A very happy announcement!

Today I wanted to share some very exciting news! I am joining a new DT, and this is a company I am so proud and honored to design for. I have been scrapbooking with their products from the time I began scrapbooking, almost 9 years ago, and it's one of the most beloved and respected companies in the business....



I will be joining a very talented bunch of ladies to be on the Colorbok/Making Memories Design Team, and I couldn't be happier! Honestly, I was shocked when I got the email, and I think I had to pinch myself. This is really a dream come true, and I can't wait to get started. Please hop on over to their blog to check out the rest of the wonderful DT girls.

The Piano

I created a layout to play along with Kaisercraft's May Sketch Challenge "May #4". I thought the sketch was really cool and I had just the perfect photo for it. On Mother's Day a couple weeks ago, we took a day trip to NYC and had a great time. We saw my brother (he lives there), visited Central Park and the kids played at the oldest playground there, and we visited Toys R Us, FAO Schwartz, and American Girl Doll store (according to DD, it's another version of Paradise).

At FAO Schwartz, the kids got to play around on the famous piano, and I snapped a few pics. The Kaisercraft "Sweet Nothings" paper was perfect, with its music notes and nostalgic feel. I also used some Recollections flourishes and IamRoses.com flowers.

Shabby and Sparkly

Today, I'm sharing a sorta shabby, sorta sparkly little card. I used "Prairie Chic" collection by Bo Bunny, and I made it for their May card challenge, which was a sketch. To make it shabby, I first added a glass bead gel medium on the corners, and then when it dried, I added some Tim Holtz white crackle paint on the corners, and the lamp post (a Tim Holtz die), and on the Prima flower. The lamp post was cut from glitter paper, and I added a few gems inside the flower, as well as Prima swirls and gems for a little glitz and sparkle. For inside the lamp, I painted the yellow paper with some gold paint. I sprayed the surface of the card with blue glimmer mist, so there is a lot of dimension since the card topper curls away at the edges, revealing the blue misting underneath. Hope you guys like!!

W for Wonderful

I made a card for the Cheery Lynn "Make It Manly" challenge. I used the "nautical Wheeler" doily die they make, and then I hear embossed it in bronze. I also used their corners die. The paper is Prima "Craftsman" and I used Tim Holtz metal charm and gears to ...well, make it manly :)

Copic coloring tutorial

Hey guys, I had a few people ask me to do a real-time video on how I color with Copics. So I wanted to go ahead and do that, and I used a stamp from my very favorite company - The Paper Nest Dolls. I used a super cute little girl, and it turned into 4 videos since I had a limit on how long they could be. So, enjoy!

Part 1



Part 2



Part 3



Part 4

Rocking horsing around :)

Another card I wanted to share, colored with Copics, and using a Paper Nest Dolls stamp. How adorable is he, in his vintage clothes, on this rocking horse? I just love this image. And the paper - Fancy Pants - is just perfect for this image.

Sweet rainy-day friends

Hi all, sharing another Paper Nest Dolls card today! How sweet is this little image? I colored it with Copics, and the paper is by Echo Park (For the Record 2). The gorgeous flower is from Prima. I colored it in with Copics.

Happy Birthday

I made another card using a full scene stamp from The Paper Nest Dolls (for another one, see my blog post from yesterday). I love how the background scene complements the image, and I don't need to worry about masking, etc. It's so fun to make a whole little world of it. The paper is by Echo Park (Scoot), and I colored the stamp with Copics.

I Love You With All Of Me

I made a card using a sweet stamp from The Paper Nest Dolls. The stamp includes the gorgeous background, so no need for masking, etc. I colored it with Copics, and the paper is My Mind's Eye, and the flowers are Prima.

Le Jardin

I got some more gorgeous pics of my daughter from another recent trip to the park. Here she is, looking all thoughtful and contemplative. I used the gorgeous new "French Country" collection by Graphic 45. The beautiful die is Nautical Wheeler Doily from Cheery Lynn Designs, and I'm entering this in their "Lots of Layers" challenge for this week.

Choo Choo!

I wanted to scrap some pics of DS when he was younger - I had printed these a while ago and was just waiting for the right paper to come along. Well, "scoot" by Echo Park is definitely the right paper. I also used some brads by Recollections and Bo Bunny, and some puffy embellies with washi tape. The letters are Thickers (of course :)

4 YOU

I made this little card using some MME paper and a darling stamp from The Paper Nest Dolls, colored with Copics.

Birthday mini album!

For DS's 4th birthday, we went to Great Wolf Lodge in the Pocono's again. It's basically an indoor water park, with a lodge-themed hotel. So fun for the kids. Last month, I won Bo Bunny's card challenge, so they sent me their awesome new birthday-themed line, "Surprise". The colors and various elements were perfect for this mini album. The mini itself is Kaisercraft MDF Wood.

The cover. I cut the "4" out of one of the sheets of paper, backed it on more paper, and then covered it with glossy accents to make an embellishments out of it. I also popped it up with foam adhesive:


A close-up of the cover. I put an October Afternoon metal flair in the star, and then covered around it with glossy accents... I love how it came out:


This mini was so perfect with all the star and arrow-shaped pages:


LOL..."The Claw"! I always think of Toy Story now, when I hear that:


Dexter was such a pro at this lily-pad jumping by the end... he was totally fearless (and it's not an easy challenge, trust me!):




I made a pocket to store their "Paw Passes", and here is a close-up of one of the passes pulled out:


The kids got to go play bowling, and they also got these books made for each. They got their pictures taken in various poses, and then they were inserted into the story and the story illustrations as one of the characters... how cool is that?!


The stuffed animals the kids got to make (they were soooo excited!):


And the back:

Island of the Blue Dolphins

I had some time to scrap today, and I wanted to scrap another pic of Morgan from our recent trip to the park. I used the gorgeous "Prairie Chic" collection by Bo Bunny. I also used some of my Flourish With a Bling flourishes and gems and pearls.

The two dies I used are from Cheery Lynn Designs: Nautical Wheeler Doily and Dancing Doily Lace Border. I'm entering this layout in the Cheery Lynn Designs "Bling It Up" Challenge #78. I used a ton of bling here :)

I am also entering it in the Bo Bunny layout challenge for May - to use a book title as your LO title. I used:



And here's my layout, "Island of the Blue Dolphins". I did machine stitching around the photo and around the edge of the blue paper, and then added gesso to the pink and blue flourishes, as well as to the doily.











My daughter also made a couple cards using my Cheery Lynn dies, and I wanted to share them. This first one is using Bo Bunny paper and "Nautical Wheeler" doily by Cheery Lynn, as well as a Paper Nest Dolls stamp. This one is for her music teacher, and since he's a guy, she wanted it to be more manly:



Her second card is for her friend's birthday, also using a Paper Nest Dolls stamp, and the "French Pastry" doily by Cheery Lynn: