Valentines Day Blog Hop

Hello!  Welcome to my blog!  This weekend 14 talented ladies from the Club CK boards are getting together and sharing 14 different cards made from the same supplies in a fun Valentines Day Blog Hop!  You should have arrived here from Becky's blog.  If you are just stopping by and want to join in on the adventure you can head to Amanda's blog to get the complete list of the bloggers playing along. 

As you know we needed to use most of the supplies Amanda sent us and I used the glittery flower paper along with all the chipboard hearts and buttons as well as all the bling.  I only added a doily, a little paint to the buttons, and a bit of eyelet ribbon.  The chipboard hearts were covered with the paper and then I added foam squares to the back to give them a lift.   I am not good at clustering but get a little bit better everytime I try so I just went with the flow and I do love the way it came together for me.

Thanks for taking the time to hop along and visit my blog. I have two chipboard albums:  A Cosmo Cricket Flirt Blackbird Album and a "adore" album to give away to one random commenter.  Just leave me a comment and you will be entered into the drawing and I will announce the winner Sunday night. 

Up next on the blog hop is Stacia's blog!  I hope you enjoy the rest of the inspiration shared as you make your way through the rest of the blog hop.

Handmade Holiday Blog Hop

Hello there!  Today I am joining many fabulous ladies who have created a little bit of holiday magic using our paper crafting suppliesto share with you. If you are following along with the blog hop you should have arrived here from Jennifer’s blog.  If you are just checking in on my blog or are a little bit lost and want to start from the beginning of the blog hop, visit Amanda’s blog to get back on track.

I made a small little 4x5 inch canvas board into a small bit of décor.  This is an idea that I originally picked up from the Crap I’ve Made blog.  Here is a quick run down of how I put this together.

You’ll need a canvas or other background of choice, scraps of papers, Mod Podge, acrylic paint and a piece of contact paper.
I cut all my pieces of paper into 1”x1” squares and used a layer of Mod Podge to adhere them to the canvas.  Once you have your canvas covered with the scraps rub over it with a brayer or something similar to make sure the papers are firmly adhered.  Let it dry for a few minutes while you cut your desired shape.  I have found that a piece of contact paper makes a fantastic little stencil and it cuts nicely when I use my Cricut.  I cut a tree from the Winter Frolic cartridge for this project.  Add the cut shape to the papers and smooth out any wrinkles and ensure you have the contact paper adhered completely.  Add a thin layer of acrylic paint and let it dry.  If you want to add another for better coverage go ahead.  I like to see the other papers peeking through a bit.  While the paint is just a little tacky carefully lift the contact paper off the papers and let the paint dry completely.
I added some Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type stickers at the bottom and outlined the tree with a Sharpie to help it stand out.  I then added a thin coat of Mod Podge to seal it.  While it was still wet I added some gems to finish it off.  Now since my edges were all uneven I added some fantastic tinsel ribbon with some hot glue to cover them up.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!  The next stop on the blog hop is Adele’s blog.

“Leafing” Memories Behind Blog Hop

Good morning!  Thanks for swinging by my home in cyber space as you hop along to some of my peeps’ blogs for the Leafing Memories Behind Blog Hop.  You should have arrived here from Amanda’s blog Love Joy Paper.  The theme for this hop was leaves and I knew the photos I wanted to use right away. 

We took a trip up to Dresden, Germany last fall and we found this small but beautiful courtyard in front of an old church.  The trees were a fantastic yellow and there were huge leaves all over the ground.  The girls played with the leaves while JG went up into the church.  They had so much fun!
I just purchased some Bazzill Two Scoops Cardstock in various colors to include the “Moose Tracks” (rich brown color) recently and was excited to try it out.  I lightly sanded it to expose the vanilla color beneath the brown. I didn’t add a big title because I liked the title on the journaling card so I left it at that.

Here is a list of supplies that I used for this LO:
Bazzill Basics Cardstock in Apricot
Bazzill Basics Two Scoops Cardstock in Moose Tracks
Bella Blvd Finally Fall “At the Patch” and “Cute Cuts”
Cosmo Cricket 2” Glüber for the base of my ribbon flower
American Crafts ribbon – Brown
Maya Road ribbon – Pink
Stampin’ Up! Early Espresso Ink

Here is a photo of the church so you can see why we loved this little spot.  I loved the contrast between the colors of the leaves, the blue sky with wispy clouds and the gorgeous church steeple.  I love the fall and the opportunities for getting some stunning photos! 


Thanks for hopping over today!  If you want to win some yummy German cookies and chocolate become a follower and leave me a comment telling me your favorite fall drink and I will pick a winner Sunday at 12 PST.  I love apple cider but it is hard to come by here.  I cannot wait to be back in the USA next fall so I can get some fresh cider because I really miss it!

Next stop is Ashley’s blog, Ashley’s Paper Doll.  She is über talented and I bet she has an amazing project to share with you.  If you want to join in on the fun you can create your own leafy project and link it to Amanda’s blog to win a prize of your own.

Enjoy hopping along and I hope you have a great weekend!

Sketch Blog Hop

Welcome!  If you are following along with the blog hop you should have arrived here from Adele’s blog.  If you are just stopping by you want to join in on all the fun and inspiration from 22 more creative friends you can go to Amanda’s blog and start at the beginning.

Here is the sketch that we all used:


And here is my layout based on the sketch:



I changed up the orientation of the photos and moved the title but I stuck to the basic design as far as the placement of the papers and embellies.  This is the second layout I have made with the My Minds Eye American Made line they released a few months ago.  I don’t have many photos of myself in uniform so I do cherish the ones that I do have and wanted to get these put away.

I used some pretty ribbons to soften the page and some black Rainboots Thickers (my most favorite font of all the Thickers) for the title.  The flower is punched circles from tissue paper and I used a little bit of Stickles to help define the edges.



How about a prize for making it halfway through the blog hop?  Just become a follower if you are not already and leave a comment on this post.  I will select a winner early Monday morning and post the winner in a new post.  If you are a Club CKer leave your board name and I will convo you if you are the winner. 

Thanks for stopping by.  Your next stop on the blog hop is the talented Heather.  If you like the sketch and want to play along you can link up your own project on Amanda's blog for a chance to win another prize!

Spring Blog Hop!

Welcome to the Spring Blog Hop brought to you by my fellow Club CK peeps!  If you have been following along with the blog hop you should have arrived here from Melissa's blog.  I made a cute little spring project just for the blog hop so read on to get all the details!

I made this adorable (at least I think so) Happy Spring decoration for my kitchen door.  I used an 8x8 piece of chipboard and covered it with Dear Lizzy for American Crafts patterned paper.  I love the little chick on there with all the eggs and thought it was a perfect fit for my project.  I used my ATG to adhere it on although I did think of using Mod Podge but I am too impatient to wait for it to dry :-). 

I cut a thin strip of green cardstock and used a pair of micro tip scissors to cut blades of grass.  I used my corner rounder on the bottom corners and adhere the strip along the bottom edge.  Finally, I ran my fingers along the edge to give the grass some lift.

I used the Create A Critter cartridge and cut out the chick, egg and tulips.  I cut everything from Bazzill Basics cardstock except for my egg which is white cardstock from Xerox.  I lightly inked the edges of the egg with Close to Cocoa ink from Stampin' Up! to help it stand out a little against the background.  For the chick's tummy I used some yellow tinsel trim by Webster's Pages.  I covered the surface in adhesive and then pressed the tinsel down with my finger.

I adhered down the chick, top of the egg and larger tulip using my ATG.  I used Zots dots behind the bottom of the egg and small tulip to lift them off the background.  Finally, I used Puffy Thickers to add "Happy Spring" across the top and a piece of yellow raffia as a hanger. 

Here is a little tip that I have for hiding your hooks.  Since we rent our home and the houses built here in Germany usually have concrete walls I use 3M Command Hooks all over our home for just about everything.  I love that I can remove them quickly and easily without damaging the walls.  However, I find the hook and strip of adhesive rather ugly to look at so I try to cover it up as best as I can.  In this case, I used a cute blue flower that I printed off and used a bit of tape (hot glue works too) to stick the flower onto the hook.  If you look back in the first photo you will see that the flower covers the hook and looks like it is part of my design!

If you leave me a comment I will enter you in a drawing for some German chocolate and gummi bears.  Winners will be selected Monday morning and posted here.

Next stop on the blog hop is Amanda's blog (http://asjmade.blogspot.com/).  If you are just popping on or have gotten lost along the way you can visit Amanda's blog (http://www.lovejoypaper.com/) to get started or find your way. 

Thanks for stopping by and playing along today.  I hope you have a fantastic weekend!