you blue me away...

has anyone been watching the Olympics coverage?  did you see the opening ceremonies?  i know it's a bit belated to comment, but you know what blew me away?  the Mr. Bean section and the Queen + James Bond.  O.M.Goodness.

i'm still thinking (and by thinking, i mean laughing) about it, even now.  so funny.  i won't ruin it for you, but if you haven't seen it, do a quick search on youtube with the keywords "olympics" and either "mr. bean" or "james bond."  can't miss it.

okay, back to crafty stuff.

today's card comes in a mostly monochromatic scheme--blue!

i used three types of washi tape (have i mentioned i love that stuff?) a solid turquoise, a striped turquoise, and a Tim Holtz tissue tape.  so easy, so versatile.  no patterned paper to measure or cut, no adhesive needed.  but doesn't it add so much to the card?  i love it.

i added some trim above the solid washi tape, and the die cut label with "No." on it are both from Recollections.  i had cut a heart from DCWV glitter card stock, and there were some jewels in my stash.

and there you have it!  a BLUE card for someone you love... maybe who's feeling a little down, in the dumps... don't you think this would make them smile?

well, thanks for stopping by, and i'll see you soon!

xoxo

shabby meets washi

hi there!  i have a lot to share, so it's post #2 for me today.  if you haven't checked out the manicure monday post yet, then you'd better head over HERE to see what i've got cooking!

this project is in the form of a card, and i've paired a whole bunch of elements in a sort of shabby chic style.

first, you have to know that the patterned paper in the background is from Bo Bunny, and it's fabulous. the different sections can be used as journalling spots, tags, or backgrounds.  the solid glitter strip on the right is from SEI.

and then here's where we see the washi elements :D  i seriously LOVE washi tape.  it's found it's way onto almost all my recent projects... it just happened!  so i've used some Tim Holtz tissue tape (as they call it), as well as a TH number card.  the orange stripe is from American Crafts, and the pink diagonal is from Target.

the butterflies are from recollections, and even though the card is more peach-y than pink, they do bring some non-pastel color to the card.  this would be perfect for a wedding or a girly birthday, maybe even a wedding anniversary!

oh, and before i go, one quick word regarding layering washi tapes... TOTALLY AWESOME.  (i guess that's two words, oh well.)  in reality i was shooting for a peach type of color with the tape, but i didn't have any, so i improvised.

at first i didn't like it, but it's grown on me.  and hopefully you!  let me know what you think!

thanks for stopping by (again).  we'll see you back here soon!

xoxo

manicure monday: Olympics & dark purple glitter

so this is another share from a few weeks ago.  i found this awesome polish at the store and even though i have quite a few purples, i got this one because of the big glitter flakes.  

the polish is by Revlon and it's called "Scandalous." i did an accent finger in black because i wanted to try Essie's "Matte About You" polish--it turns whatever you're wearing into a flat color, which gives it a whole different look.

i didn't get a picture of the bottle, so i looked one up.  the glitter looks as good on your fingers as it does in the bottle... Revlon FTW!

sorry about the lighting on this one, but it really is a pretty (and dramatic) manicure.  perfect for that little black dress or to add to your current purple collection for something different!

(just a note: the glitter can be kind of hard to remove, so i suggest using a 100% acetone remover... makes the removal process less time consuming!)

and now i have a more recent manicure to share with you... it's one i did on saturday.  i was gearing up for watching a lot of Olympics coverage, especially water polo and i knew that i had to sport something patriotic to cheer on my favorite sport and teams...

so i came up with this... i was SO happy with the results!

i mean, how can you not smile?  there's some red glitter from Finger Paints (it's very dark in the photos, but it's almost a Dorothy's shoe color) and some hand drawn verbage as well.  i did some stamping to bring in the stars and stripes! unfortunately, out of my small collection of konad (and non-konad) plates, i didn't have any plain stripes, so i used the squiggles because they reminded me of water.

