Inspiration Everywhere

I've been meaning to post this for weeks now, and lucky for me (and maybe some of you), Jessica Sprague knows all about us procrastinating types.  Jessica's latest FREE class started today, but it is not too late to register.

If you have never taken a JS class, you are in for a real treat.  And if you have taken one of her classes, then you know this is one not to be missed.  She has five amazing projects planned (like a banner and an inspiration binder).  I am most excited for the Art Journal portion of the class.  Mine has sat gathering dust for far too long.

Hope to see you in class!

Some Cards (though not of the holiday variety!)

There's a rip-roaring card crop in progress at Scrapbook Heaven.  Here are my five cards complete with tutorials:

Numero Uno:

Here's a fun little card that looks more complicated than it is:

You need:
3 pieces of cardstock:
front: 8 1/2" x 3"; scored at 2" from each end
middle: 6 1/2" x 3"; scored at 1" from each end
back: same as front

1) Punch or cut out a window in the front and middle sections. I used a 1 3/8" circle on the front punched three times; and a 1 1/4" circle on the middle.

2) Stamp on back piece in area that will show up in window.

3) Embellish the front and middle sections as desired.

4) Assemble like this:

Number Two: 

I found the idea for this card online and just fell in love with it. I'll warn you, it took me two tries to get this one right, so you may want to test it out on scrap paper first. (But, then, you all probly have more smarts than me and will get it on the first try!)

1) Cut a piece of cardstock to 8 1/2" x 5 1/2"

2) Score across at 4 1/4" (like you would for a traditional card)

3) Holding paper vertically, make a cut 2" from left side starting at 2 1/8" from top and running until 1" from bottom.

4) Score from right side to cut made in step 3, working from bottom up at: 1", 2", 3 1/8", (4 1/4" score is already there from step 1) and 6 3/8".

5) Fold the 2" wide left fold as a mountain, the 3 1/2" portion at the 4 1/4" as a valley. Alternate remaining scores as mountain and valley to create the "stairs".

6) Take a deep breath because you made it through the hard part and have fun embellishing your card!

Third Times a Charm: 

This little card is an oldie but goodie. Used this style for my youngest's birth announcement 5 years ago. They whip up faster than you think and pack an impressive punch!

1) Cut cardstock base: 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"

2) Cut patterned mat: 4" x 5 1/4" and adhere to base

3) Cut holder strip 1" x 4 1/4". Do not adhere, attach with eyelets, brads, staples at top and bottom.

4) Cut pull tab piece: 8 1/2" x 1 3/4" and score at: 4 3/4", 5 3/4", 6 3/4"

5) Cut 3 squares for accents: 2" and mat with 2 1/4"

6) Place adhesive on the boxes created by the scores in step 4 and apply the accent blocks by lining up the left side of the square with the fold on the pull tab.

7) Feed the back of the accented tab piece under the holder strip and adhere the larger of the three scored blocks to the top of the holder strip to secure.

8.) Embellish and add a ribbon or tab to the pull strip.

#4:

This cute little card whips up quickly, and the inside has plenty of room for a photo and a greeting.

1) Cut cardstock base 10 1/2" x 3 1/2"

2) Score at 3 1/2" and 7" and on the diagonals as shown:

3) Cut patterned paper 3 1/4" square and along diagonal.

4) Fold and adhere triangles from step 3 as shown:

5) Embellish as desired. Use ribbon to tie closed, or use a decorative clip as I did in my sample.

Last But Not Least:

'm going easy on you for this last one! It's a simple pocket card made from 12" long paper. The extra inch folds up to create a little pocket inside the card. Use it for cash, a gift card, a packet of soup, cocoa, or tea bag.

1) Cut a strip of paper 4 1/4" x 12" long.

2) Fold and score at 5 1/2" and 11". Fold 1" piece up and glue edges to inside of card to create a basic pocket.

3)Decorate card front as desired. I fussy cut some patterned paper, folded some paper flowers, and stamped sentiment on a transparent scrap from a sheet of stickers.

Inside pocket:

Come play along with us.  You'll have until Saturday, November 27 at 9 PM to complete your cards (there are 20 fun-filled inspiring cards) for a chance at some prizes.

Gratitude Box

This time of year, feelings of gratitude abound, and it has become a traditional time to take stock, count blessings and appreciate life.  For the past three years I've done a little gratitude project for my family--everyone writes down their thoughts of thankfulness on Thanksgiving, and I match them up with snapshots from the day.  

Here is this year's:

I upcycled a box that held notecards and altered it with some patterned papers and a handmade flower.

The top opens up and the cards fit perfectly right inside:

The cards are just a word doc I created, printed on white cardstock and matted with colored cardstock.  

You can download the cards here.  The fonts I used are Times and Times Again and CK Becky, both free downloads.

On Thanksgiving Day, I will be sure to get snapshots of each family member, and then I can just print them out glue them to each card and trim to fit.  Easy!

I hope you will whip up one of these before the holiday to record your family's gratitudes.

Here is a pic of the other two I have done:

You can find details for the meander book (left) along with full directions here.  I will be back to add pics and deets for the little lunch box in the next day or two.

Crochet Ear Warmer

The cold weather is creeping in here in New England, and I keep seeing these headband style ear warmers popping up all over. 

