Your New Home (Gallery Idol Submission)

Hey there! I hope you are all having a super weekend! Don't forget about the fab BLOG CANDY I've got going on right now, go to this post to comment to win a SMASH book! The time limit ends tomorrow at midnight, so get those comments in if you haven't already:)

I wanted to show you my second card I'm submitting to the Paper Crafts Gallery Idol Contest. I am super excited about the contest! Even though it's a longshot, it would be a real dream come true to be in that top 20! :) So, my goal is to get 10-20 WOW cards submitted between now and July 4, soooo you may be seeing a lot of these! Funnily enough, with this contest the theme is "congratulations" cards and projects. Even with ALLLLLLL the ridiculous amount of stamps I have, I've only got 2 or 3 congrats stamps, and the one you saw on my last post is the only one I have that's from a CURRENT product line. So, I'm having to find creative ways to make that theme work for me! On this card, I used a "best wishes" stamp for the new home card. I think it worked out ok :)

Ok, so I saw this awesome super-cool rainbow die over at MFT. Then tonight, I learned that lil' Inker Designs also has a set of rainbow dies with a stamp set. Love 'em, LOVE 'em all! Of course, I don't have the rainbow die, so I set out to make a rainbow without one. I used my circle cutter cutting arches in various blade widths so they would nest evenly. I had this darling Unity stamp I got for free with a recent order from there. I stamped it on white cardstock and colored the image with Copics. I masked the image and used a punched scallop circle, and a sponge with some Baja Breeze ink to make the clouds. This was the first time I'd tried this technique, it turned out cute, but I'd definitely like some more practice on that. Then I cut the top of my image out in the same large arch as the top stripe in the rainbow and layered the rainbow on top. I die cut some clouds with my MFT cloud die and sponged the edges with more Baja Breeze ink. I layered the whole scene up on some cute MME patterned cardstock and a Baja Breeze and Tangerine Tango card base. For the sentiment, I stamped the "best wishes" on a patterned paper scrap and punched it out. I also punched a larger circle and a pink scalloped circle. Before I adhered the scalloped circle to the rest, I added some Tiny Type stickers to read "Your New Home." I also decorated the inside of the card with some more scraps, punches, and a SUPER old stamp that reads "Happy Is The Home That Shelters a Friend." I thought that large curved border punch (one of my faves!) reminded me of the rainbow, and all the arches on the front of the card. I should also mention that this is a LARGE card, 5" x 7". 

Well, that's it for me today! We had an amazing morning at the zoo with the boys. :) Just one of those days that makes you count your blessings, life is good. Church tomorrow and I'm hoping to get a workout or 2 in before Monday as well. 

Have a great weekend! :)

xoxox, Noelle

supply list: stamps: Unity, Inkadinkado, and Stampin' Up!; circle cutter: Creative Memories; punches: EK Success; markers: Copic; cloud die: MFT; patterned papers: My Mind's Eye and Cosmo Cricket; mini letter stickers: Cosmo Cricket; solid cardstock in Baja Breeze, White, and Tangerine Tango, ink in Baja Breeze: SU!; 

DUST IT OFF!: Use your old-school circle cutter to create a very right-now rainbow! Rainbows are ultra-trendy right now! If you don't have a cloud die like me, a scalloped circle punch or hand cut clouds would work equally well :)

Non-traditional baby boy congrats (MOJO194 & Gallery Idol submission)

Hey all! Happy Thursday! Soooooo looking forward to tomorrow because my Mom and I are spending the day together! Pedis and lunch, cannot wait! This week has been nutso, because Collin has tennis camp in one town every day and on two of the days Ian had tri team in another town and did I happen to mention neither town is the town we actually LIVE in? Oy, I swear I felt like my car was a pinball! Ping, ping, ping, ping! LOL, anyway I told the boys we needed to chill this afternoon!

DO NOT FORGET about the awesome blog candy giveaway I've got going on right now! Only three more days to comment to win! :) Go to THIS POST to hear more about the fab SMASH book I'm giving away and comment to win! :)

I have to apologize upfront for the photo quality around the blog lately. Something is going on with Blogger. I edit my pics in iPhoto on my computer and they look amazing! THEN, I upload them here and every time they look fuzzy :( If anyone has any tips or tricks on how to fix this, any advice is appreciated!

