Gratitude

Hi all! I FINALLY got to my paper & stamps today, it's been over a week since I made anything & I was feeling weird! Also, I wanted to share I was featured at Jingle Belles yesterday for this card! I play so few challenges these days, that it's always a thrill to get picked! Gone are the days I played 5-6 challenges a week, maybe I'll have more time this winter... a girl can dream anyway, right? I showed you in my last post that I just got some SWAP goodies from fellow colourQ designer Kara. I wanted to use some of the things to make her a thank you note & this is what I came up with! I used my old SU set "Autumn Splendor" and stamped the leaves and acorns onto glossy white cardstock with Memento brown ink. Then I used sponge daubers to add color to the images & fussy cut them out. I used one of the tags Kara gave me, some of the ribbon, paper & a button from her too. I stamped "Gratitude" onto the tag with a stamp from this Inkadinkado set "Filigree Fall"

And that's it for me, running out to buy a new microwave, woot woot! :)

xoxo, Noelle

Supply list: paper, ribbon, button: PTI?; stamps: SU & Inkadinkado; inkpads & sponge daubers; tag: Martha Stewart Crafts

SWAP goodies :)

Hi all! Sorry for the lack of posts. 'Round here I've been a lean, mean, cleaning/organizing machine! I've cleaned and organized my pantry, my fridge, and one of those really AWFUL kitchen cabinets. You know the kind where you open the cabinet door while simultaneously protecting your head with the other hand, so whatever falls out doesn't hurt you? Yep, one of **those** kind of cabinets. I've been doing a LOT of organizing lately, and (while secretly I'm an organizing freak & I LOVE any excuse to come up with a new system;) it makes our home so much more usable for EVERYONE. Which is really nice :)

I got a "happy package" in the mail the other day & I wanted to share :) The group over at colourQ decided to do a SWAP with each other. Not to buy anything, but just to share things from your stash with someone else. It was a fun idea that Anita had! In all my years and years doing this, I'd never done a SWAP before! So, this was pretty fun for me! I sent a package to LeAnne. And, the other day, I got this VERY COOL collection of goodies from Kara! As that old slogan goes "it's new to you" and I am really excited to get playing with these fun things! 

Well, that's all for me today, I have a really neat home improvement project to show you soon! And, I'll take a break from organizing and projects around the house, and get back into my studio to play with stamps and paper soon! 

Have a great one! :)

hugs, Noelle

Vegas Babies scrapbook layout (CQC #104)

Hello, all you papercrafting peeps! I hope you are all doing great! Today is our ColourQ 2nd birthday bash!! Woot woot! That's right, two years since sweet Arielle posted her first colourQ challenge! I have been playing along as a Design Team member since January of this year, and I must say it has been a JOY working alongside this group of incredibly talented, very kind, low-key ladies. I love them ALL & I feel very blessed to have landed in such a cool group. Here is the palette for this week, and because it's a birthday challenge we are asking YOU to CASE (copy & make your own, in case you aren't familiar with that term) a former colourQueen with this palette! Check it! 

I chose to CASE ColourQueen #99, Lynn! Lynn's project was so awesome that she was crowned ColourQueen, the very first time she played! Lynn's was also the first scrapbook page to ever win ColourQueen. I loved the simplicity to her layout, since I struggle with "clean and simple", I thought this would be a good shot for me this week! Here is Lynn's layout that I CASEd

This is Lynn's LO that I CASEd link here.

As I was looking over Lynn's bio, I noticed we have a few things in common. We both have sons named Collin (2 l's), we both married our high school sweethearts, and we both have all boys. And, I didn't even know any of that when I chose to CASE her layout! LOL! ;)

Since the palette included that pinkish Rose Red, I opted to do a more girly page than my traditional boy-friendly layouts. I had this cute pic from the recent girls' weekend I took to Las Vegas in July. I also remembered how I liked the look of masking with the Disneyland Pages I'd done a few months back. I thought it might give the spritzed background a cool look to mask with a few flowers and shaped paper clips peeking out from behind the pic. I also flipped Lynn's layout, to accommodate my horizontal shot. So, I used a brown pen to mark the four corners of where my pic would end up, so I knew where to place the items I was masking. I used some ooooold metal flowers & some shaped paper clips as masks. Then I spritzed with some Log Cabin Smooch Spritz from my stash, moving the flowers around as desired. 

