Full of joy...

What makes you joyful today? I worked on this page late last night and it was one of those pages that just fell together by itself. I'm joyful when that happens! =)

The circles were cut around the design in the patterned paper (Secret Garden line by Dream Street) and tucked under the edge to give a scalloped edge look. I found this old chipboard piece in my stash (by Making Memories) that came with a Christmas chipboard pack, but decided to use it on an everyday page and dressed it up with Secret Garden rub ons and a few extra goodies for dimension and interest. Next, I cropped a photo that I took of my daughter the other day at the park to a different size (5" x 2.2") and used my printer to print out the unique sized photo. I love using black and white photos with lighter colored papers to give contrast to my page!

I love doing these 8.5 x 11" pages and think I might do more of these. So much less canvas to fill. Much like cards, which I enjoy also.

How about a challenge? Scrap a page using a unique sized photo. The photo(s) can be any size except the usual 4x6" or 5x7". Leave a comment with a link to your page by Sept. 6th and I will draw a random winner to receive a little Dream Street prize pack with some of the new releases! Can't wait to see your pages.

Supplies:
Papers and rub ons: Dream Street's Secret Garden line, die cut and resin flower: Melissa Frances, Joy chipboard: Making Memories, heart pin: Fancy Pants, Brad: K&Co.

Scrapbooking Memories...

Scrapbooking Memories, a very popular Australian scrapbooking magazine, recently asked me and a few gals from the Pink Paislee design team for a short interview. You can read it here on their website! 5 Minute Scrap Chat with Danielle Flanders

Thanks for letting me share my excitement!

Little cuties...

OK - I know I am totally biased! XOXO I just had to share these photos of my girls with you that I took today! We tried to go to one of our favorite playgrounds today, and then we got there and there was a sign that said, "closed for renovations until Oct. 5th". What? The snow might be flying by then, for pete's sake! :) (OK maybe not..but pretty close!)

So next, we were going to go apple picking. We pulled in and popped into the store and asked for a bag to go pick our own apples. Nope! They don't start letting you pick your own apples until THIS Saturday. Another idea shot!

So, we grabbed some cider donuts and off we headed to the school playground. They built a new one recently, because they are adding onto the elementary building and had to demolish the old one. I wasn't sure if that one was going to be open either, but it was! The girls ate their donuts (heck, donuts are better than apples anyway, right?) and found a little friend to play with while we where there. She was adorable. (I would have taken her picture, but didn't think her mom would have approved.)

The last photo isn't great quality, but it cracks me up...it is SO typical of them! Taylor bugs Kati, Kati gets upset, then calms down and goes back for more. Oh the joys of sisterhood!

P.S. I Love You...

This month, my assignment for Dream Street was to create an altered project with the new Nature's Poetry line of papers, rub ons and chipboard. I decided to make a clear mini album.

I used one 8.5 x 11 transparency cut in half. I folded those in half and stacked them on top of each other and then punch holes at the top with a Crop-a-dile to insert the ribbon and hold the pages together. (So I ended up with 4 pages. But you could add more if you wanted to.)

On the front, I added the Nature's Poetry rub ons and chipboard and then painted a little bit on the back of the page with creme colored acrylic paint. It dries very fast and if you don't like it, you can scrape it right off. These flowers by Prima worked great with this line!

I used the Cuttlebug machine to emboss small pieces of patterned paper for accents on my inside pages. On the last page, I embossed right on the photo and sanded it to let the white show through. Please visit the Dream Street blog to see the inside pages!

(For those of you who asked about where to purchase the star stamp below: I added a link in my last post to direct you to a place where you can purchase that set.) Have a great day,

Hey Diddle Diddle...

Would you believe this page actually started out as a card? I was playing around with these star stamps by Melissa Frances (#ME05) and was going to make a baby card with them, when I thought of nursery rhymes/books and decided to scrap these photos of Kati reading her books! The little card sort of looked like a book to me when I was done with it, so I created a page to go around it and then added the photos. These little 3D stickers (cat and cow #GN162) are so cute!

To create the bottom piece, I stamped the star with honey colored ink over the yellow cardstock. Then I printed out the Hey Diddle Diddle nursery rhyme from my computer onto the piece and stitched lines underneath with my sewing machine.

The top green piece is just cardstock stamped with Versamark ink, which just creates a darker image than the color of cardstock you are using.

Kati "reads" her books to me and it's so sweet listening to the stories she comes up with. One of her favorite books is Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? One day when I was taking photos of her, I also took some of the books she reads most often on her shelf. So glad I did!