Ok, so my card. This is the first of (hopefully!) many submissions for the Paper Crafts Gallery Idol contest. I guess there's over 1000 submissions every year, and the first "cut" narrows it to only TWENTY, so the more cards I can get up the better, but only if they are FAB cards! I thought this one turned out pretty good. Opinions? I (have not YET) had a card published, so I never know what those editors love, but I did try to keep it to new products. The theme at the competition is congratulations, so this first card is a non-tradional baby boy congrats card. I thought it might be fun to depart from pale blue and use some bright happy "kid" colors for this one.


I also used this week's Mojo Monday sketch. Great sketch this week and pretty simple to execute. I used my new mini pad of MME Lime Twist papers, Just too cute! I bought a few of the large sheets for scrapbooking the boys' pics as well. The stamp is a super-cute Unity. I used some teeny letter stickers to add the "boy is a joy" sentiment to the punched piece. I hope you like it! Several of my friends just had their babies, so this one will have to go in the box to be saved for future use!

Well, off for more cleaning, laundry and caring for boys, I'll be back soon for another "mommy break!" LOL, have a stellar day & THANKS a million to all my new followers! I'm so excited to have you join me in my paper adventures:)

xoxox-Noelle

supply list: stamps: Unity and Verve; paper: MME; solid cardstock in Poppy Parade and Not Quite Navy: SU!; punches: EK Success; ribbon: Hobby Lobby; mini black letter stickers: Cosmo Cricket; buttons: generic

DUST IT OFF!: The buttons are from my random jar, yellow and teal neither color was actually IN the papers! But I thought it blended ok and lent itself to the fun feel of the card. And there's those trusty punches again, could NOT live without my punches! :)

Pretty Patriotic Home Decor

Hi there!

Just wanted to share some goodies I've been working on for my 4th of July decorations! I saw this FABULOUS new K&Company line Americana. I'll tell ya, I bought three items from this line at Michaels, the mat pad, the chipbox letters, and the Grand Adhesion Medallions. Guess how much is left? Practically nothing! Not one scrap of paper or any of the medallions, all I've got left are some letters! LOL! It's just a great line, I love the mix of patterns in the mat pad so much, i'm trying to talk myself out of going back and buying the 12" pad! But really, wouldn't these papers be superb for scrapbooking the boys' activities? Yeah, I can talk myself into just about anything ;).

So, my first project (and the one I had in my head when buying the Americana stuff...) was this banner for the mantel in my family room. This was a REALLY simple project, and it did not require a lot of fancy tools, or even a banner die (though, if you read this blog often, you know I covet a banner die, I'd love to have one, but don't). Anyhoo.... Each "card" of this banner is simply one page of the mat pad matted in navy blue cardstock and then layered up with some punched pieces I punched out of leftover pieces. I layered the chipbox letters on top of that. For the bottom, "scalloped" border, each card has 3 punched circles taped to the back of the card at the bottom. I stuck the medallions on to accent and then tied the cards together with red ribbon, and voila! Truly CUTE banner (if I do say so myself) with minimal effort and very few tools (no dies, just 2 punches). Here's detail shots on a couple of the cards...

Ok, so project two was a last minute deal and born from scraps and leftovers from project one.... I saw this photo here on Pinterest, so cute! She made hers with confetti inside, there's a tutorial here. But I thought it would make a cute and simple decor project for above the sliding glass door in my kitchen. I hang other seasonal decor there at different times of year, so the cup hooks are a permanent fixture, but I have nothing "summery" to hang there. So, my "firecrackers" are really small, but these would be simple to make in any scale. This would be a great kid project, super simple, great use for leftover scraps and fun, too!