both hands were the same minus the thumb accent finger.  now that was a trick, getting "TEAM USA" to appear correctly on my nail :D

and of course i had to let the guys i'm cheering for know that they had a fan...

so i put this one on instagram and tweeted it as well.  because, why not?

thanks for checking in, hope you enjoyed!

fabric hoops & cheap decor (a DIY post)

so until recently i had lived in my own two bedroom apartment.  no roommates, no pets, just me.  it was very very nice.  it was actually my first place of my own.

and i really really enjoyed making it mine.  i love doing that, no matter where i go... making someplace 'mine.'  i used to do it in college, by putting up maps or pictures.  i still remember my freshman roommates thinking i was a bit strange to put laminated pictures of tarantulas on the walls from Martha Stewart Kids Magazine (hey! they were on cool colored backgrounds and i didn't mind).

now that i'm in a room at my parents, i've done the same thing... i have some new canvases on the wall, a few fabric hangings, and even my own clock.  but i also have the option to change it all if i want, and when i move again to my own place, i'll be taking these lovely fabric hoops with me to make a new place my own.

i'm going to teach you how to do it too... it's simple really.  get some hoops like this...

any size will do... if you're going to do a grouping, consider how everything will balance.  you don't want every hoop the same size unless you're going for a very symmetrical design. i got my hoops at Jo-Ann's or the thrift store.  the bigger ones were more readily available at Jo-Ann's, whereas there were a ton (for cheap!) of small to medium sized hoops at the thrift store i went to.

and of course you need fabric.  get some in your favorite colors / tones / patterns.  you want something you love.  i was decorating my craft room, so the colors were bright and mixed, i had already picked pink as my bedroom color, and red as a kitchen/ entry color, so i just went with a variety in my craft space for versatility.

once you've found the fabric you're using, do a quick bit of designing in your head.  lay out which patterns you want to make the biggest statement, and then begin placing them in the hoops as you go.  remember to stretch your fabric so you don't have a big wrinkle in the middle.  a bit of tugging will do the trick.

then trim!  don't trim off everything, as you can see above and below you do want some extra fabric around the edge... i'll tell you why in a bit.

the reason you want some extra fabric around the edge is so you can push pin the extras into the inner wood ring.  that way you don't have anything poking out the sides.  you could also use double sided tape (i've done that before), but if you want the option to change out the fabric later (which i love!), then the flat head push pins are your best bet... they make interchanging the fabric easy as pie.

so here's the layout i decided on (i used my floor as a canvas :D) the big buttons are from the clearance section at Jo-Ann's.  i originally planned on painting them for another area of the house, but they were a great off-set to the patterned fabrics... providing me a way to tie in other colors too.

you can see (in this poor quality instagram picture) that i actually added another button, and then i threaded all of them with some ribbon from my stash.  these buttons are by no means necessary for a fabric hoop decoration, i just had them on hand and thought they would work.

so there you have it--cheap decor!  the most expensive hoop that i bought was $2.50 (including tax) without a coupon.  at Jo-Ann's they always have 40% coupons that can help you easily form a collection of hoops in all shapes and sizes.  also, the fabric for this kind of project can come from anywhere (some of mine was purchased... two of the 7 patterns, the rest were hand-me-downs from my mom).  scraps can come in VERY handy on this project!

all done now!  let me know if you've done something like this before, or if you're more apt to try it yourself... i'd love to hear about it and i LOVE reading your comments.

thanks for stopping by!  xoxo

fringe flower canvas: live laugh love

hey there!  hope your saturday is off to a great start!  mine is going to be filled with watching some Olympics, reading a book, and probably creating something pretty :D

i'm excited to show you another project that i created for my wall.  it's a simple canvas plus paper and buttons.

but the results can be/ are fabulous.

so i got some of my SEI papers out and grabbed some solid patterns and some florals as well, punched 1" to 2" circles with a paper punch, and cut 1" and 1 1/2" paper strips.  after i cut the paper strips, i used my Martha Stewart fringe scissors to make cuts all down one side and then rolled that paper into a flower.

