments and Fun with Christmas-North Pole.

Here is the sketch I made for this week's challenge. I'm sure you have some holiday pictures you are ready to make gorgeous pages with!

I hope to see you playing along with us! Hop on over to the site to see what the rest of the DT made to inspire you. And thanks for stopping by to see my page for this week's reveal.