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July 31, 2013

Believe in U


My youngest daughter Aisling can be very shy and unsure of herself. I want her to always believe in her awesome talents and in herself!!

I did this sketch for a few challenges, the sketch is taken from the Prima BAP for July:


I also did this for the Patchwork Challenge at Scrap Africa, making a patchwork grid of squares under my photo with stitching for the full effect!!

July 30, 2013

Very Proud to Announce...

That this month I am guest designing with C'est Magnifique Kits!!!

I have been a subscriber for a little over a year now and was so excited and honored when Leslie asked me if I would be interested in guest designing. It took me all of about a second to say yes of course!! I love the international focus of her papers and the gorgeous embellies and flowers she puts together each month!

This months kit is called "A Walk in the Park" and it features Pion Vintage Garden Papers and lots of other gorgeousness, check out this photo!!! Look there are microbeads for me to try out, love it!


I want to show two of my layouts here today, most of my other projects with the kit are muted colors but I went all pink with these two! The first one I used lots of the microbeads on. We got special DIY Thickers that had adhesive on the front so that we could make microbeaded alpha stickers, how fun!! I also added a bit here and there across the layout.



The flower add on is full of gorgeous blooms to build up your layout even more! There is just one left right now they go so fast!!!


My second layout I wanted to use the gorgeous Prima tropical colored blooms in the flower add on, so I went a bit brighter again!! I added on modeling paste and masking and lots of misting. I pulled out my Martha Stewart doily punch and used some of the great Teresa Collins chipboard included in the kit. I took a fun photos of my eldest daughter and her two BFFs she's had since she was about 5!!



I layered lots of flowers, bling and butterflies and even blinged up the fussy cut butterflies from the gorgeous Pion papers with Donna Salazar fairy dust glitter.


I will show a few more layouts and cards I made over the next few weeks. Come back on August 1 and see my layout made with this month's gorgeous sketch!!

I just checked and there are still some kits and add-ons available in the August section of the store HERE. They go quickly so I hope you go check them out now!!

July 27, 2013

Sugar Creek Hollow DT Reveal - Water Water Everywhere


I love how this one turned out! This week our theme at Sugar Creek Hollow is Water Water Everywhere, a card featuring water somehow. I found a vintage postcard image to use. My papers are Kaisercraft These Days, crochet lace, and seashells stolen from my children's collections of store-bought shells over the years! My flowers are a mixture of Prima and Manor House.

Hope you will come join us, the challenge is open for two weeks starting today!

Challenges
Heck of a Challenge (July) (ends 07/31) – The Sea
Crafts 4 Eternity Challenge #R134  (ends 08/01) – Anything Goes
Tuesday Throwdown - Toes in the Sand
Alphabet Challenge (ends 08/02) – L for Lace
Cute Card Thursday #279 (ends 07/31) – Beside The Seaside

July 25, 2013

Mother and Child ATCs: Themed Thurday Post for Paper Wings Productions

I am excited to do my first DT post for Paper Wings Productions sneaking in a little early for July!! I decided to use a theme of Mother and Child for this Themed Thursday post. I used gorgeous stamps from the same stamp set, Worldly Women Melange 2 cling stamp set to create two canvas ATCs.


I started by inking the background of both canvas ATCs (received in the May Nesting Components kit that I purchased earlier) with Spiced Marmelade and Peeled Paint distress inks. I then stamped the images of the Native American mother and child and the Madonna and child from the Worldly Women set in black Archival Ink. For a more weathered background look, I took a script stamp from the Text Melange Cling Stamp set and Walnut Stain Distress Ink and stamped all over the ATCs. I used gorgeous chipboard Dusty Attic ATC frames I had and embossed them with Lindy's Stamp Gang Orbit Green Gold Embossing Powder, it really gives them the look of metal!!


I finished off the ATCs by using jewels from the May Nesting Components kit and gorgeous Pink Paislee Luxe metallic rubons on the Native American mother and child ATC from the July Nesting Component kit.



