Win $1,000 at TheCuttlebugSpot.com!

I have just discovered that The Cuttlebug Spot is having a contest - "The Journey to 1,000"! They are trying to reach 1,000 followers by the end of July and need your help. To enter all you have to do is go to their site, sign up as follower and complete a few easy steps and you could win a $1,000 gift certificate to Custom Crops (www.CustomCrops.com)! GO NOW and check it out at www.TheCuttlebugSpot.com

Now, you all know that I love my Cuttlebug and I will be forever thankful to my sister for buying it for me :>) Check out the site and become a follower and with a chance to win $1,000 it sounds like a good idea to me :>)

Smiles,
Julie

Tag Album

I am participating in UStamp with Dawn and Friends, which started on Thursday. UStamp is an online community where SU demonstrators from around the world are sharing projects. Today's pics are the first project I made, a 6" x 6" mini album that uses tags as pages.

I made the background paper on the cover and then kept the circle theme throughout. I love the way the "pages" open, it creates interest and also made it more complicated for me to figure out where to put my pics and journaling, LOL! DETAILS: SU Fun with Shapes Stamp set, SU Real Red, Whisper White, Brilliant Blue and Old Olive CS, corner rounder, circle punches, buttons and ribbon.
Although this is an "album", my plan is to put it on a 12x12 sheet and add it to another album.

UStamp is going on for the rest of the month, so join in the fun. In addition to the projects, there are chats, and prizes have also been mentioned :>)
Smiles, Julie

Everything Old is New Again...

Over at Stamp TV Gina has a video on poppin' pastels. Now, I have had my pastels for more years than I would like to count and it has been at least a few years since I last used them :>) Gina's video encouraged me to pull out my pastels and try poppin' again! And surprisingly, pastels do not go bad!! The layout is based on Jen's SFYTT found here. This card is for Whimsy Stamps' weekly challenge. This week's challenge is to make something with a Birthday theme.
Use Versamark for your image and then dauber with pastels. Such a simple technique, but I really do love the results. Especially tieing it in with new techniques such as paper piercing (which really is not that new, I just never used my piercer until recently). I cut a square out of scrap paper to contain my pastels and create a clean box around my main "Happy Birthday" image. I kept this simple, as I am trying to build up a stash of "guy" cards :>)
Details: Versamark, SU Alphabet Soup and Love Ya Bunches stamps, SU & Coredinations CS, K&CO. Wild Saffron DP, & SU buttons.

Grab your own pastels and start poppin'!

Smiles, Julie

Catching Up

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. I was actually away from my stamping supplies {shock, horror, I know :>) }, so I am sharing a layout I did a couple months ago. This is my daughter Miranda, from Christmas 2007 - I told you I am behind on scrapbooking!! I actually read something on-line yesterday about not being intimidated by scrapbooking. It mentioned that you do not have to scrapbook every event, that your child is not going to want 200 albums when they go off to college - LOL, so true! I will need to keep this in mind as I attempt to scrapbook the last 5 years :>).
Details: SU Very Vanilla CS, Offray Ribbon tied in knots, stash buttons, SU circle scallop punch, chipboard "M", and K&Company DP Peppermint Twist (this paper is the best, I bought it this past Christmas and there are so many great prints in the pad, it can be used for more than just Christmas too). The large tree is paper pieced (in retrospect, I think I should have used dimensionals to pop it up).

My layout is based on this sketch from PageMaps .

If you have never visited PageMaps before, be sure to check it out. There are sketches for both cards and layouts, plus, there is a contest each month.

Well, I am off to blurf for inspiration! And also to find out suggestions on how to take photos of scrapbook layouts...I kept getting a reflection from the photo, even though I was not using a flash. If you have any tips please feel free to share!

Smiles,

Julie

Red, Orange and Yellow

Happy Fourth of July! Yes, it is the Fourth of July and I guess I should be posting red, white and blue. Today, however, it is red, orange and yellow. This is a color combo that is not on my go to list {LOL}! In fact, the only reason I am using it is because it is this week's challenge at Whimsy Stamps. And it really is a challenge for me, I am a fan of blues and pinks.
This little guy is looking for a party!
Details: The image is actually from a DB - Party Animals, SU Real Red & Orange CS, Creative Memories DP, watercolor pencils, stash buttons. Techniques: paper piecing and piercing (of course!)

Enjoy your day - surprisingly it is not raining {yet}!

Smiles, Julie

Swinging on By

Today's card is for The Little Paper Shop sketch challenge. This challenge has a twist, cupcakes must be used. I decided to add in a cupcake by making background paper, because I wanted to use my Katie Swing digi stamp as the main image for this sketch.

