Little Red Wagon Challenge #2

This week at Little Red Wagon, Rosanne challenged us to use last year's Christmas scraps to create a card, tag, layout, etc.

I had to dig deep in my wagon, but I found some Basic Grey Wassail papers and some embroidered stickers from EK Success and I decided to make a gift tag.

I created the flower by folding a strip of paper, then added a sticker and button to the middle. Then I cut out the leaves and stem to finish the flower, added a JOY sticker and created the tag top by punching circles from cardstock. For a finishing touch I added some detailing with my glitter pen. The idea for my tag was inspired by a card I saw in the latest edition of Cards magazine.

Thanks for a great challenge Rosanne! Now I have one gift bag ready to go for the holidays!

Sketchabilities

I loved the new sketch on Sketchabilities so I decided to use it to create a layout. I also looooove the new Pink Paislee Christmas line and I have been wanting to use it ever since it came into our store. I think the combination of the two turned out great!

I added a bit of stitching, a chipboard '25', photo turns, some buttons, and twine. I also used a border punch to give a scalloped edge to my paper.

Well, I am off today to scrapbook with 140 of my scrapbooking friends for the weekend! I will see you when I get back!

Little Red Wagon Challenge #1

I am very excited to be playing along with the very first challenge on our new blog, Little Red Wagon! Regan has challenged us to use packaging to create a card, layout or altered item. I have often admired the sweet packaging used for some products, but have never thought to actually use it to make something!

For this challenge I had this cute little stamp that came with adorable packaging.

I knew it would be super easy to work with so I just cut off the wording and used the rest as a background for a card.

Then I used a circle punch to punch out the small flower image that was next to the wording, put a slightly larger paper circle behind it and I had a perfect element to add! Thanks for a great challenge Regan.

Supplies: Cardstock: Prism; Pattern Paper: PTI; Stamp: Stamping Bella; Markers: Copic; Ribbon: From my stash

Why don't you give this challenge a try? Head over to Little Red Wagon, dig into your scrapbooking supplies and have some fun!

Halloween Fun

I worked a full day on Halloween and when I got home shortly after 5:00pm, my dh and son proudly announced that they saved a pumpkin for me to carve. As sweet as that was, the last thing I wanted to do was carve a pumpkin. I was tired and hungry and I knew the neighborhood Trick or Treaters would be coming very soon. So I did what any tired and hungry person would do in my situation - I grumbled and complained! But I also gave in and carved the pumpkin.

My son got me started by suggesting a couple of ideas, like a spider or a haunted house. I thanked him for his elaborate and complicated ideas and then I carved a 5-minute happy face instead.

With a hat on top and a candle inside, it didn't look too bad. And I will admit, it put a smile on my face and got me in the spirit of Halloween.

Spencer went out trick or treating with a couple of his friends, even though I tried to explain to him that once you started driving a car you were a little too old to go out begging for candy. He did say that a lot of his friends were just going to go and buy their own candy from the store, but "Why do that when you can just dress up, have fun and get it for free!"

So, of course he went. He was dressed as a Woopie cushion (how to make a mother proud!) and his friends were a cupcake with a cherry on top and a paper bag princess - very adorable.

When he returned home later that evening he dumped his pillowcase full of candy on the table and started sorting everything.

As he did, he told us all the funny stories of the different houses he went to and some of the comments they got. It sounded like everyone enjoyed seeing some older 'children' having a good time and it made me realize that life is what you make of it. Carving a 5-minute pumpkin or still trick-or-treating when you are 16, a decision to have fun and enjoy the day can make all the difference.

Have a good one!

Little Red Wagon

Do you need some inspiration for your card making or scrapbooking? Do you have an endless supply of 'have-to-have' paper crafting products just waiting to be used? Are you up for a challenge?

There is a fun new challenge blog called Little Red Wagon that you will have to check out! Each Wednesday one of The Girlfriends on the blog will post a new challenge that will hopefully motivate you to try something new with your wagon full of paper crafting goodies. The first challenge will be posted this Wednesday, November 4th, and we hope you will play along.

Get ready to have some fun and enjoy the ride!

Ho, Ho, Ho

After a long day of work yesterday, I decided to pull out my Copic markers and color. When I went to bed after 1:00 am, my dh asked if I had been playing with my markers the whole time. My answer was 'YES'!

I did a lot of coloring, but I only actually finished one card.


I used a sweet stamp from Stamping Bella called Santa's Clothes a Dryin'. Isn't it adorable? Then I used some paper from MME, Prism cardstock, Frosted Lace Stickles on the poles and the white fur, and ribbon from my stash.

I also used a technique I learned at my Copic Certification course to create the brick pattern on the bottom of the image. Very cool!

Thanks for looking ♥

Autumn Memories

I know we all have favorite memories. For me, most of those memories are not the big events in my life. Surprisingly, they are often a simple moment in time where my heart was touched in some unexpected way. It could have been a moment of laughter, a feeling of closeness with someone special, a delight that comes my way in the midst of an otherwise ordinary day.

One of those times for me was a couple of years ago when Carolyn and I took Spencer and Amanda to the pumpkin patch. Spencer and Amanda are only a year apart and they have been very good friends for many years. They don’t spend as much time together now as they did when they were younger, but when they do get together, they are very comfortable just being themselves. On this particular outing, they enjoyed picking out pumpkins, testing their skills on the Pumpkin Launcher, and just hanging out while they tolerated their camera ready moms. It was also a time when Carolyn and I could enjoy a nice fall afternoon together without the pressures of work.

I decided to scrapbook this particular memory on a double-page layout using Pink Paislee Amber Road papers (one of my favorite lines). I kept the layout simple, with some stamping and distressing, and I love the way it turned out. I used black and white photos so they wouldn’t compete with the soft colors of the papers.

It was a special autumn day – one I will always treasure!

Thanks for looking.