Harvest time...

There's a chill in the air here today, and I need to go grab me a sweater! Brrr! The colder weather has really put me in the mood to create fall things the past few days, so I'll share a little bit with you at a time. These are both made with Melissa Frances products...

On the Happy Harvest card, I layered some chipboard numbers over a resin frame and added the bat rub on to a transparency to add it over the top. I can't get enough of the Melissa Frances resin!

I know the next card looks blurry...but really that IS what it looks like in real life! :) It sort of has a hazy look to it. To create this card, I stamped the damask onto white cardstock with Versamark ink, then heat embossed with white embossing powder. Then I rubbed my brown stamp pad over the entire card. A damp paper towel takes off most of the ink from the white embossed portion. You could certainly use watercolors over the embossed image for a softer look!
Thanks so much for visiting me today! I'll be back with a Pink Paislee blog post on Friday and some cards for World Card Making Day!

Update on Danbury, CT classes...

I just wanted to give you all an update on the scrapbooking classes I will be teaching in Danbury, CT. They will be held on Friday, Oct. 23rd and Saturday, Oct. 24th and we've added 2 classes (4 all together)! They are listed now at the Lasting Memories site, so pop over there and sign up soon! You do not need to sign up for the crop to take any of my classes. There will also be a professional photographer giving classes on portrait skills and such...how cool is that! Hope to meet you!

New card kits are coming soon...

Good morning! I wanted to pop in and tell you about a little venture that I'm so excited about...and hope you will be too. As you may know, Create My Keepsake has closed its doors recently. I was deeply saddened by the news, as CMK was my "scrappy home" for quite some time. Two years or more! But when one door closes, another opens, right? Seems so true...

I have been on the Label Tulip team for about 6 months and really love the kits that they put together there, so I proposed to the new owner an idea. How about turning one of her add-on kits into a card kit? Much to my surprise, she was thrilled with the idea and agreed!

Starting next month (October 15th), one of the add-on kits will automatically come with directions, photos and patterns to 4 cards created by me. The add-on kit can still be used for layouts or anything your heart desires. The directions are just going to be a "bonus" for you when you buy that add-on kit!

Please see the Label Tulip blog today for more information! I have posted a sample of what you will get. (Note: These are NOT made with the first card kit, they are just samples of cards that I made with last month's kits.) Kits will be stocked with all new goodies...the latest and greatest.

You will not need to sign up for a subscription for these. They will be sold on a first come, first serve basis! The price point will be kept within the $20-25 range. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy this idea. Please let us know if you have any questions, concerns or requests for particular items for these kits!

P.S. I forgot to mention that you are SO welcome to join us in the Label Tulip forum to chat about anything/everything! You can also post in the gallery any creations you make, they do not have to be made with a Label Tulip kit for you to post there. Come on over!

Autumn is upon us...

Good morning, it's Saturday and the fall weather has certainly arrived here in New York! It's a brisk 56* here this morning and the leaves are falling left and right. We are headed to the Adirondack Balloon Festival this afternoon, and I'm so excited to see the girls' faces when 90 hot air balloons take off into the air! We haven't been to this event yet since we have lived here. (I think I'M more excited than the kids..ha!)

I'm in the mood to create fall things and love the warm colors associated with this time of year. I worked on a frame last night with lots of yummy Melissa Frances supplies: stamps, resin, chipboard, rub ons and pearls.

The frame is just an inexpensive one from the dollar store that I've had in my stash for awhile. I covered the matting with cardstock that I stamped with 2 different stamp sets by Melissa Frances. I added the chipboard letters and rub ons over the top of the glass and cut out a few more of the leaves for dimension on the top of the frame.

You could certainly paint or spray the resin with mists or glitter, but I chose to leave them white and love the crisp look with the browns/golds.

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your weekend!

