Give Us a Break, Phil!

Happy Monday Krafters! Hope all is well in your part of the world. Hopefully not too cold (or too hot for my Southern Hemisphere friends)! I sure hope that Punxsutawney Phil pops up out of his hole on Wednesday and does not see his shadow because I'm thinking many of us are not ready for six more weeks of Winter.

Although when it is cold outside, I do spend more time in my craft room. Hmmm . . . In any case, this week's challenge at The Kraft Journal is inspired by our weather predicting little friend. You are to use a groundhog or other furry little critter and kraft on your project. Here's my take on the challenge.

Let's Hang Out Card

For this week's Furry Little Critters challenge, I chose to create a fun kids' card. I used Lunch Bag Kraft Cardstock and Buff Ivory Text Weight Paper for cutting out the monkey with my Cricut Expression and the Create a Critter cartridge. The cross hatched texture of the buff paper adds such a nice detail to the monkey's face. I cut a scalloped label and sentiment, also from the Create a Critter cartridge, from Reminisce's The Wild papers and then faux stitched around the edge of the label. And for the finishing touch, I added Brown Baker's Twine and a button to the top.

Over at The Kraft Journal blog, you can see more of the design team's takes on the challenge as well as details about how to submit your project to be eligible for this month's prize.

Have a warm and scrappy day, my friends!

Sunday Market on Sunday

Happy Sunday to you scrappers! I have a few My Little Shoebox projects to share today. Mind you, they aren't from the new releases. Not yet anyway. Those will be coming soon. These are with the Sunday Market line. So fresh and springy.

2011 Desk Calendar

The covers are 5" x 7" pieces of chipboard covered with paper and then embellished with paper strips and tags. Very simple.

Each month has a decorated month page and a plain calendar that I created in Microsoft Word. I created a 7 row, 6 column chart and printed it on white cardstock twelve times and then put a mini sticker for the first and last day of each month. Easy, easy.

Thank You Card

I'm just a little in love with doilies these days. I want to put them on all my projects. For these cards, though, I think they really do work. Especially since they just beg to be layered, which I also love.

Happy Day Card

Another doilie? Why, yes, it is. But what I really want to point out is the embossed flowers. Hate to admit this to you, but since you are my friend, I will fess up. This is the FIRST ever time that I have embossed. I have a ginormous bottle of embossing powder that I got a couple of years ago and have just now broken the seal on. But I can tell I'll be playing with that technique again because I just love the subtle texture it adds. Eeek! Fun.

Thanks for popping in today! I'll be back tomorrow with a fun little card for The Kraft Outlet.

Giveaway ALERT!

Right at Home Scrapbooking is giving away the ENTIRE Crate Paper Snow Day collection. Just thought you might wanna know. To have a chance to win, follow the directions below...

#1--Leave a comment HERE at the Right at Home blog telling them what you love about Guest Designer Lynn Gahary's layout!!

#2--Travel to Lynn's blog, Pieces of Me, and leave her a bit of love...she would love that!!

#3--Finally, travel to RAH's Facebook page. "LIKE" them and leave them a comment telling them what you would to love to see upcoming on the RAH blog!!

That's it...3 steps till you will be holding the precious Snow Day Collection in your hands! Make sure to do all of this by Friday, February 4th. The will post the winner at theie blog and on their Facebook page.

Boys' Bookmarks

Today I don't have any doilies or ruffles or pink. Nope. Today, I have a project for my two boys, who love to read. As a former English teacher, I really want to encourage them to keep up that good habit. I buy them books. I read with them. We celebrate when they finish a book. So for our next celebration, I made them each a cute little bookmark.

Boys' Bookmarks

Each bookmark was created with a 12" strip of Really Reasonable Ribbon topped with chipboard and finished with a layered circle and their initials. For the soccer bookmark, I used 7/8 Inch Black Gingham, Red 3/8 Inch Red Rik Rak, and Cherry Baker's Twine. And on the helicopter bookmark, I used 3/8 Inch Dark Grey Grosgrain and Oyster Baker's Twine.

This was such a quick and simple project, buy my boys are going to love it. I think I'll make some more. Maybe I'll do some with hearts at the bottom to give them with their Valentine treats. Or maybe some with crosses for them to use in their Bibles. So many possibilities!

A Scrappiest of Celebrations

Liz Chidester's sketch site The Scrappiest is celebrating its 100th Sketch-a-versary this week. Woo hooo!!! Extra sketches, prizes, and tons of inspiration. I was thrilled to bits when Liz asked me to guest design with one of this week's extra sketches. Sooo fun. Here's the sketch and my take.

Makes My Heart Soar

I would just like to take this opportunity to thank October Afternoon for creating that little red-headed boy cardstock sticker. How thoughtful of them, hun? Doesn't he look remarkably like my little Ethan? Just sayin'.