July 22, 2013

Frosted Designs Reveal - Great Outdoors



I had a lot of fun doing this one. My friend gave me a nautical theme necklace to make a nautical themed card for her. I took the metal piece and the blue and white cording from the necklace and found this gorgeous vintage travel poster image to use for the card. This didn't need any flowery frills so I just finished it off with a twine bow.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I do hope that you come join in the Great Outdoors challenge over at Frosted Designs...what I love about their challenges is they can be interpreted in so many ways, layouts of outdoor activities, altered items, cards, tags, ATC whatever you want to create!!

We have 2 prizes up for grabs this challenge, and from 2 wonderful sponsors. They both carry amazing products, but you need to see that for yourself, click on their link to have a look.

First sponsor is


I'm a crafty mom of 5 busy daughters and wife to a wonderful husband who loves the outdoors and hunting. I love many different types of crafting but I'm crazy about scrapbooking and photography! My love for crafting began as a child, thanks to my Nana Smith and plastic canvas!! I've been scrapbooking for about 10 years now & I enjoy both teaching and creating in my hobby.

All of my Etsy products come from my smoke & pet free home and I currently ship orders out two-three times a week. I hope you'll take a look and let me know if you're looking for something particular. I'd love to help! I do take custom orders and can often accommodate larger lengths of ribbons and trims in my shop.

SpiegelMom Scraps prize is..

2 Studio Calico Wood Veneers. 3 yards of May Arts Chevron ribbon (one choice of color: yellow, red or orange) and 10 yards of Natural Burlap String.


And next we have the very lovely
Molossi (I am partial here as I am on their DT and love their chippies!!)

Molossi is 100% Australian owned and operated, with over eight years industry experience and access to the much loved paper craft brands and experts.

Molossi is situated in the Hawkesbury region of New South Wales, and our warehouse is located in Wilberforce and open by appointment only.

With the vision, Molossi is committed to sourcing and supplying all your papercraft needs, whilst delivering our own unique products. Our priority is to deliver a prompt and efficient service to our cliental base, to maintain this promise we are listening to what you as the retailers are asking and we are always open to suggestion and comments to ensure we uphold this value.


And Molossi's prize is a...

$30 chipboard pack

Hope you come on over and play!!!

July 21, 2013

Altered Gift Box for Couture Creations DT


Hi Cathi here with an altered box using more of my Couture Creations dies and embossing folders!


Here is how the box started, I distressed the edges to give it an antique look, using my Couture Creations Sponge Daubers and Walnut Ink Distress Ink.


I embossed using the Sweet Dreams Collection: Ello Embossing Folder and some gorgeous lilac Paper Temptress glimmer cardstock and used punched strips of turquoise around the side and on the top of the box. I added some lace for more detail.  For the narrower strips on the side of the box I was able to use the continuous strip embossing that the built in slits in the Couture Creations folders included.


For the top of the box, I die cut the beautiful Fleur de Frame Nesting Die, and then 2 each of the 3 smallest Daisy Nesting Dies in turquoise vellum to make a flower. To make the flower I layered them all and attached them with a brad, then scrunched each layer. This turquoise vellum does not need water distressing to make the flower shape, but you can follow the tutorial done on this project here to make this quick and simple flower.


To add some dimension, I put the frame up on Couture Creations 6mm Foam Tape.




I also cut out the Endless Dreams Tip Toe die to add detail to the flower, treating them more as leaves for this.

Here is a look at the top of the box.



And here is another look at the completed box.


Hope you enjoyed this tutorial and that you will share any work you do with these gorgeous dies and folders on our Facebook page!!


 Couture Creations products used


July 20, 2013

Irish American Girl


I decided to play along with the Prima PPP for July and the Scrap Around the World challenge together!!! Here are the colors for the Prima challenge:


and here is the Mood Board and Sketch for Scrap Around the World:


My color theme came from the Prima challenge, but I took the wooden molding detail and added resin pieces that echoed that to my layout and the key which is a part of my flower cluster.


The photo is my oldest when she was about 8 months old, holding a little American flag my mom sent, and a patriotic outfit a friend sent over! Being an American abroad, I don't do much for the 4th but we like to mark the day a little in some way!!

I would also love to enter this into the Lindy's Stamp Gang Color Challenge. I used Autumn Maple Crimson, Tibetan Poppy Teal and Afternoon Delight Denim Starburst Sprays.


Shawbrook 2013

Excited to say that this was featured at Shimmerz, 13 Arts and made the Watch List for CSI!!


