Four Wise Guys

It's a Dress Card!

2012-05-17T17:02:00.001-04:00

I have a fun card to share with you today! I used Echo Park's Dots & Stripes Soda Fountain Collection for these and I love the way they came out!

These are SO easy to make! I even made a video tutorial on how to make them-- just check it out HERE on the AWDML Blog!

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you were inspired to try one of these fun cards!

New Sketch = New Card!

2012-05-15T21:29:00.001-04:00

It's the 15th of the month, and that means that it's time for a new card sketch from the wildly talented Lucy Chesna at My Sketch World!

Here's the sketch!

And here's my take on it!

I loved playing with some Jillibean scraps and an SRM sticker for this one!

Check out what the rest of the team did on the MSW Blog, and be sure to join us at the forum for fantastic monthly challenges, a contest, inspiration and tons of fun!

Thanks for stopping by today! I'll be back this week with some more fun cards to share!

Super Easy! Super Cute!

2012-05-10T19:50:00.000-04:00

Hey, there everyone! This is the card I have featured on the Momenta blog today! I made a wedding version of the card, but it can easily be adapted to any occasion, especially birthday, graduations, anniversaries or Mother's and Father's Day!

First, make your card base. This one is a 4" by 6" card, so my card base is cut at 6"x 8" and scored and folded at 4".

Then, I matted some of the beautiful textured/embossed white cardstock from the "Black Tie" pack on some black cardstock from the same pack. Then, I adhered that onto the front of my card.

Next comes the FUN part! I cut my a piece of patterned paper from the "Black Tie" pack at roughly 2" by 3 1/4". Then I used one of the die cut border pieces from the same pack along the top of the "bag."

Then, I turned by "bag" over and attached some tissue paper and a ribbon (the handle) with some adhesive. I also added some foam tape to the back.

Lastly, I added a foil treated sticker (so the sentiment has a great metallic shine!) to the front of my back. I removed the backing from the foam tape and stuck the the whole "bag" to the front of my card!

So easy! So cute! So versatile! Aren't those the BEST types of cards?!

Momenta Products Used:

PK-2147: Black Tie/Foil Treatment 12X12 Scrapbook Pad

ST-3055: Black Tie/Foil Treatment Chipboard Word Sticker

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you were inspired!

AWDML Blog Hop!!

2012-05-05T07:00:00.000-04:00

Can you feel the excitement! All over the world, fellow paper crafters are creating today! So what are you doing today? Are you at a crop? Or enjoying the solitude of your own scrap space? Are you ready for a fun weekend with A Walk Down Memory Lane? I know I am!

Would you like to win a Gift Certificate to AWDML online store? How do you win it? Just hop on over to our Design Team's blogs and post a comment. They will be showing you layouts and cards celebrating on how we cherish this day in our lives. When you have visited and commented on all seven blogs then your name will be entered for the prize.

You must post your comments by 9pm EST on May 6th. We will select a winner on May 7th.

AWDML Blog

Nicole (YOU ARE HERE!)

Suzanne

Shelly

Amarilys

Lucy (DT Coordinator)

AWDML Blog

Here are some more ways to be involved this weekend with AWDML!

1. Stop by AWDML's FACEBOOK PAGE and post a comment on the QOTD to recieve an extra entry toward the NSD GC Prize. Then post a picture of something you made on NSD. You will have till May 6th Sunday at 12AM PST for an additional entry.

2. For every five dollars you spend at the AWDML store, your name will be entered into the drawing for the Gift Certificate.

3. One order total during NSD weekend will magically vanish. Yep, you read that right...one order placed Friday at 12:01am through Sunday 11:59pm (Eastern Time) will be FREE!

4. SPECIALS:

Adhesives are 25% off
Hero Arts Stamps are 50% off
Any Carded Ribbon is 35% off
Rub-ons are 75% off
Idea Books are buy 1 get 1 free (free idea book is of equal or lesser value. We will adjust your total before shipment)

Now I get to share my scrappy project with you! I was supposed to create a card based on who or what I cherish today. Well, it just so happens that TODAY (also NSD and Cinco de Mayo) is my Husband, Chris's Birthday!!! So, this was an easy call for me-- I made his birthday card!

I find it easy peasy to make "girly" frilly birthday cards. But, I find it a challenge to create more masculine cards. So, I set out to make a simple, no frills, masculine card for him. I love the look of Kraft of Kraft and I wanted to play with my new star dies, so here's what I came up with:

Products Used:
Jillibean Kraft Paper
SRM Birthday Stickers
Doodlebug Twine
3M Quick Dry Glue
Lifestyle Crafts Nesting Star Dies
ATG Adhesive Gun

Thanks so much for stopping by today-- I hope you were inspired! Now, hop on over to SUZANNE'S Blog for your next stop!

Have a great National Scrapbooking Day!!!

Flying High

2012-04-18T11:03:00.002-04:00

We are on vacation here in Maine this week and the weather has been AMAZING! It feels very summerlike, but we still have eight LONG weeks of school before it will really be summer. Both of my kids got new kites for Easter this year and have been dying to take them for a spin. We finally got the chance this past Sunday- it was a gorgeous, sunny, breezy day when there was nothing else on the calendar! So, we went down the road to a park about 5 minutes from home where there is plenty of open space to fly their kites. It was really the first time that they could fly them without a lot of help from mom or dad.

Here's Elizabeth and her kite! I had a fun time using the "Title Sports" collection from Scrappin' Sports & More for this layout. The bright colors are so fun for summer-day activities!

Here's a close up of the fun pattern of squares:

And, here's a close up of the cute diecut kite!

This layout is based on a sketch from the fabulous Heather Landry! Thanks, Heather, for letting me share it!

Products Used:

#1381- Title Sports: Tennis (yellow)
#1371- Title Sports: Dance (purple)
#1378- Title Sports: Prom (blue)
#1373- Title Sports: Golf (green)

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you were inspired!

Getting Wordy with Momenta!

2012-04-16T10:00:00.002-04:00

Hey, everyone! I'm on the Momenta blog today sharing a fun"boy" layout based on a sketch by Heather Landry! First of all, here's the sketch:

I was totally inspired by the hexagons on the sketch- which seem to be all the rage these days. Heather even provides an SVG file on her blog to cut these little babies out! Since I am not very techno-savvy when it comes to SVG files, I printed out the image and adhered it to the back of my patterned paper. Then, I just cut out the hexagons, flipped my paper back over and BAM- there they are! I cut about 40 of them to complete this layout- that includes a few extra to pop with foam tape to create some dimension.

So, I MIGHT have got a little carried away with the stickers... I started out having a hard time deciding which of them to use-- they all describe my boy! So, I ended up creating a word collage! The colors of the stickers match the paper really well and I love how it came out!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you were inspired!

~Nicole

**Photo by Patricia Takacs of Kivalo Photography

Momenta Products Used:
PA-2390: Black & White Embossed Cardstock Pad
PA-2389: Vacation Pyramid Pad
ST-2128: Boys Will Be Boys Puffy Title Stickers
ST-3204: Black Uppercase Mini Glitter Alpha

My Sketch World Blog Hop!

2012-04-15T07:00:00.003-04:00

Welcome to My Sketch World's Blog Hop!

Sketches, sketches oh I love sketches. Well let me tell you how excited I am that today we are showing off our incredibly talented designers for our next term.
Join us now on our blog hop!

Here’s the skinny on how it works. Stop by each designers blog to see what fantabulous creations they’ve made using My Sketch World April 15th sketch and get to know them. Be sure to leave a comment at each stop along the way, we are going to draw at random from all the comments left on all 9 blogs (this includes this MSW blog posting), will receive a $20 GC to Scrapbook.com!

All comments must be made by midnight PST on April 16th. Tune into this blog on April 17th to see if you are one of the lucky winners.