Ok, so, to make these. Cut out one 6" square and one 4 1/2" circle. Cut a slit in the circle all the way from the edge to the center of circle. Cut a tiny hole in the center of the circle. Put tape on one of the edges where you made your cut and wrap around on top of the other half to make a cone, adhere. Tie a knot in ribbon or twine making a hanging loop. Slip the loop through the hole you cut in the top. The knot should hold it in place.  Tape ribbon scraps along the bottom of the square piece, then make a cylinder with that piece. Tape top and bottom together on the underside of cone with scotch tape. Accent with punched pieces, or adhesive medallions. Very fun! :) 

Well, that is it for me today, I hope you're having a great week! The boys have tennis camp and triathlon training this week, so I feel like a chauffer! LOL, gotta love the summertime! 

xoxoxox, Noelle

supply list: all papers from K&Company, even the two "non-Americana" ones!; punches: EK Success; letters and medallions: K&Company; ribbon: Ribbon Boutique by Hobby Lobby, adhesive; bakers twine: Crate and Barrel                                                                                        

Sweet Summertime scrapbook page (CQC88)

Hi all! Before I get into the post I want to remind you of the FABULOUS blog candy I am giving away by drawing in a week! I am giving away a new SMASH book with SMASH stick, and I'm telling you, I've been using the other one I bought and I am totally a smitten kitten, this thing is FAB. Trust me when I say, you will WANT this prize! Go to this post to learn more and comment to win!

Time for another fab color challenge over at colourQ! Love the colors this week. I love red, and the mix of neutrals with this make it such an interesting combo. I found this pic of my boys from last summer & thought the colors worked well for this challenge. I actually took this pic on my iPhone, and as you may know, the iPhones are not known for the photo quality, LOL. But, I really loved it anyway, so I used an app to edit it, one called PhotoStudio, if you have an iPhone or iPad, you can check it out. Anyway, I sharpened the image, zoomed in and put a vintage filter on it to give it that "old photo" look. I personally like that look, but when my hubby saw this he said it looked like they screwed up the printing! Typical man, doesn't know a cool pic when he sees one;) right?

While surfing around yesterday I happened upon this sketch from Sassy Sketches. A new site for me, but one I'll follow because I have lots of card sketch blogs I follow, but I'm excited, because I didn't have a good scrapbook sketch blog & now I do! Unfortunately, by the time this post goes "live" the linky will be closed at Sassy Sketches, so I can't link up there, this time anyway :) next time for sure! Isn't this a good one? Love this sketch!

Add caption

Ok, so my page.... My new blog background was kind of the inspiration for the title banner. I used a variety of DP scraps and a 1" circle punch to punch them out. Then I folded them in half and stapled them around a long piece of bakers twine. I added some mini sticker letters to spell the word "summertime."Then I stamped the word "sweet" with banner stickers in the UL corner of the page using the challenge color inks. Used some backstitching along the top to "string" it to the page, LOL. I made the panel of patterned papers in the center of the page with 2 NEW papers from the OA "Rocket Age" line. I got the CUTEST stuff from there, can't wait to make some cards with it, too! Also I used an old strip of some stitched-look paper from Oriental Trading and a numbered strip from SU. Used my old-school labelmaker with red tape to add the boys names and date/place. A few more embellishments and this page is one for the books... er, scrapbook, that is;) I hope you like it! I'm considering replacing the one I have hanging in a 14" shadowbox out for this page, I like it so much:)

xoxoxox, Noelle

Supply list: stamps: Inkadinkado; circle punch: EK Success; bakers twine: Crate and Barrel; journaling cardstock: Creative Memories; labelmaker: Dymo; patterned papers: Stampin Up!, October Afternoon,  Oriental Trading; upholstered brads: Oriental Trading and The Paper Studio; red button: Stampin' Up!; red clip and small red puff flower sticker: K&Company

DUST IT OFF!: That journaling paper is years old as are the 2 neutral buttons and the heart upholstered brad.

What's Gray and Cream and Red all over? (JB23)

Hey all! Another card made in the wee hours this morning, but I gotta say, I always end up thinking that I sometimes do my best work then! LOL!

Don't forget about the super-cool SMASH book I'm giving away as a blog candy on June 12. Go to this post to see the deets and enter!