My daughter is ballet obsessed and very good at it. She seriously wants to be a dancer when she is older and her teachers think that she has the talent to do it. So scary, but I am so very proud of her. I will never be a backstage momma as I don't care if my daughter is a prima ballerina, just that she is a good, independent capable person ready to take the world on her own when the time is right. Of course when she is focused and self motivated to achieve a dream, I am going to support her any way I can! This summer she did a week long sleep away camp, a ballet dance intensive camp. She LOVED it and wants to go back next year.


I used my July Scraps of Elegance kit to do this layout, plus some flowers from my stash. I did this for two challenges and surprisingly just for fun, no DT work! I really love to make 2-3 layouts from the kits I receive and so this is my second one and hope to do one more.

For the 13 Arts Peaches and Roses challenge we needed to use these colors and use masks two way, I sprayed Shimmerz Bed of Roses through a chevron mask and then used modelling paste and a Prima damask stencil as well, I highlighted the modeling paste with spiced marmelade distress ink.


I also did the CSI challenge which had similar colors this week and wanted you to document summer...well I have a feeling for the next several years summer will me Shawbrook for Aine!!


I used the sketch but mirrored it so the photos were on the right side. I used the colors for the challenge. For my evidence I used flowers, triangles, banners, string and texture paste. For my testimony I documented summer. I did one of my tags of journalling with a lesson plan for one of Aine's days at the dance camp. Hours of dancing!! 


I'd love to enter this into the Berry71Bleu Anything Goes challenge too! Thanks for visiting!!

July 14, 2013

I Love Watching You Growing Up Together!

Excited to say that this was featured at Scrap for Help!!


My girls are growing up so fast, sometimes they get along great, sometimes one wrong look and World War 3 breaks out. Last summer they had such a great day out building sand castles and collecting shells on the beach in Oregon, I wanted to document that. They fight a lot, and I know it will probably get worse as they get closer to their teen years, but they do love each other and they can still play amazingly well together sometimes! I still can't believe sometimes that I am a mom to these beautiful little personalities, they make me proud, they tire me out, they exasperate me. I love them so much, and it brings a tear to my eye to see time passing by so fast. I am so glad I am their mom!!

I'd love to enter this in the 7 Dots Nature challenge, I used shells we collected from the beach trip! I also used the gorgeous sketch from Once Upon a Sketch and used the word grow for the theme of the layout. My journaling above is written on the back of the layout.


I used several items in this layout from Tresors de Luxe. I sprayed the Ivory Venice Lace (LA-025) with Lindy's Stamp Gang Tibetan Poppy Teal.


I used a Rustic Shabby Chic Pale Aqua cluster (FL-20)


and Tea Green Velvet and Rhinestone Flower (FL-004). I thought the pale green flower reminded me of sea
anenome and worked well with the beach theme!! 



The final little touch from Tresors de Luxe is the Tiny Shabby Chic Wooden Clothespin (FL-024)
 that holds my title. Just love using these!!



I love the Molossi chipboard Fence Wire Panel (small) that I used here. It reminded me of fishing netting and I thought it would work great here for added texture for the layout! I sprayed it here with Lindy's Stamp Gang Tibetan Poppy Teal mist.

I used real shells from our beach trip, beautiful 7 Dots Dreamer paper and stickers, and gorgeous flowers and lace from Tresors de Luxe.

Finally, I'd love to enter this in Berry71Bleu's Anything Goes challenge and the Scrap for Help Bubble Wrap challenge, I used my distress inks and some bubble wrap I had in my office to make the bubbles on the layout!

July 13, 2013

You're a Classic - "Things with Wheels" Challenge at Sugar Creek Hollow


We have a new challenge today from Sugar Creek Hollow - 'Things with Wheels'.

Our sponsor for this challenge is Doodle Pantry who will be sponsoring a random draw prize of 3 images!

I just love this bicycle image and sentiment they gave me to work with! I used my distress inks to color it in and did a bit of stamping as well with the background. I used my Couture Creations Oval Nesting Dies and Scallop Oval Nesting Dies and the Jasmine Dream die to add the leafy details. A few flowers from my stash, a handmade stickpin and some twine finish it off, along with some Couture Creations Self Adhesive Pearls!