So without further adieu here’s the line up:

MSW BLog

Nicole Wise (You are Here!)
Suzann Jones

Lucy Chesna
Back to MSW Blog

Hello my name is Nicole. I am so excited to part of the team as a Card Designer and Design Team Coordinator. I live in Southern Maine with my husband, two kids (8 & 9) and my two dogs. By day, I am a middle school music teacher and am enjoying my 14th year! Once my kids are in bed, I love to lock myself into my basement scraproom, crank up some tunes and scrap the night away. I’ve been scrapping for about six years now and I love to create layouts about my family- especially my kids. I also love to make cards and am getting more and more into altering projects! Thanks to my scrapbooking hobby, I am also very much enjoying learning about photography. I almost always have my camera with me — you just never know when the perfect photo-op will present itself!

Here is the April 15th sketch from My Sketch World :

Here is my example using the sketch:

Thanks for being here and now its time to head to Suzann's Blog to check out her creation! Have fun!

A Bottle of Sunshine!

2012-04-10T21:50:00.000-04:00

Have you ever wished you could send someone a bottle of sunshine? Well, I have! If you have a friend or family member who could use a little cheer, you can send a bottle to brighten their day!

First, I talked my husband into drinking some of the Starbuck's Frappacchino's from the grocery store. Then, I ran the empty bottle through the dishwasher and cleaned off the label. Then, I set to work creating SUNSHINE! I picked out the yellow candy from some leftover Easter goodies. Then, I covered the cap with some fun Tennis paper from Scrappin' Sports & More's Girls Rule collection. Then, I traced and cut a sun on to the same paper and adhered it to the front of the bottle. Finally, I added a bow and VOILA! A bottle of sunshine!

Products Used:
#1395- Girls Rule: Tennis

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you were inspired!

Origami Dress Cards

2012-04-06T09:00:00.002-04:00

Hi, everyone! This is the project of mine that's featured on the Momenta Blog today.

I spend a lot of time online looking for ideas and inspiration. Every once in a while, I come across something so fun that I have to try it immediately and then I can't stop! These little origami dresses was a gem of a find! I used a tutorial found on this blog and created these fun little dresses.

Aren't they the CUTEST?! And, they are amazingly easy! The paper in the Momenta Super Paper Pads are perfect for Origami projects, because the paper is nice and thin and easy to fold. And, the colors of the "Free to Be Me" Collection are just perfect for a project like this!

I used these sweet little dresses on two cards. This first one is just perfect for a friendship themed card. I made this one using the dresses where I started with three inch squares.

And, this one made using a four inch square for the "mom" and a three inch square for the "daughter" is a perfect card with a Mother's Day theme!

What other themes can you think of that these dresses would work for?

Momenta products used:

PA-2263: Free To Be Me Super Paper Pad

ST-4726: Kaliedoscope Clear Layered Stickers

ST-1739: Vibrant Bubbles and Bling Stickers

I hope you enjoyed the project I shared today. Be sure to come back soon-- i've recently reached 100 followers and I think that a celebration is in order!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you were inspired!

Mister Cool!

2012-03-24T16:21:00.000-04:00

I have SO loved playing with the new Echo Park A Boy's Life collection! All of the blue papers make me so happy! It's SO hard to find great "boy" papers and Echo Park has nailed it this time!

This layout was made using a sketch by Lucy Chesna for the AWDML Newsletter!

This card was made with the same line and some fabulous SRM stickers!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you were inspired!

Clutter Crusher Magnets!

2012-03-21T22:24:00.000-04:00

Here's a project that I shared on the Momenta blog earlier this week!

Our refrigerator has a habit of collecting stuff... LOTS of stuff. Between the school lunch menu, our menu, the ever present (and growing) shopping list, the kids' artwork and photos of those we love, it always is a mess. So, I needed a way to start organizing (and limiting!) the items that are going to be displayed there. I decided that magnets were the way to go!