Melissa Frances supplies used:
Pop Out Glitter Alphabet GN16
Stately Applique Resin CX12 (swirls on bottom)
Tea Party Applique Set CX811 (flower)
Scroll Applique S/4 CX710 (swirls in top corner)
White Pearls GN278
Autumn Splendor Transfers FW042
Baroque Stamps ME11
Flower Stamp ME12

Urban ink...

Over at Dream Street, our assignment this month involved working with the new Urban Ink line by Dana Miron, and I have to admit, when I first pulled out these papers and such, I was a little intimidated! Scrapping "boy style" has been really tough for me. Must be because I have 2 girls at home and have always scrapped "girly" things. But....as I got going and started creating, I had a LOT of fun pushing myself to create this card set:
I added some striped ribbon from my stash and tied it in a knot, it's supposed to look like an ! at the end of congrats. ha Love this striped paper too!Next, we have an encouragement card, "Aim High". When I saw the swirly lines on the paper, I thought of a big arrow.
And the dude card. My personal favorite!
I cut a star shape out of the paper myself and popped it up with pop dots and then wrapped twine around it for a boyish, rustic look. The barbed wire is an Urban Ink rub on and the arrows and chipboard letters are Urban Ink chipboard.
If you have boys, snatch this line up! It's perfect!
Click HERE to see more projects being posted throughout September with the Urban Ink line. I love Katrina's "Typical Teen" layout. She's so good!

Come and scrap with me...

Hey, all-
Anyone live in or near Connecticut? I will be coming to Danbury Plaza the weekend of Oct. 23-24th to teach a few classes! One will be a mini album class and one will be a layout class. Both are going to feature the new Pink Paislee lines. I hope you can make it! I'd love to meet all you on-line peeps!The layout class is going to feature Amber Road, Twilight and the Mistletoe lines by Pink Paislee. The Mistletoe line comes out next month, so you'll be getting brand new stuff in your kit including two stamp sets to take home and lots of extras! I have many prizes to give away too!

The mini album class is going to be a fall mini featuring the Amber Road line:
Please visit Lasting Memories for more information. Sign ups will be taken soon!

Cherish those loved ones...

Happy Tuesday! I hope this day finds you well, healthy and happy.

We have had a sad time this week. I don't want to bring you down, but I've been feeling so helpless this week with the death of my cousin's little boy. They live in Minnesota and had a baby boy 3 weeks ago, and he's been in the ICU. He wasn't able to move his arms and legs and was having trouble breathing. They had him on a ventilator and did multiple tests to find out he had Spinal Atrophy. It wasn't good news, as most babies born with this live only a few months. Well, on Friday evening, he passed away on his own.

It just breaks my heart so much. Words can't express how it hurts and I wish I could help them in some way. I remember when Kati was in the ICU when we found out she had a heart malformation and how it felt not being able to bring her home. But it was for only a few days. Losing a child would be worst thing imaginable. Josh, my cousin, and his wife Jess have been keeping everyone updated on caringbridge.com and her journal entries have been so heartbreaking. Please keep them in your prayers, if you could. Here is a slide show I wanted to share. They are going to be playing this at the funeral. Just to warn you, you will need lots of tissues. Amos Bennett's slide show

Now onto happier things. I must have needed to lift my heart today, so I created a few colorful things. This first page is made with Noel Mignon's Core Curriculum kit. I wanted the page to have a funky, crazy feel to it. What do you think?

Taylor is such a goofy girl with a fun personality! She is always silly and making jokes and being funny. I love it.

I first started with the idea to create buckles out of the Scenic Route rub ons. I applied them to the kraft paper, cut them out and then cut slits into the ends to slide the ribbon through.

The title was hand drawn and hand cut by me. I don't have a cutting machine, so I improvised.

Everything here was from the kit except the ribbons (from my stash).

Next up is my card for Card-a-licious this week. The challenge is to create a birthday card with red, blue and yellow. I used the Pink Paislee Sweet Cakes line, a Prima flower, a Melissa Frances resin flourish and rub on, and I think the scalloped paper is Making Memories.

Thank you for stopping by today and give those loved ones a big hug.
Appreciate them and love them with all of your heart.