then all that was left to do was to do some arranging... and after i was satisfied, i took a picture to remember the order, and scooped all the flowers and circles off the canvas.

i made sure i covered my work surface, and then i painted the canvas with some orange/ yellow/ red acrylic paint.  after an appropriate drying time, i then sealed the paint with Martha Stewart mod podge (although it's called something different) plus gold glitter.  i just poured some DeNami Design gold glitter into the glue, and mixed it up.  in real life, the canvas has a marvelous sheen when you walk by at certain angles.

then i proceeded to glue and pop-dot the circles and flowers i had made before.  i added buttons to the centers of all the flowers, and when there were gaps in the design, i added baby rhinestones to the canvas to help fill it in.

in the middle of the heart shape that i left open, i used some thickers/ letter stickers (the "live" is a Basic Grey alpha set, the "laugh" are American Crafts in white that i stamped in an ombre sunset color, and the "love" is some mini alphas from i can't remember where) to spell out my sentiment.

Live. Laugh. Love.

such a good reminder huh?

and there you have it!  once you get started on those flowers, they're seriously the easiest things in the whole world.  i just suggest using some heavy duty glue to keep them on your canvas because you don't want the more substantial flowers to droop off.  something like Glossy Accents would work.

anyway, hope you've enjoyed.

i'll catch you next time! xoxo

g thanks

me again.  this time with a card.

fun colors, fun elements, basically all around fun stuff.  it's because it's summer.  there are so many awesome embellishments to use during the summer time.  not that i'm unhappy with other seasons, but summer colors are BRIGHT, my favorite.

so, i went with pink and yellow with splashes of neutrals (khaki/ brown/ and white) and i absolutely love the result.

the paper elements like the swirl, the ledger paper, admit one ticket, and the postage stamp are all from Anna Griffin, but they're all fun and funky, kind of different from what you normally see from AG in terms of style.  the yellow flowers are from Recollections, and if you recall yesterday's forgiveness post, you can tell that i'm obsessed with them.  completely.

the stamp is studio g as is the brown ink.  i used some washi tape (tucked behind those layers) from Tim Holtz and Target (yay for stripes!) basically, this card was a snap to make, all those layers were just waiting to get thrown together.

oops, almost forgot about the paper... all the patterns are Melody Ross.  couldn't help myself, i got a pack of those papers in beautiful summery florals--it's going to make for lots of colorful projects in the future.

well, thanks for stopping by, and happy mid-week hump day!  i am so excited for Friday, i really can't wait for the Olympics to start!  i will be glued to the screen once swimming and water polo come on (mostly water polo).  are you going to watch?

take care! xoxo

forgiveness project

today's project is very involved.  it has a lot of pictures.  i have some in progress pictures, some finished pictures, and some in between pictures (which is definitely different than in progress pictures).  

...just giving you a heads up here :D don't want you to be overwhelmed or anything.

anyway.  this project also means a lot to me.  i created it specifically so i could have a visual reminder of a really tough time i went through about two years ago.  things weren't going well with some people in my life, and i was really hesitant to forgive them for the things they'd knowingly said/ done, and for what they unwittingly said/ done to hurt me.  but it still hurt.

and i still needed to go through the act of forgiving them, even though it seemed to be the complete OPPOSITE of what i should and wanted to do.  but i knew it was the right thing (don't you hate it sometimes when you know what the right thing to do is, and you really really REALLY don't want to do it, but you know it will be good for you, so you 'have' to do it anyway?  yeah, that was me.)

so, i created this reminder for me--that no one is perfect, that forgiveness actually loosens the grip that another person has had on you (usually without them even knowing it), and that you can move on with your life.  most, if not all the quotations that i included in the project come from the book "Boundaries" by Townsend and Cloud.  it has been life-changing.  literally.  i suggest "Boundaries" to everyone i know.  again, because no one is perfect.  we all have work to do.