First, I stopped at the "home improvement store" just down the road and picked up a square of ceramic tiles. They were all connected (for ease of putting them on the wall, i'm sure), but were on clearance for $3.00. And there were enough to make 16 magnets! (Dear friends who are reading this, you will be receiving magnets for your next birthday....and Christmas!).
Here's what you need:

Ceramic Tiles, Xyron (or strong adhesive), Squares of your favorite Momenta paper (for these tiles, I used paper that was 1 3/4" square), Mod-Podge, paintbrush, magnets, chipboard and/or stickers, sandpaper, craft knife (not pictured).

First, break apart your tiles. It's easy, just bend and pull. Easy peasy!

Now, you need to remove the gummy stuff that held the tiles together. Just a quick swipe of your craft knife and a few swishes of the sand paper and it's gone!

See, they're all pretty now!

Now, run your pre-cut Momenta papers through a Xyron, or apply a strong adhesive to the back and apply to your tiles.

Once all of the tiles are covered with paper, put a nice layer (or two, or three) of Mod-Podge. It dries really quickly, so just grab a quick snack and you'll be ready to go!

Now, it's time to add what you want to the front of the magnet. I added mine while the Mod-Podge was still tacky just to help hold the stickers on for ever and ever. I made one for the school lunch menu (eat), one for our menu, the to-do list, the shopping list, and E for my daughter's creations, a C for my son's creations, and a few hearts to display those we love!

Finally, just add the magnet strips to the back! These are just peel and stick! **Note: I ended up adding a third strip of magnet because of the weight of the tile.

And, display on your refrigerator to keep things organized and tidy!

Momenta Products Used:

PK-2383 Kalideoscope Pyramid Pad

ST-4491 Pastel/Glitter Treatment Alphabet Sticker Kit

ST-3190: BW Med Dot Puffy Alpha
ST-2398: Vib Metal Chipbd Alpha

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you were inspired!

Just Dance!

2012-03-19T08:00:00.001-04:00

My daughter LOVES to dance! She's always on the move and nearly every pass down the hallway or through the yard includes a twirl, or two. Throughout her years of dance, her costumes have run the gammet from frilly to funky, but she never seems to get into any other "character" but her own. I love that about her!

This "Just Dance" paper from the Girls Rule Collection from Scrappin' Sports & More is perfect for so many occasions. I love that it has a black and white color scheme so that no matter the color of the photos, the paper will fit it perfectly! Together with some cardstock, ribbon, bling and chipboard stickers from my stash, and the layout came together quickly, and beautifully!

Here's a closeup of the title. Believe it or not, the words "Just Dance" are a part of the paper! I just added the butterfly and a little bling-- after all, no dance layout is complete without some bling!

Products Used:

#1388- Girls Rule: Just Dance

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you were inspired!

Momenta and Purple Cows!

2012-03-16T09:00:00.003-04:00

Oh what a week this has been with the fantastic partnership between Momenta and Purple Cows! I am excited to share my projects that are on the Momenta Blog today! Be sure to visit the Momenta Blog for information on how to win a fantastic prize!!

First up is a layout that I made using the awesome "Punch It" tool from Purple Cow's Craft Geek line. I got the really cool "Summer Punch." Not only is it easy to use, it has a ton of possibilities and can punch anywhere on your page thanks to the fabulous design. I love how this one also has a bit of embossing included in the design.

To make the punched strip, I simply lined up the punch and went across my paper in a straight line. Then I trimmed out the strip with a pair of scissors to leave me with the fabulous design you see here.

Next up is the "Pin It" tool. This thing works like a charm! The designs of the pins are super cute and come in a variety of metallic finishes. On the card you see here, I used the pin that looks like intertwined scalloped hearts and tried to mimic the pattern of the pin with my papers. I like how the pin joins my two paper hearts together. I was a little leary of how well it would punch through multiple layers of paper, and I was very impressed with how easily it works. And, again, because of the ingenious design, you can pin your piece anywhere on your card, layout or project!

See how the pin looks up close?

And, here it is on the completed card! I love how the pin adds dimension and shine, and gives the card a finished look!

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I hope you were inspired!

Momenta Products Used:

PA-2240- Family Forever 12X12 Premium Paper Pad

ST-4838- Family Forever Sticker Kit

ST-4791- Puffy Title Stickers Family Forever Glitter Treatment

Purple Cows Products Used:

Pin it #7000

Punch It- Summer #7203

Go ahead- Be Negative!

2012-03-13T22:57:00.000-04:00

Sometimes it's hard to stay positive when you are around a lot of negativity. So, I'm going to share you how to turn a negative into a positive. Negative SPACE, that is!!

If you like what you see here and would like to try it for yourself, I encourage you to enter it into the challenge on the AWDML Blog! There are fabulous challenges and a great sketch contest that you have until the end of this month to enter! Check it out HERE!

For all of these cards, I started with plain white cardstock and cut a heart out of it with my Cricut. I then removed the cut heart and worked with the paper left behind-- the negative space. I matted it, and popped it up with some foam tape for dimension. Here's where it gets fun! I used 4 different techniques to back the negative space left by cutting the hart. In the first example, I simply used some brightly colored patterned paper (from Echo Park!).

In the next example, I used some basic blue cardstock which I ran through an embossing folder.

Next comes some twine! I simply ran a bunch of ahesive along the card base and worked the twine back and forth until it covered the amount of space that would show through the heart. I love how it turned out!

And finally, I covered a portion of the card base in liquid adhesive and fit a bunch of red buttons on to the space that will show through the heart. I love the interest and dimension that this technique creates!

Again, I encourage you to celebrate A Walk Down Memory Lane's 9th Birthday with us and check out the challenges and contest on the AWDML blog! And, of course, make sure you check out all of the goodies in the STORE while you are there!

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you were inspired!

Laces OUT!

2012-03-08T10:00:00.001-05:00

I saw some really fun cards on the Fiskars website a while back and it was a fun idea that I tucked into the back of my head. I knew I could adapt it to make some fabulously simple and cute cards with Scrappin' Sports & More papers!
These cards are perfect for a party invitation, a thank you for the coach, or even something sweet for your football fan ("I get a kick out of you....").

Here's how I made the laces....

First, cut a strip of cardstock about 1 3/8" wide. Then, punch one side with your Notebook Edge punch (mine is from EK Success).

Then, flip the strip of paper around and punch the other side. Try to match the notches up as best as you can.

Then, using a sharp pair of scissors, cut the "nubbies" off.

Do the same on the other side and you have perfect football laces!

Just affix them to the front of your card made with some Scrappin' Sports football papers and you have a super sweet, simple card! Isn't it so cute?!?!

Products Used:
#1330- On the Edge Sports: Soccer
#1373- Title Sports: Football

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you were inspired!

Congratulations to.....

2012-03-06T17:36:00.000-05:00

Thank you to everyone who stopped by during the A Walk Down Memory Lane blog hop! Your comments were so sweet and very appreciated!

Congratulations to the winner of the $5 Gift Certificate, Me-Ma-Kim!

Please email me at nwise(at)metrocast(dot)net with your email address so we can get you your Gift Certificate!

Be sure to visit the AWDML Blog for fun challenges and a sketch contest! The party is still going strong!!

Happy Birthday to A Walk Down Memory Lane!

2012-03-01T08:04:00.000-05:00

Happy 9th Birthday to A Walk Down Memory Lane!!

We are celebrating today with a blog hop so you can get to know our Design Team!

I am so happy to part of the design team again!!

A little about me:

My name is Nicole Wise. I live in Southern Maine with my husband, two kids and two dogs. They are the main reason I scrap. I love to scrap the funny moments and how they grow and change, as well as the activities we do as a family and that the kids participate in. During the day, I am a Middle School Music Teacher. I am in my 14^th year of teaching and, while I am super excited when summer rolls around, I do love teaching! The kids are really fun and keep me entertained every day.