All the paper strips that are punched and layered across the left hand side of the page are scraps from my bin! Yea! I LOVE using some scraps & not having to cut new papers! The final touches were the title stickers, my journaling (I went free-form, like Lynn), and a couple pieces of old SU! hardware I couldn't resist using ;) But, all in all FOR ME **ahem** this is a pretty clean and simple layout, wouldn't you agree? Aren't you proud? And, I love the way the pic takes center stage & I got to use scraps, woot!!

Well, I'm gonna wrap up this marathon post! I hope YOU will come play at our birthday party? Please? Great colors and awesome fun to CASE a former ColourQueen! Hope to see you there! 

xoxo, Noelle

supply list: solid cardstock:SU!; Log Cabin Smooch Spritz; punches: EK Success; sticker letters: October Afternoon; hardware: SU!; patterned paper: MME; textured cardstock: Bazzill; metal flowers: making memories

DUST IT OFF!: Those metal flowers are really old, but this is a fun, FRESH way to use them! Any cool shapes in your old embellishments you might mask with some spray ink?  Hmmm? ;) 

Sure, "owl" decorate! ;)

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: I am not a seamstress! Nor do I claim to be one, so please pardon any rookie mistakes I may have made with this project! ;)

Hey there all, hope you are doing well today. I bought this fabric a couple weeks ago with the intent of making a new Fallish/whimsical table runner for my dining room. I was BOUND and DETERMINED to not let this fabric go by the wayside & forget about it! ;) I really don't care for this table, it was a hand me down from my Mom & (while definitely an improvement from the air hockey table that sat there for 2 years!) it's old & really not my style. So, I always try to make up for that with cute table linens, etc. I altered my boring tab-top curtains about a year ago & made a runner to match. When the runner got thrown in the wash after a recent dinner party, it got ruined. So, I wanted to make a new one & I really wanted a sense of fun in this room! :)

As I announced above, I am really not a seamstress. I do have a machine & I can sew a straight line, but, that's really all. However, through the years I have used my machine to make lots of valances, curtains, pillow covers, etc. So, if you are a professional or experienced seamstress, please try to ignore my screwups. ;)

When I went to school for Interior Design, I got pretty good at figuring yardage for projects. while at the fabric store, I realized that if I just bought an extra half yard of this fabric, that I would probably be able to make some pillow covers, too. So, I did using single strips of fabric & making a sort of "pillow envelope." 

A little sad that I didn't get the pattern to line up on the pillow front, see these are the kinds of things that set a professional apart from me! Also had planned on using some pretty brown buttons that I'd never used on my curtain project, but even though I made the largest buttonholes that my presser foot would allow, they holes were too small for the buttons. So, I found these green ones in my stash, and I think they add to the happy, fun feel I was going for. Also, the original pillow with the original upholstery is still inside, easy to pull out and use just the way it was before, if I don't want these on all the time.

I found these fun tassels on sale at the store where I got this fabric. And, as you can see, I even found a use for those brown buttons after all! I hope you have a great weekend! 

hugs, Noelle

Operation Christmas Cards

Hi there! I have decided to participate in the Operation Christmas Cards outreach this year! This is the 3rd year for this great event. What you do is send filled out Christmas cards to OCC, and they send them to our troops who are stationed overseas. Many of them don't get holiday mail, so it's a great way to show you care. This will be one card I send, but I am hoping to send at least 10 cards total. The Spotted Canary website (EK Success brands) is helping out with this meaningful project this year! If you register and go here, you can take a free online class that demonstrates how to make 3 different specialty cards. I made this 3D card after taking the class! I've never made a card like this one before, so you never know what you might learn! The snowglobe is heat embossed with silver powder on Kraft paper & then colored in with gold and white markers. The sentiment is accented with a wood snowflake and a fancy brad. This would be cute even as holiday decor, maybe I'll make a JUMBO one for my mantel! :) It will fold flat for mailing, too :) 

I have also realized that this card will work over at this week's Jingle Belles, where they are doing a snowflake theme! I LOVE me a good snowy card whether it be snowmen, snowflakes, or a snowglobe, like here :)

Here's some more pics for ya.....