Anthropologie

Isn't that cute?!  A quick search for a crochet pattern turned up this easy one.  It whipped up really quickly with an I-hook and some worsted weight yarn.

I embellished it with a clunky flower that I came up with, and I'm thrilled to share the pattern with you:

Petals:
With two strands of worsted weight yarn held together and a J-hook:
ch 6 and sl st in first ch to form a ring
Rnd 1: ch 6, dc in ring, *ch 3 dc in ring* repeat 3x, ch 3 and sl st in beginning of first ch of ch 6 (six ch 3 spaces created)
Rnd 2: (sc, hdc, 2 dc, hdc, sc) in each ch 3 space around; join with sl st in first sc (top petals made)
Rnd 3: sc around post of first dc in rnd 1; *ch 5, sc around post of next rnd 1 dc* repeat 4x and sl st in beginning of first ch of ch 5
Rnd 4: (sc, hdc, 3 dc, hdc, sc) in each ch 5 space around; join with sl st in first sc

Center:
With one strand of worsted weight yarn and an H-hook:
ch 4 sl st in first ch to form ring
ch 1, work 2 sc in each ch around - 8sc
without joining, work sc in each sc around three more times
stuff with fiberfill
sc in each sc around one more time
*sl st in next sc, skip next* repeat until 4sc remain
Fasten off leaving long tail and stitch to center of flower.

Happy Crocheting!

December Planner

A couple of weeks ago I talked about changing up my December Daily project this year since last year's is still in the WIP (work in progress) basket.  Well, I've started working on the divider pages for the album and I think it's going to work out great.  Here's a peek-a-boo at four of them:

For the album, I took a three ring photo album I had picked up a few years ago.

It was pretty darn cute already:

but I covered it with one of the papers from Crate Paper's Joyride line:

It was a tight fit on the 12" paper, so I covered the inside seam with a thin strip of coordinating paper:

The floral is part of the original album--perfect!

Each of the divided sections will hold assorted page protectors (5x7, 3.5 x 5, 4x6, trading cards, and any others I can scrounge up) that will be perfect for photos, memorabilia, journaling tags, etc.  Even as I am typing this, I am thinking of more dividers to make.  

Here's the text for the one's I have so far and a little description of what that section will hold:

The title font is Crystal Wilkerson's Playful; the subtitle is Pushkin

Calendar {the hustle and bustle of the holiday season}

     holiday parties, Christmas pageants, school parties

Traditions {the little things we do each year to make the season special}

     photos of any and all traditions: Santa visit, gingerbread house; music score, list of favorite holiday songs

Gifts to Give {making a list and checking it twice}

     storage for receipts (handy when needed, and fun to look back on), photos of gifts, wrapping paper    

     swatch

Wish Lists {Dear Santa, all I want for Christmas is...}

     copies of the lists the boys write, photos of them writing letters to Santa at the mall

Recipes {crisp apple streudel and schnitzel with noodles, these are a few of our favorite things}

     recipes from the holidays, cookie baking photos

Greetings {a little smile, a word of cheer, best wishes for the coming year}

     copy of our holiday card, holiday card list, cards from others

Decorations {deck the halls with boughs of holly}

     photos of our decorations, tree, and the process of putting them up.

I am super excited about this album.  I love the organized format, the amount of information it will hold, and that it is also a scrapbook of our memories.  And most of all, I love that I can capture it all and enjoy it without the lurking feeling of being "behind" on the daily entries.

Framed Butterflies

Played around with my new eCraft this morning and created this super quick and easy butterfly deco piece.

I simply used scraps backed with cardstock for stability.  I am amazed at the teeny detail this machine can cut (check out those antennae!).  I cut the butterflies at a size 2 and placed them in a 5x7" frame without the glass.  The wings bend up, but I didn't capture it well in the photo.

Inspire Co.

I just stumbled upon an absolutely amazing blog, and I want to share it with you.  It's been a little while since I spent some time just hopping along from place to place on the web, and I am so glad that I chose tonight to do it!  You must, must, must go check out this beautiful home of Amy Powers.  She's been blogging since 2005, so I am very well running the risk that I am the last crafty person on the planet to find her site.  It's a risk I'll take, because her online magazine is just too fantastic not to know about.

And this little project is moving to the top of my to do list:

Wordle

 

{click on image to see it bigger}

Just playing around tonight, taking a break from a day of creating, and I discovered this little website.

You can type in a bunch of words, or feed it from your blog, or any website with an RSS feed and create this funky little piece of word art.  Isn't that fun?!

First eCraft video!

Woohoo!  I am over-the-moon excited that my eCraft arrived at my doorstep on Monday night!!  Here's my second video clip (the first will never see the light of Vimeo {sniff} b/c I recorded it in the suped up crazy high-def million res mode and the file was like 11 trillion gig!).  Oh well, it was just corny me taking my machine out of the box and making my first cut.

In this vid, I show you how I got the best results cutting three different types of paper: thin patterned paper, Stampin' Up! cardstock, and glittered cardstock with beautiful results.  Enough of me talking, here take a look, and I'm warning you, I'm a little wordy--my next vids will be less talk and more action!


eCraft demo on 3 papers from Michelle Neddo on Vimeo.
Cutting settings for SU! cardstock, DCWV glittered cardstock, MME patterned paper