I have been scrapping for about five years. In the past few years, it has truly grown into an obsession that I am thinking about all the time, and I am enjoying my roles on several design teams. I am always looking for fun ideas to use in my scrapping and I enjoy surfing the internet to find interesting things to use and techniques to try.

Besides scrapping, I enjoy toting my kids to dance class, soccer, baseball and karate, as well as playing outside with them in our fun yard. So, I have lots of opportunities to take photos of them doing fun things to scrap!

We are sharing our favorite projects that we have made in the last few months at AWDML, so after lots of hemming and hawing, I decided that my favorite is the emergency sewing kit that I made from a Sucrets tin and some fabulous Jillibean Soup papers!

Isn't it so cute?! It sits proudly in my desk at school for when I lose that inevitable button, or even for when someone needs a safety pin. It's already come in handy a few times!

I used lots of great products from AWDML to make this:

Jillibean Soup Kraft Cardstock

Jillibean Soup Homemade 6- Navy Bean Soup

Jillibean Soup Homemade 6- Bean Soup Stickers

Ranger Glossy Accents

American Crafts This-To-That Double Sided Tape

American Crafts Cardstock

Prima Flocked Alpha Stickers- Yellow

I have a great giveaway for someone who leaves a comment my blog. One lucky person will recieve $5 Gift Certificate to A Walk Down Memory Lane!! The deadline to comment and enter your name for the Gift Certificate is March 2nd at 11:59PM EST. I will post a winner on March 3rd, so be sure to become a follower of my blog so you can find your way back to see if YOU are the winner!

When you are done checking out all the blogs then head back to AWDML Blog and check out the new contest that is going on. One lucky winner will recieve $25 GC to the AWDML store!! We have some exciting new changes and alot of fun coming soon!

The next stop on today's hop is Suzanne Spokus' blog!

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I hope you were inspired!

Wild About Tigger!

2012-02-26T12:00:00.001-05:00

I am having so much fun playing with the new paper lines from Scrappin' Sports & More! I think it's really fun to come up with ideas to use the papers other than the way they were intended. And, today's project is no exception!

First, I used the zebra print on the Cheer paper from the Girls Rule Collection. Then, I got comfy with American Idol and a marker and went to town. (Yep! I'm a lefty...)

Before I knew it, I no longer had zebra paper-- I had TIGER paper.... make that TIGGER paper!

Seriously! Is that fun, or what?!!? Here's a close up of the paper. I cut the word "WILD" out of the paper with my cricut to make my title.

I have so many fun ideas swirling around in my head of what to do with all of this fun paper! I can't wait to show you more!

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you were inspired!

Scrappin' Sports Products Used:
#1387: Girls Rule- Cheer

Momenta Flower Card

2012-02-25T09:00:00.003-05:00

Hi, Everyone! I have a SUPER easy card with you that's featured on the Momenta blog today! It’s easy to make and easy to put together several at a time in an assembly-line-style if you need to make a LOT of cards in a jiffy—invitations, thank you cards, birthday cards, etc. I saw a similar card online and set about figuring out how to make one of my own. I love that it looks so much like the Momenta logo- that's why I decided to call it a "Momenta Flower!"

To make ONE card, you will need:
1 Card Base cut at 4 ¼ inches by 5 ½ inches
Cardstock cut at 4 ¼ inches square (mine is black)
4 Squares cut at 1 ½ inches (I used for different patterned papers from the Kaliedoscope collection)
4 squares cut at 1 inch
Decorative strip of paper cut at 4 1/1 inches (I used my scalloped edge punch)
Tape Runner/Adhesive
Foam Tape
Corner Punch
Sentiment stamp/Ink
Button
Strong Double-Sided adhesive or wet glue

First, add adhesive to the decorative strip of paper and attach it to the back of your cardstock (black) square. Leave just enough hanging out so that you can see the pattern (about ¼ inch).

After attaching your cardstock square to the front of your card base (sorry- forgot to take a photo of this step), stamp your sentiment.

Now, using a corner punch, punch two opposite corners of your 1 ½ inch squares.