So, Jingle Belles is another challenge I've been MIA from for the last few weeks, another one I've missed! The challenge this week is "let it sew!" STITCHING on your pages, whether it be faux, real, or stamped.

This is another one of my long cards that I've given you the dimensions for before... Here is an older post with the dimensions on the bottom if you want to make one. I designed one of these YEARS ago and have been making them ever since! A unique spin on a traditional long card. Anyhoo, for the inside/back, I used a piece of charcoal cardstock and a piece from a die cut pad. I stamped the sentiment on the bottom in a dark red ink and added a glitter photo corner. For the red card front I stamped a snowflake stamp in a darker ink on the red piece and sponged the edges.

Then I (I fully admit to grumbling, I hate getting my machine out and threading it....) sewed along the bottom some wavy lines, trying to get a horizon effect like the reindeer was prancing on the ground. Then I quit grumbling because it really DID look cool! I don't know what it is about that darn sewing machine. I might feel differently if I had enough space to just leave it set up all the time, but sadly, I do not. I LOVE the way stitching looks though, and I'm never disappointed AFTER it's done, just grouchy as I thread the machine! ;) Probably good that stitching was a requirement for this challenge, and my gut feeling was that for this card, faux stitching was just not going to cut it. I'm glad it turned out cool :)

So, then I added my reindeer sticker. and decided to do another "stitched" look at the top of the card by punching holes along the top and weaving ribbon in and out of the holes. The final touch was a glittery star I actually peeled from another embellishment, but it was too perfect, I had to use it! Inside I added a few strips of border sticker to cover the back of my sewing.

Well, that's it for today, I will be back soon though, as I am looking forward to a fun craft day with some awesome friends on Sunday. Have a stellar day! :)

-Noelle

supply list: patterned paper (die cut pad) and border sticker: K& Company; star and reindeer sticker: Jolees; glitter photo corner: Martha Stewart Crafts; stamps: Inkadinkado; solid cardstock in Real Red and Basic Gray & inkpad in Cherry Cobbler: Stampin' Up!; red ribbon: Ribbon Boutique by Hobby Lobby

DUST IT OFF! Who say that piece of an embellishment can't be used separately? Don't feel badly peeling off a gem or a star or a flower from another multi-layered embellishment. Use it however it works for you! :)

Birthday Brights (TCPTUES 161)

Hey there! I couldn't sleep last night, insomnia's been an ongoing problem my entire life, but instead of laying there frustrated, I decided to stamp. At least then I feel I'm being productive LOL ;) I hadn't played along at TCP Tuesday for awhile, so I decided to give that challenge a go. Fun inspiration pics this week!

What do you think of the new look for the blog? I got the new background and title banner over at shabbyblogs, check it out. Everything was free!

Oh, and DON'T FORGET the awesome blog candy! I am giving away a SMASH book in a little over a week! Only 6 entrants so far, so go to this post to hear more and comment to win!

I pulled several elements from these pics including the flowers, the apron, the feminine, bright feel and the pink stripes (ok, they aren't really stripes, I know, but that bench has a definite "striped" effect!)

 This was one of those cards where I didn't really know what it was going to turn out to be. I decided to START with A Beary Good Year and see where good ol' PJ took me. Well, I decided to turn PJ into a girl PJ..... Don't mock me, I have 3 sons, I have to dress SOMEONE up in a frilly apron! And PJ won't need years of therapy later on, either! ;) Anyway, I digress, PJ became short for Penelope Jane ;) I made her a custom apron with some punched pieces, a flower sticker and a ribbon scrap. I took the cupcake from You Say It's Your Birthday, because I wanted Penelope to look as though she had just baked this fabulous, oversized cupcake like you see in one of those neat cupcake shops :) I added a butterfly for the Spring feeling. After everything was colored (Copics, I hadn't used them in a while!) and Penelope was wearing her fab new apron, I added some Stickles to the cupcake and the butterfly for some sparkle. Then I die cut Penelope with a Spellbinders die that hadn't seen the light of day in a WHILE, and die cut a mat out of teal cardstock, too. I used a **GASP** single layer yellow card, with a border strip that I added this super cute cupcake border sticker to. I laid Penelope down on an angle and then embellished with some silk and paper and resin flowers. Finally I stamped the sentiment and punched it out. 