I will have to take more photos of our "everyday" life. Little things like this are what I want to remember.

Thank you for stopping by today and thanks for all your sweet comments! I appreciate them! =)

Supplies: 3D stickers, polkadot paper, star die cut and star stamp: Melissa Frances. Chipboard letters: Pink Paislee. Brad: Making Memories. Star chipboard: Scenic Route. Cardstock: craft supply.

**Edited to add: You can find the stamp set that I used on this page for purchase at Emma's Paperie HERE. Emma's carries a variety of the Melissa Frances products.**

Mix -n- match...

Just a quick card to share tonight before I head off to bed. Tomorrow will be a busy day of errands and hopefully some swimming! Supposed to be 84* and sunny.

I broke out my Versamark ink pad and stamped the blue cardstock with Melissa Frances' Summer Breeze Stamps and then added the sentiment over the top. I'm trying to break out of the mold and mix-n-match different manufacturers for a fun look.

I'm not crazy about pink and blue together, but I think by throwing a little bit of red and yellow in, it gives it a fresher, happier feel for a get well card.

Supplies:
Stamp, rub on ("get"), butterfly sticker, and die cut circle: Melissa Frances

Other:
Yellow/blue cardstock, ribbon: craft supply
Watermark Ink: Versamark
Chipboard letters: Pink Paislee - Expressions
Floral Chipboard: Basic Grey - Lemonade

Such a girly girl...

Tonight I worked on a page with my Melissa Frances products. I love them so much! It didn't turn out anything like I meant for it to turn out, but I guess that happens sometimes! I had a different idea in my head that I didn't end up using this time around. Does that ever happen to you?

I used the new Courage paper, new Attic Treasures die cuts, Glitter Alphabet, Girl's Transfers, and my favorite stamps ever - the Baroque Stamp set. The frame is a Tattered Angels frame and is already embossed..it's gorgeous! Tattered Angels goes so well with Melissa Frances. I stitched inside the frame with hot pink thread to make it pop out a little bit more.

My daughter Kati is SUCH a girly girl, just like me. She loves to pick out her own clothes at age 4 now...here she is sporting her own outfit of choice complete with candy necklace (that she didn't eat because she wanted to wear it only)! =)

I wanted to chat about stitching on chipboard really quick (see post below). It's very easy, I just painted the letters first and ran them through my machine just like paper
or fabric. No different technique to stitching on chipboard! Try it on a sample piece first. I found it was easier to attach the chipboard to the page first and then stitch. This way you don't have to hold the chipboard with your fingers and risk stitching your fingers! Just use a tape roller to attach them, not a glue dot. The machine won't stitch through glue dots. Give it a try...it's fun!

Pink, orange and green...

Well, my parents have gone this morning on a plane back to South Dakota, I'm going to miss them like crazy. There's nothing like being with your own family. It's hard knowing that it might be another year until we get to see each other again. (cry!)

We had a lot of fun, touring around and got to go see the top 10 American Idols on tour Wed. night! It was FABulous!! I didn't get any photos of that night, because I didn't think we could bring cameras in, but as it turns out everyone was recording it with their phones anyway, so next time I'm bringing my camera for sure. Anyway, I'll post some pics soon of their visit!

Here is my card for the next challenge at Card-a-licious, to create a card with pink, orange and green:I stamped a swirl from the new Amber Road stamp set by Pink Paislee in hot pink and then layered the ribbon and letters over the top.
Supplies: Jenni Bowlin ribbon, Basic Grey chipboard letters, Pink Paislee chipboard/ stamp/papers, Making Memories buttons and a Melissa Frances rub on.

Another one that I made for the challenge, but I decided I liked the first one better. I painted a rainbow with the colors that we were to use for the challenge and stitched over them with the same colors of thread.

Supplies: Melissa Frances rub on, Pink Paislee's Cupid papers/Amber Road stamp/new Pink Paislee Expressions glitter letters, Jenni Bowlin ribbon, and a Making Memories button.

They're here, they're here!

My parents made it in Friday night and their flights were all on time (for the first time ever)! So excited! They are all sleeping, so I thought I'd pop in and post my Label Tulip projects really quick. We've been out and about touring today in the 90 degree heat and everyone is completely exhausted! As am I. I'm so happy when they are here!
I just checked and the newest Label Tulip kit that came out today is sold out already, wow! It was definitely one of my faves so far! Layle Koncar was our guest designer this month, beautiful creations by the whole team. You can see them all here.