Then I had one of those "Ah Ha" moments :>)

Yes, she can really swing!! LOL

The great thing about digi stamps is that I was able to print out a mirror image easily and then I modified it to look like the back of Katie. So fun :>)!

Details: LPS Katie Swing Digi Stamp, SU cupcake stamp and Pocket Full of Posies, Sentiment created in MSWord, SU whisper white and rose red CS, SU DP, SU Rose Red and Groovy Guava Ink, and brads.

Enjoy your weekend!

Smiles, Julie

Sweet and Simple Sewing

My latest gift set is for a neighbor who is retiring. It started with the SCS card sketch challenge from last week.

After finishing the card, I whipped up another Ready, Set, Wrap box from Papertrey Ink {it really goes together fast, honest :>)}. I wanted it to look like a summery purse, so I pulled out my sewing machine to add detail. Of course, there is some paper piecing in there too.
Details: Everything is SU!

I like the idea of making a card set using this layout and switching out the patterned paper :>).

Smiles,
Julie

Flower Powered

I just recently learned of Whimsy Stamps after seeing some cute cards posted in a gallery. I do not own any of their adorable stamps yet, but there is one monkey in particluar that I just LOVE :>) Today's card is for the Whimsy Stamps recipe challenge; the required ingredients are 2 patterned papers, 1 ribbon and 3 different embellies. The contest closes Monday at 8am, so there is still time to join in!
Details: SU By Land and Pocket Full of Posies Stamp sets, SU Very Vanilla and Wild Wasabi CS, SU So Saffron and Really Rust Ink, K&Company Wild Saffron DP, Prima Flower, SU Button and stash brads. The sentiment was done in MSWord and I left spaces to stamp in the flowers for the "o"s.

BTW - Michael's stores in my area are having clearance sales on K&Company - the discounts are huge, some items are about 70% off (can't go wrong with that!). Of course, my fortune cookie from Thursday night read something about watching spending because "even small leaks sink ships" - what kind of fortune is that?!?!?! LOL, I guess it was because I stopped at Michael's earlier that day!

Smiles,
Julie

Flip Flopping Along

I am so excited with how my Sister-in-law's B-day present turned out. I found a cute bathing suit cover up in black and white that looks more like a dress than coverup. It inspired me to create a black and white card and a matching jewelry box. Of course when I think of a bathing suit, I think of flip flops and yes, there is a pair included in her gift, so a flip flop card is perfect :>). I just love how it turned out - it looks so real!

This card is for the There She Goes June challenge to make a card not the usual size! I just came across Jessica's blog because I read Jessie's blog - Addicted to Stamps. {Love her blog :>)}

I traced one of my own flip flops (yes, that I wear, but it was clean, promise!) onto paper and then reduced it on my scanner to get a size that was 8 1/2 " wide. The white and black pattern was created with a stamp from SU Best Blossoms. I wanted something simple and leaning toward elegant to match the feel of the coverup.

My SIL is also receiving matching jewelry, so of course I needed something to put it in. I went right to the "Ready, Set, Wrap" template from Lauren Meader, available thru Papertrey Ink.

This template is the perfect size for jewelry and would also be great for shower favors - it was really easy to put together. I added the chip board and chain to dress it up a little.

Details: SU Whisper White and Basic Black CS, SU Best Blossoms Stamp Set, white sticker dimensional dots.

Well I hope my SIL likes her gift. At the very least it all matches :>)!

Thanks for looking!

Smiles, Julie

Crayon Desk Organizer

Thursday was my daughter’s last day of Kindergarten (sniff, sniff) :>)! I made her teacher this gift using Lauren Meader’s “From the Desk Of” template available at Papertrey Ink.

Details: SU Real Red & Whisper White CS, ink - every color from the SU bold brights family, and SU Crayon Alphabet & Kids stamp sets. Wish I had better pictures to share, there was no sun to be found on the day I finished the set!

The desk organizer was inspired by Crayola paper products I found in Michael’s for $1!! Lauren’s challenge for this week is to make your own DP and use it with one of her templates. I made both the Crayon background paper and alphabet border, and also put a name plate on the unseen side of the organizer. Crayon Kids (retired from SU) is one of my most used stamp sets, I reach for it all the time for a variety occasions. I have made Easter, baby, & thank you cards, I could go on and on. If you have connections with SU, encourage them to bring it back!!

Be sure to check out all the templates available at Papertrey Ink. There is a variety and all are such fun – not your typical boxes. The templates are super easy to use and I like being able to print directly onto cardstock, which means no measuring.

I will have another template project soon, I am working on my SIL’s Birthday present :>).
Smiles, Julie