i recently talked with a friend about forgiveness which was perfect timing since i needed to remember my own advice.  but also, since i've made this (quite a while ago but never posted) i've had lots of people ask me about it, and it's always good to explain the purpose behind the prettiness.  because when we create (scrapbooking/ cards/ layouts/ keepsakes) we're expressing a part of ourselves.  and that's good.  but sometimes we forget.

so, this is me.  

my pictures aren't edited (again, the whole "there's a lot of them and i might be kind of lazy" thing) and might be slightly out of order, so i'll do my best to provide explanations.  i think a few of them might even require you to tilt your head to see them properly (*smiles sheepishly/ falls to knees to beg for mercy*)

i'd LOVE to know what you think, or if you've ever created something along these lines (kind of as a healing process) and if you HAVE, could you share a link?  i'd absolutely enjoy seeing your project!

ok, here we go...

first i gathered up supplies in pink, blue, black and green.  i'm talking MUCHO supplies.  i gathered more than i thought i would need. (this doesn't even show close to what i collected)

then i did some arranging.  some background squares were darker, and some had borders or pretty parts i wanted on display, so i messed around with my format.

and then i piled on the embellishments.  and i mean PILED.  there were so many parts to each square that i wish you could see in person, because it's awesome (if i do say so myself :D)

here's an example of one of the squares before it went back into it's designated 'slot' in the scheme of things.  i used quotations in a diagonal way, so some of the squares had a reminder about forgiveness, and others didn't.  this one says:

Your freedom in Christ cannot be dependent upon others whom you have no right or ability to control.

like i mentioned before, some of the quotations i put in this project were things i NEEDED to hear, but not what i WANTED to hear.  sometimes i can be stubborn and bitter.

so that's what the finished square looked like from above.  i couldn't give you a supply list even if i tried, but the paper was a DCWV stack (very pretty!) and i used lots of Prima flowers and PTI buttons.

so on i went through the rest of the squares... creating as i went... sometimes stealing embellishments from different squares when i felt they fit better elsewhere.  basically, going with the flow.

i was definitely inspired to layer my creations via a blog that i read regularly by Christine.  she is the layering goddess!  i kinda had to force myself to pile on the embellies because they were all so pretty and i wanted to be able to see them.  but i love the impact they give.

one thing i do know... is that i could use Recollections flowers (the plastic-y/ epoxy type kind) in every.single.project.  they're fantastic.  if you haven't picked up a pack in EVERY SINGLE COLOR, then hurry to your local Michael's and do so.  like, leave now.  and go.

seriously.  go.


oh, you're back?  good.

some of the quotations on these squares that you can't read will be shared below.

this is where you have to do that head tilt-y thing.  my apologies again.  i know, i'm lazy.  i already said that.  just keep reading :D

i shared the quote in this picture with you already, but can i just point out how AWESOME that butterfly is?  it's awesome.  it's partially transparent.  and awesome.  just sayin'.

the green square has a quotation in in.  it reads:

The cross of Christ makes forgiveness legally and morally right.

again, stuff i needed to make myself remember.

this quotation (the silver bracket surrounds it) says:

Psalm 139: 23-24 “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns.  See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.”

the above squares, especially the black background one, were super fun to glitz up.  the angel wings (a find from Jo-Ann's) are some of my favorites.

i used a Hambly transparency frame on the pink background square.  the quote above that square says:

Forgiveness means resolving to live with the consequences of another person’s sin. It means you let them off your hook, realizing that God does not let them off His hook.  Forgiveness is a crisis of the will, a conscious choice, a way to free yourself from the past.

oh, how this pierced my heart.  letting someone off my hook was not what i wanted to do.  i wanted to hold on to that pain, that hurt they caused and hold it against them for an indeterminate length of time.  it's still my MO, my default setting.  but i think i'm learning... that forgiveness does so much more for ME than it does for them.  they don't even have to know you've forgiven them.

here we have a fabulous transparent butterfly, a FLOWER, and lots of buttons and ribbons and glitter.  the quotation goes like this:

God says, “I want you to know something.  No matter what you do in life, I’m always going to love you.  You can be honest with Me and tell Me the truth.  I may not approve of everything you do, but I’m always going to love you.”