Beautiful flowers make a quick card look scrumptious! Love these new Cosmo papers..
This is a page that I did about Taylor going back to school on the first day last year. She gets so excited to see everyone again at school. I did stitch on the chipboard letters with my machine and just ran them through like you do with paper. Just make sure not to attach them with glue dots first, because the machine does NOT like stitching through glue dots! You can use a lighter adhesive, such as a tape roller to adhere them to your page before stitching (or stitch on them and then adhere them to the page). I liked the little added detail. Lots of Webster's Pages..
This is a page I made with an embroidery hoop. I trimmed the paper in the circle shape and attached it to the back of the hoop. One of my favorite memories was this one when Kati was little and we went outside to explore in the backyard one day after she started walking. A simple day, but one filled with excitement as I watched her explore.
To create the pleats on the front, I cut 1/2 inch wide strips of paper and folded them every 1/2 inch or so (not being exact) along the strip. Then I stitched it with my machine down the center of the strip to hold the pleats together and attached them on the front of the hoop with glue dots. Lastly, I pinched each pleat open to create dimension.
I used the file folder in the kit to create this card and cut out the 2nd butterfly from the folder, attached it over the top of the other butterfly to create dimension.
And last, but not least, a bird-shaped card that was inspired by the little birds on the Birds of a Feather Flock Together journaling card. I printed the sentiment on one of the journaling cards with my computer that says, "Thanks for sticking with me."
Thanks for reading! I'm off to get some sleep, will be back soon..

Sneaks for you...

Just popping in to let you know that the next kit over at Label Tulip is coming out in a few days and OMG! What a gorgeous kit....this was one of those kits that just really came easy for me. A must have. Here are a few sneaks...enjoy!

New Melissa Frances...

Happy Monday! First off, thank you to those of you who played along in my sketch this week! I randomly chose a winner to receive the RAK and the winner........is..........

Rebeccak

Please e-mail me with your mailing address, Rebecca!

Over the weekend, I created a couple of things with my new Melissa Frances goodies. They didn't come out with a new paper line this time around at CHA, but DO have some awesome embellishments coming out this time! Some of the papers were just released not too long ago, and I just received them in the mail. This is a card that I created with a card base that my good friend Shonna from back home sent me for my birthday! It's a Sweet Chips chipboard card by Crafty Secrets. I traced it onto my own chipboard, so I could save the original to make more cards with! It's so nice having a crafty friend...she knows just what I like. :)
I used Serenity paper (blue polkadot), Courage paper (green), stars from the Walk for the Cure Die Cuts and Boy Transfers (rub ons) by Melissa Frances. Buttons are from a very old Junkitz set that I had in my stash. Lastly, I added some chalk around the edges (because we all know boys love to get dirty!) and some machine stitching with brown thread.

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Let me tell you a little bit about the next project, a tin of Paper Dolls:

My daughter had received a little tin of magnetic faces to keep her busy while in the hospital having surgery last year. Just this weekend I decided to repurpose it (with her permission, of course!) and turn it into a tin full of paper dolls! I went with a birthday theme for the background, as it would be a cute birthday gift for a little girl. But I also thought it would be fun to create lots of different backgrounds to switch them out. Wouldn't it be fun to do a snowy, wintery scene with the Melissa Frances chipboard as well? Or a Halloween theme with the Halloween chipboard? The possibilities are truly endless! Just by adding magnets on the backs of the pieces, they stick to the tin. They would also travel well in a car.

Melissa Frances has these adorable little 3D stickers of 2 little paper doll girls and some clothes/hats (Girly Girl 3D stickers #GN164). I popped them out of the sticker sheet leaving the backing on so they weren't sticky any longer. Then I went on-line and found more paper dolls for free from the Betsy McCall website.After printing out some of the dolls and their outfits on-line, I dressed up their outfits with more Melissa Frances supplies. On one of the dresses, I folded paper and stitched the top to create a ruffly bottom for her dress and added a button. The other girl's dress received some Melissa Frances pearls. Love the dimension and fun it added!
As a mom with 2 girls, I'm always trying to come up with a variety of things to do with them. It would be fun to let them print, cut out the dresses and add their own special touches!

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Here are some of the new products that Melissa Frances came out with this time:

New Crepe Paper sheets, they are huge! I just cut little strips of them on my project above.
Chipboard Bingo cards, very sturdy and thick! And you get a whole book of them:
New chipboard letters:
Bottle brush trees in pink and ivory:
Tinsel:
Girl and boy chipboard flash cards (these are the boy ones), love these:
Envelopes and tag book:
Click here to see all of what's new at Melissa Frances, and be sure to stop over to the blog every now and then, such beautiful creations being posted there by the team.