This was a nice card, because it pulled me out of some design ruts I'd been in for awhile. SO many things on this card hadn't seen the light of day for months, if not years, the color scheme was fresh for me, and even keeping the card base to a single layer really helped me see "around" many of the things I've been repeating a lot lately, so a good card, AND I got to make up a silly story about Penelope Jane at 130am. I mean, really, what's the point of staying up until 130am, if you can't be a little loopy and silly, right? Have a stellar day!

-Noelle

supply list: stamps: TCP; patterned paper: Cosmo Cricket/ DeLovely; cupcake border sticker and yellow puff sticker: K&Company; punches and solid cardstock in white, Melon Mambo, Taken With Teal, and Summer Sun: Stampin' Up!; resin and paper flowers: Prima; markers: Copic; Diamond Stickles; Spellbinders Dies

DUST IT OFF!: Both the yellow and teal paper are retired. Also, that punch with the sentiment has been around a while, I'm going to say close to 5 years. Finally, that pink silk flower is REALLY old, I am not even sure of the brand. 

Tooty Fruity Unity challenge card

Hi all! I admit, I haven't been playing along at many challenges lately..... Things have been so busy and my mojo has been missing for awhile. It has been just a very tiring year. Too many stories to get into here, but it's been one of those years where it seems like there is more bad news every week! A wise friend told me (and he is right, I know!) that "This too shall pass." I am ready for it all to be passing now, LOL ;) If anything, though, I have learned to be more self-sufficient and I'm far more comfortable in my own skin than ever before. So, see there are those silver linings, even when it seems you never know what will happen tomorrow. Also, I have learned to live in the moment! Seeing so many struggle with their health, I have learned, we only have today, so it pays to be happy with your life, and those you have in it. Plenty of people in this world who will drag you down. Protect your heart, it's the only one you get! I know, enough "lessons" for the day, sorry I have learned SO MUCH this year!

BEFORE I FORGET!!! A reminder to enter in my blog candy giveaway! I am doing a drawing for a SMASH book on June 12, check it out! :)

I made another fun and bright card for summer today. I saw on my Spotted Canary friend Annette's blog that they were doing a "tooty fruity" challenge over at Unity Stamp Co. Now, I've never participated in a Unity challenge before, so this was fun! The only requirements that you incorporate fruit and only use Unity stamps. These stamps were from a retired Kit of the Month from 10/10. I used the apple on my teacher cards yesterday, that's what made me think of the challenge, actually!  I went into the Mojo Sketch Archives lookin' for a sketch and found this awesome one from Mojo 148, too cool, huh? You can see I flipped it horizontally. Those archives are a WONDERFUL inspirational source if you are "Layout-challenged" like me, obtw. I love the mojo sketches, because they are so unique with so many interesting shapes.

Now, I admit, I maybe went a WEE bit overboard with the patterned paper on this card, LOL. I was going for a "patchwork quilt" effect, and maybe it is a bit much, I don't know. In retrospect, I think I should have let the large plaid circle be a solid cardstock piece instead of the plaid.... That is probably the big change I'd make if I were going to remake the card (but that ain't happenin', sorry! ;) The cherry piece and strawberry piece are scraps from other patterned papers, and the plaid and the banner piece are the same piece of DP, just different sides of the paper. The polka dot is another scrap, have been raiding my scraps bin lately, I love to do that! All in all, a fun, summery card, just because. I hope you like it, it's a bit more vintage-y than my normal style and I feel the "quilt" effect was achieved. Have a wonderful day! I'm hoping to go work out and finish getting my kitchen cleaned, oh so very exciting, LOL. Have a great one!

-Noelle

supply list: stamps: Unity; patterned paper: Sassafrass Lass, The Girls Paperie, Oriental trading, Stampin' Up!; punches: EK Success; circle cutter: CM; bakers twine: Crate and Barrel; solid cardstock: Stampin' Up!

DUST IT OFF!: Raid your scraps bin for a fun mix of patterned papers!