this was included because i needed to know in my HEART (not my head) that God loves me no matter what i do.  that includes the things that i need forgiveness for.  see, i told you none of us is perfect!

and lastly, this top edge square had the remaining quotation:

What is to be gained in forgiving is freedom.  You don’t heal in order to forgive.  You forgive in order to heal.  Forgiveness is to set a captive free and then to realize you were the captive.  You don’t forgive others for their sake, you do it for your sake.

the freedom part of this whole thing was the best ever.  like, after i forgave that person for the hurtful things they'd done or said, i had a completely different perspective... it was like i didn't need to include that hurt in our relationship anymore.  it's so true... forgiveness is for YOUR sake.  not theirs.

okay, so now back to the pictures where you don't have to turn your head sideways (sorry about that, i might fix/ edit those pictures someday).

these next few photos focus on the details.  the embellishments galore! (pure crafting heaven!)

hehe, little pom pom poking out :D

ooh, look at the dimension here!

butterfly.  *le sigh*

oh flower, how i love thee, let me count the ways.

so many random objects on my squares.  all good though.

here's where i started getting serious.  everything got lined up and glued down.  put the separator in position.

wait for it...

and here's the final product (the frame is something i found while browsing in Jo-Ann's... which is SUCH a bad idea for me.)

i hung the final product in the hallway leading to my living room at my old apartment.  right now it's in storage (how i miss it!) but will come right back out when i get a new place to live.  for now, i'm happy to just share it with you.

i can't tell you how happy creating this made me feel.  like i was going through a catharsis of sorts.  it was great.  i encourage you to do something special and meaningful for your life soon.  it can change you.

that's all of it.  again, not the greatest photos, but i think you kind of get the picture :D

let me know what you think!  i so appreciate your comments!
xoxo

manicure monday: navy glitter nails

today i'm sharing a manicure from last month... i was going for something simple that would work for about a week (gasp! i know... that's such a long time for me!) with everything i was wearing.

so i picked a navy blue out of my stash, and added some Essie gold flakes.  i think the navy (called "Sailor" from Nina Ultra Pro) was great on it's own, but i wanted something fun but subtle.  so the gold glitter flakes were just the thing (they're from Essie, called "as gold as it gets" from their luxeffects collection).

here we go:

in the right light, these nails looked black, but they were perfect for what i needed.

hope you enjoyed!

pottery painting: blog header inspiration?

hey all!  i'm back with a different crafty project to share.  this time it's from a vacation that i took with some friends at the beginning of June.

that's me on the bottom left, i was the dog :D

i know that not everyone who visits my blog has been to Washington, so i'll fill you in.  we have beaches.  but not like other states or countries have beaches.  we have different beaches (which mostly means that they're not as sunny/ they're kind of rocky/ you can count on getting some rain while you're there).

this was the view FROM OUR DECK! lovely. *le sigh*

BUT, me and my friends went with a big group of ladies for a little retreat at Ocean Shores.  it was great.  one of the activities that our hostess planned (solely voluntary, of course) was to go visit the town's little pottery painting studio.

so we went.  and i ended up painting quite a few things, which was TONS of fun, and i totally recommend!

it's sort of a peaceful activity, almost like coloring.  i think one of the hardest things to do was figure out how to LIMIT what items you wanted to paint--there were so many options!

so the first thing i painted was a little catch all oval bowl.  i added some sea-themed littles to it (the coral, starfish, and sand dollar).  definitely LOVED looking at all my color options!

and then as i was waiting for one of my friends, i decided to paint a plate.  not necessarily ocean inspired, just something that i really loved because i just did.

so i came up with this idea.  this is a medium sized plate, and i painted banners in two monochromatic color schemes.  light blues and the yellows/ oranges were so awesome together.  i love how i can have my food on this plate and look at one side of the plate, and then next time i go to eat off it again, i can switch it around and check out the other side with the cutie banners too!