Well, that's it for me tonight! I've got multiple projects coming together for the next few weeks, as I'll be guest designing at another blog & teaching a class. Stay tuned! :) 

hugs, Noelle

supply list: specialty paper: Martha Stewart Crafts; stamps: Inkadinkado; gold marker: Inkadinkado; white marker: Zig; fancy brad: K&Company; circle punch: EK Success; chocolate brown dye inkpad: silver embossing powder/heat gun/embossing ink

Fits to a "Tee" challenge

Hi there! Wanted to share a quick, non-papercrafted project that I made today. :)

I wanted to participate in the "Fits to a Tee" challenge, at one of my fave websites, the Spotted Canary. If you go to this page, you can sign up to take the online class, it's a series of 8 minute videos to watch at your convenience. I couldn't find the cute flower kit where you could make your own flowers for your projects, so I used some premade felt flowers. I cut my gray tee into strips, braided, and stitched the two ends together. Then I stitched on the two flowers. SUPER quick and easy project & with my mane, I can always use a stylish way to keep it out of my face! LOL! I'm also thinkin' that these could be fun, cute, cheap and easy Christmas gifts for some of my buds this year. :) Maybe these or the cute bracelets they show in the video. :) 

That's it for me!! TTFN, will be back soon! :)

xoxox, Noelle

supply list: Jolees felt flowers; gray t-shirt to cut up, needle and thread.

Bright Birthday Wishes (CQC #103)

Whew! What a weekend! I had the big event I am a PTO chairperson for on Friday night, then turned around Saturday & had Ev's 4th birthday party! Happy to say that it was all successful, but I was so tired that my Sunday morning run turned into a Sunday morning walk! Really hoping to regain some energy this week, since I don't have so much scheduled, FOR ONCE!

Here is my card for this week's ColourQ challenge!  I love these colors! Poppy Parade, Calypso Coral, Pear Pizzaz, Wisteria Wonder, and White. So pretty & it was fun to make a card with them, since I went a bit more "girly" than I usually can when I scrap. I decided to make a flower card (I know, kind of out of the ordinary for me these days!) Had fun playing with these Mod Flower Inchies Inkadinkado Stamps. I won them in my last prize package from SpottedCanary.com & I hadn't used them yet. Pretty cute, huh? I used an old SU! sentiment stamp from a set called "Wow Flowers." I die-cut and stamped a white piece with a Nestabilities die. I stamped the flower stems a little bit high, as I knew I was going to make some "grass" with my fringe scissors. I cut a Pear Pizzaz piece with the die as well, and trimmed it with my fringe scissors, for the grass, then I adhered it to the white piece. Stamped my sentiment and added a few gems to the flowers. On the center flower, I stamped two different stamps; one with the Poppy ink and one with the Coral, to get a layered look on that one. I found the Coral ink at "full" strength, almost looked the same as the Poppy ink, so I stamped off before I stamped the Coral flowers down, so there was more contrast. I made a mat with the larger Nesties die in the Wisteria color.

For the background of the card, I figured how wide the center section of the die cut piece was. It was 2 1/2" and then that was the same width I made the plaid DP panel. If you want to have your layouts "make sense" that is a good tip for you! I like to create a relationship between each layer of my projects by relating colors, scale, pattern, and the like. Doing something as simple as measuring from point A to B can really give your whole project a more finished look.

Since I knew the center panel was 2 1/2" that meant that the side strips (polka dots) would have to be 3/4" a piece to create the 4" x 5 1/4" background I wanted. I cut those strips from a scrap, and adhered all together on another scrap the same size. I added a little red ribbon to hide the seams. I put my card together, and decided to make a bow for the top. When I started blogging, I used to put a bow on practically every card! LOL, and then I must have gotten sick of them or something, because I stopped! ;) So, I made a layered bow, with ribbons in the challenge colors and topped it off with a Wisteria shade button I found in my "reclaimed" button jar.

Well, that's all folks! I hope you will make some time to come play this fab color combo at the colourQ this week! Go over there and check the beautiful samples my DT buds have for you! Have a great week!

xoxox, Noelle

supply list: stamps: Inakdinkado; dies: Spellbinders; gems; Martha Stewart Crafts & Recollections; ink, solid cardstock &amp sentiment stamp: Stampin' Up!; fringe scissors: Martha Stewart Crafts; patterned papers: My Mind's Eye and October Afternoon; ribbon: The Ribbon Boutique (Hobby Lobby brand) and Offray

DUST IT OFF!: That button is from my reclaimed jar, it was an extra button that came with some capri pants I used to have, LOL!; the dotted paper was a scrap; the coral ribbon is about 8-10 years old