Attach the 1 ½ inch squares to the front of your card with the sharp corners pointing toward the corners of your square piece of cardstock.

Now, punch opposite corners of your 1 inch squares and add a bit of foam tape to the back. Adhere them on top of the 1 ½ inch squares. This creates a great bit of dimension!

And, for the final touch, using a strong double sided adhesive (or a wet glue), attach a button to the center of your flower!

Wasn’t that easy? Once everything was cut, I assembled these six cards in a matter of 10 minutes!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you were inspired!

Momenta Products Used:
PK-2383: Kaleidoscope Pyramid Pad

A little of this and a little of that....

2012-02-23T11:21:00.000-05:00

Hi there, everyone! I'm so happy to share that I am once again designing for Wholly Scrap in North Hampton, NH! It's such a fun little scrappy store, I just wish they were closer (although my husband is proably glad they aren't!) One of the things that's fun (and also challenging) about designing for Wholly Scrap is that they give me a bunch of different things to design with-- things I may not have chosen for myself. My head spun with this month's goodies, but I am really happy with the layouts that I made!

First up, some Karen Foster! This is actually "baby boy" paper. Sadly, I lost my entire hard drive when my son was about a year old and lost every single photo of my kids that had been taken up to that point. So, I don't have many baby picutres available to me for scrapping. But, what I did have was photos of our trip to the Camden Children's Garden in Camden, NJ! The kids favorite part was the Dinosaur Garden!

Up next is some paper from Cosmo Cricket! I LOVED this line when it came out and was happy to be able to use it. I also used some inpsiration from a PageMaps sketch!

Robin's Nest is a manufacturer best known for their fun little "Dew Drops" that come in a zillion colors. Many people don't realize that they make papers, too! This one was gorgeous with a fabulous texture and lots of great glitter accents. It was so pretty that I didn't want to do a lot to it.

And, finally a page with Momenta Paper! I was given the "Bicycle" paper to design with. I am often intimidated by papers that are made to look like a scene. But the key is to not be afraid to cut the paper up and use the parts that work best for you. So, I cut the bottom portion off and added it to a piece of blue cardstock to create a great blue sky background. Then, I added a nice, bright sun and some clouds. Then I just needed a few photos, a title and some journaling!

One of my favorite parts of this layout (besides my son's handsome face) is the ribbon! I cut it into a fringe so that it would curve with the line of the paper and give the illusion of grass! Isn't it cute?!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you were inspired!

Time for Peace!

2012-02-21T09:00:00.002-05:00

When my daughter turned 8, we re-decorated her room for her birthday. She picked out the paint, the bedding, everything-- and she did a GREAT job! We are still picking away at little decor items to make the room "perfect" and today, we added the latest item.... A CLOCK! I purchased a clock kit at a craft store last summer and was waiting for just the right scrappy stuff to come along to make it. If you wait... it will come! This time it came in the form of Momenta's Free to Be Me collection! My daugther is obsessed with anything that has a peace sign on it, so this collection is perfect for her!

Believe it or not, this clock came together in just about 45 minutes! First, I painted the edges of the wooden circle with black paint, to give it a finished look. While that dried, I colored the clock hands with a black sharpie. They were gold, but I thought black would look better. Then, I traced and cut the circle of paper from the Premium Paper Pad. Then, using Mod-Podge I put the circle onto the wooden circle and then put another layer of Mod-Podge on the top. I did a pretty thin layer, so it dried pretty quick. Then, I added the stickers, the black dot around the edge and put the clock hands in. Finally I just put a batter in the back, a nail in the wall and there you have it-- a cute clock and a happy little girl!

Here it is from a different angle. The puffy stickers give it some fun dimension (and sparkle!) and there's still plenty of room for the clock hands to move around.

I used to shy away from making altered projects, but when I find one that has a great use (and makes my daughter so happy) I can't help but go for it!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you were inspired!

~Nicole

Momenta Products Used:

PA-2263: Free to be Me Premium Paper Pad

ST-3190: BW Med Dot Puffy Alpha

ST-4740: Free to Be Me Puffy Icon

Duffy the Defuzzinator!

2012-02-19T10:43:00.000-05:00

Our sweet Goldendoodle LOVES to completely destroy tennis balls. First, he attacks the sqeaker and then off comes the fuzz. Since we aren't really tennis players in our family, scrapping Duffy's escapades seemed like a great use of Scrappin' Sports & More's new tennis paper! I just added some Momenta stickers (the cool black ones) and POOF... a layout about Duffy the Defuzzinator!

Thanks for stopping by! Come on back for a fun Momenta project soon!

Inky Antics Fun!

2012-02-15T20:58:00.000-05:00

I had a blast palying with Inky Antics stamps for A Walk Down Memory Lane this month! The images are clean and simple and easy to color. And, they didn't forget about the INSIDE of the card! They have these FABULOUS "Honey Pop" sets of stamps that coordinate with some Honeycomb paper for a great surprise for the inside of your card!

The first card I made features the cute stamps and I even dug out my Copic markers. I'm still learning with these markers, and I'm having a lot of fun in the process!

I left a blank section at the top on the inside of the card for a personal note to the birthday boy/girl!

My next card features the FUN Honey Pop papers on the inside of the card. First the front:

And LOOK at what happens when you open the card!!! The stamp set includes a "half" of a cupcake top and bottom so that you stamp right on the Honeycomb paper, cut it out and glue one side to the left and one side to the right of your card. Then, when you open the card it... POPS! Isn't that SO fun?! Who would expect that inside a hand made card?!

For my third card, I tried a bit of an experiment with the Cloud Trio set if dies from My Favorite Things. And, I used my scoreboard to make the lines in the "cone." I think it came out pretty cute!

And, the simple inside of the card makes this one a QUICK one to make over and over!

If you haven't tried Inky Antics stamps, you definitley should!! I'm already shopping for my next set! This is the month to try them-- they are all 25% off for the whole month of February!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you come again soon!

It's a "Cupcake" Gift Box!

2012-02-09T20:08:00.001-05:00

I made a super cute (if I do say so myself) "Cupcake Gift Box" using some Echo Park papers and Inky Antics stamps from A Walk Down Memory Lane. And, the best part is that you can make one yourself using the tutorial that I posted on the AWDML Blog today. It's easy and by changing the papers and embellishments, can be adapted for ANY occasion!
I decided to make this one girly for a birthday party my daughter is going to. Here's what it looks like closed:

And, here's what it looks like open:

Isn't it CUTE?! I hope you'll check out the tutorial and let me know what you think!

Thanks for stopping by today! I promise to be back soon to share some more scrappy goodness!!

It's Nikki Sivils Month.....

2012-02-07T12:57:00.001-05:00

....at A Walk Down Memory Lane! That's right-- Nikki Sivils is a Featured Manufacturer in February at AWDML! That means that you can enjoy a 25% discount on all instock products ALL MONTH!

I had a great time playing with the "We Are Family" and "It's Raining, It's Pouring" collections! Here's some of what I made:

Since I'm ususally behind the camera, it's rare that we get a photo of all four of us together. Thankfully my cousin-in-law-to-be took my camera at a family wedding this summer and took this one for us!

I couldn't resist grabbing my camera when Colby and Duffy were curled up napping together on a rainy day in December. I'm sure they were both dreaming of warm sunshine where they could to play frisbee together in the yard!

I used Glossy Accents to create the raindrops on the page. They have a high-gloss finish and actually look wet! I love how they came out and what they added to my page!

And a "Home Sweet Home" sign made with a diecut piece and left over bits and pieces of the We are Family Collection. The large chipboard letters were some that I picked up at WM about three years ago and have been waiting in my stash ever since!

I'll be back to share more with AWDML's other featured manufacturer, Inky Antics, next week. They have some super sweet images and some really cool embellishments that I can't wait to share! You can also enjoy a 25% discount on them all month at AWDML, too! Enjoy!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a great one!