so when i got back from the vacation, and i was thinking bout re-starting the blog (which by the way, took a few months to convince myself), i began messing around with some editing software and some freebie downloads online.  and then my blog banner (as it is now) was born.

and i think it was slightly inspired by that plate, and the ocean vacation (despite having nothing to do with the beach!)

so there you have it!  hope you enjoyed, and that you come back soon!

tomorrow is manicure monday, so if you need some ideas about what polish to put on your nails, be SURE to check it out!
xoxo

solely stamping

heyyyyyy!

today i have a card for you!  i stamped this one (you guessed it!) a while ago, after a stamp night at Impress (an awesome horrible store where i always buy way too much crafting stuff to go with my collection hoarding of supplies). i bought these two stamps and had a ball with some different colored inks...

i like the happy birthday because it's a nice sentiment size for anything simple.   and don't even get me started on the banner stamp.  I.AM.IN.LOVE.

so what do you think?  gotta love how easy this was to make... i'm VERY sure i'll be making this in the recipients favorite colors (how can i not?)

hope you enjoyed, come back soon for some fun cards using patterned paper!

thanks for checking in :D

a (not so) mini album

hey there!

it's weird... because of my long absence here on the blog, there's a lot of projects that i haven't shared.  i'm not sure how many will actually make it to the blog, but when i was browsing i TOTALLY knew that i was sharing this mini album.

i had a lot of fun making this, it started out as a kit from The Button Farm Club (can't remember which month), but i totally ignored the directions, found some extras from my stash, and went with the flow... i think the end result is awesome.

sometimes i really love working with a certain paper collection, and sometimes i like to take snippets and use them sparingly throughout a lot of projects.  honestly, it depends how pretty the paper is, and whether i have a few extra sheets.

i'm not gonna lie, i'm kind of a hoarder in regards to paper crafting.  (*blushes*)  but aren't we all?  in some way/ in some area?  take my sister, for instance.  she's an AMAZING book blogger (who also posts funny musings and yummy recipes), but she'd be the first to tell you that she has a book problem. i think she ran out of shelf space at least a year ago... and i'll have to stop poking fun at her--she might stop sending me the ones that "i just HAVE to read!" ha, i love her, book hoarding and all.

okay, on to the actual mini...  don't have any of my own photos in this one.  not sure if that means i'll be selling it, or if i'm just waiting for the perfect pictures :D

it's going to be a very photo heavy post, and my apologies in advance for not editing any of them (sheepish grin) because there were so stinkin' many!

inside the front cover...

and the pullouts... i LOVE washi tape.  especially when it coordinates with a travel theme!

yay for October Afternoon making some awesome designs!

you can see smidges of washi tape at the top of this page...

oh! i loved this page... a smorgasbord!

the 'travel' vocabulary card could have been used on every single page... i loved it!

here's an addition i thought was awesome... the Maya Road kraft envelope! <3 *le sigh*

yay doilies and chevron paper bags!

the pullouts for journalling or extra pictures...

i built the pocket up on this one so you could really add a TON of those extra pictures you're not sure where to put in your albums... it can hold a lot!

i thought the dinner menu was so cute... something you could turn over and jot down what you had for a meal on the trip you took...

again, another pocket here for bigger items or paraphernalia... this page was really thick with back to back pockets.

the fun pullouts!

that little dog! LOVE :D

even though this has a London tag on it, all the red white and blue still reminds me of the USA!

that star washi tape = amazing! more pullouts and chevron bags.

i like adding jewels to the mini tags... that extra glitter is important!

definitely a spot for journalling...

and finally we're on the last page (inside of back cover)... i added some buttons/ trinkets here.

then this flap lifts up for more picture space!

gotta keep the back nice and flat, so some washi tape and paper did the trick.  all done!

and there you have a side view of all the pages.  i loved the tabs on the ends... they were a pain to cut/ trim, but i think it makes the mini lots of fun and brings a bit more character...

so what do you think?  i know there's a lot to process, but i'd love to hear from you!

thanks for stopping by... xoxo