Label Tulip creations...

The Sept. kit at Label Tulip went up for sale last night and...well...it's sold out already! If you've had your eye on these kits, don't hesitate! Sign up soon on the main Label Tulip page for next month to guarantee your kit! Here are some creations I made with the kits:

1. Note to Self was a challenge for us to scrap a page to our 18 year old self. I couldn't find any old photos of me (think my mom still has all of them at her house in S.D.), so I just scrapped a recent photo of me. It was fun to do this, as I never seem to do pages about myself. I loved reflecting on how I've changed since then. If only I knew what I know now! 2. This little headband was made with the crocheted butterfly (from Etsy) in the kit and the ribbon. I just hot glued the ribbon onto a basic headband and then hot glued the butterfly on top of that. Kati wore this headband for 2 days straight...she loves it and it was so simple to make! I love that it's a custom headband that no one else will have here. Aren't these butterflies divine?
3. The next page, Kiss Me, are photos of Kati and daddy at the apple orchard last weekend. We had just finished up picking apples and sat down for some cider donuts. She is so loveable. Always giving love and it's so hard not to love her back! (This is the lift of Leigh's page that we were challenged to do.)
4. I *Heart* You card: This card is made with some of the Graphic 45 papers and some of the Prima packaging. I used the little die cut circle letters to create a sentiment on the side of the card. The black floral paper was cut into an arrow to draw your eye to the heart.
5. Hugs card: This red ribbon reminded me of warm hugs. It is so lush and pretty. So I wrapped it around one of the journaling spots and stamped "hugs" on the bottom with some alpha stamps from my stash.
Love these pearl gems...so pretty!
6. Hi card: The last card was made with one of the add-on kits. I got my inspiration for this card here. Such a neat idea. There is a how-to there also if you visit that link.
The new owner at Label Tulip, Jennifer, did an amazing job putting these kits together. Can't wait to see what she has in store for next month.

I want to thank you so much for all the kind wishes and congrats! I can't wait to get started with Tattered Angels and feel so blessed that they want me as part of their team. =) Hugs,

Use up your leftover letters...

Today I have another Noel Mignon project to share with you, it's called "Read. Write. 'Rithmetic."

I love, love these Letterman Thickers and wanted to use this title with Taylor's 1st day of school photo, but I didn't have enough letters left to create my title. So I added a few alphabet stamps to fill in the missing letters. The stamps are just an old set I had purchased at Walmart one time, I believe. They sure come in handy though.

Everything here is from the Core Curriculum kit by Noel Mignon (except the letter stamps and the 4). I found an old chipboard 4 in my stash and painted it blue for a splash of color. (It was her first day of 4th grade.)

Noel has a really cute Halloween kit out right now too. Check it out!

And I have some other news to share! Some very exciting news for me...I was SO surprised to receive an e-mail from Tattered Angels asking me to join their design team!! I can't wait to try out all their products. Actually I only have 2 bottles of Glimmer Mist right now, so I can use some more colors! :) What a great list of team members, I'm honored to be a part of it!

Stay tuned for the Label Tulip kit reveal tonight. I will be posting my projects soon!

A couple of Label Tulip sneaks...

You are going to love these next kits at Label Tulip! Be sure to grab one on the 15th or sign up for a subscription to guarantee a kit. Here are a couple of sneak peeks to whet your whistle...


I've been very busy getting together some things for a class coming up October 24th. Actually there will be 2 classes, a mini album and a layout class. If you live near Danbury, CT, then you might be interested in stopping by and cropping with us! More details coming soon!

I've got a 4th grader!

Taylor's first day of 4th grade was today! She's getting so big. Thought I'd post some photos I took of her this morning in our yard. The bus comes right to our driveway, love that, especially in the winter when it's super cold out. We just look out the window and when we see the bus, she runs outside. So spoiled! :) She has a guy teacher this year and I think it will be good for her. Excited to see how her day went when she gets home!