Hope you're feeling inspired to create with Liz's fabulous sketch. If so, be sure to link it up over HERE at The Scrappiest and you will be eligible to win a beautiful kit from Memorable Seasons.

Hope you have a happy, scrappy day!

Anything Goes

This week's Kraft Outlet challenge is Anything Goes. As long as it contains kraft. With Valentine's Day fast approaching, I decided to create a card for my husband using some of my favorite supplies from The Kraft Outlet.

10 Things I Love

For the background of my card, I used Cosmo Cricket's Circa 1934 collection. The Black Baker's Twine was a perfect complement to the vintage colors and patterns. Then, I added a Manila Library Pocket adorned with a heart doilie and two Circa 1934 stickers. But my favorite part is the five different Kraft Outlet Tags that I tucked inside the pocket: a scalloped grungy prim tag, a small grungy prim tag, a small manila shipping tag, and two kraft shipping tags.

The really sweet part of the card is the tags. Each one is numbered on the front and back from one through ten and includes one of the reasons that I love my husband. Awwww . . . LOVE that.

Finally, I finished off the inside of the card with more Circa 1934 paper and tag, another Manila Library Pocket, and red baker's twine. I will be giving my husband a gift card for Valentine's Day and this pocket is the perfect holder for it.

This challenge will be open until January 30th. Just link up your creation at The Kraft Journal Blog and you could win a gift card to The Kraft Outlet. Wooo hoooo!!!

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day!

Cupcake Love Class Sneak

I am so very excited to announce to all you ladies in Central Louisiana that I'll be teaching a layout class at the upcoming Croppin' On the Red event at Kees Park February 10th through February 12th. Here's a sneak of the class kit.

You can find out all the details HERE on Facebook. And I'll be posting more sneaks as well as the finished layout soon. Have a great day!

A Whole Lot of Sneakin' Goin' On

That's right. My Little Shoebox has been showing sneak peeks of their new Winter lines. And oh me oh my, they are fabulous! Here's what they've shown so far.

Home Tweet Home

Sew Cute

Oasis

Farmer's Market

Garden Party

Super cute, right? I am so very excited to get to play with all of these amazing lines. The last line will be shown tomorrow. And there will be GIVEAWAYS. So pop over to the My Little Shoebox blog and leave some love to be eligible to win these collections before they are even available for purchase. Good luck!

Rik Rak Rosette

Hi friends. Glad you've come by today. I have another flower tutorial for ya. It's a double layered yo-yo with a rik rak rosette center. You can find it at the Really Reasonable Ribbon blog. Here's a little peek.

And what post would be complete with just a tutorial tease, right? Yeah, I wouldn't do that to ya. So, here is my card that I plopped that sweet little ribbon flower on.

Make A Wish

For my card, I used Imaginisce's princess line Enchanted. So sweet. Lots of pink and blue. Just perfect for my ribbon. And, I used this new tool from Imaginisce.

Why, yes, that IS a pink cordless glue gun! It's the I-Bond and I LOVE it. You'll be seeing it more often. Be sure to check the Imaginisce blog frequently because they are always giving away goodies!

Lunch Bag Kraft Cardstock Flower

Hi Krafters. I have a tutorial up over at The Kraft Journal today, and I thought you might want to take a little look. You can find out how I made this super krafty flower.

Family Card

Thanks for joining me today! Hope you'll give these flowers a try. And don't forget to link up your Family themed project by Sunday. Toodles!



Updated: HOLY SMOKES . . . my card is today's Featured Project at Two Peas!!! Sooooo excited. Ok, thanks for letting me share that one.

Imaginisce Is All CRACKERS!

All week long at Imaginisce we are celebrating the release of Animal Crackers. As usual, there is lots of design team inspiration and even more PRIZES! You can check it out HERE.

Here are a few projects that I completed with this bright, colorful line. And don't be fooled by the circus theme . . . it is a whole more versatile than you might think.

Animal Cracker Snack Bags

Ticket 2 Ride

A Simple Wish

Thanks for stopping by today. Be sure to pop over to the Imaginisce Blog and see if you can score yourself some Animal Crackers goodness. You have all week long to try.

Creative Scrappers 139

Creative Scrappers Sketch 139 is up and ready for your scrapping enjoyment! And it is surely a great sketch, created by Kristine herself. For my layout, I took a little departure from scrapping Christmas and other wintry things and created something to brighten your day!

So Bright

My little man was too cute in his shades on the beach this past summer. He wore them the entire weekend, and I took a TON of pictures of that bright smile.

Do you recognize that paper? Jenni Bowlin's Playdate. It's been in my stash since before we took the trip, and I am so excited to finally pull it out and use it. And since I was working with Jenni Bowlin papers, I dug through all my baskets, bins, and boxes to find some coordinating embellishments. I found a few. *wink*

Well, that's it for me today. Hope you'll join us at Creative Scrappers this week!

RRR Hearts Challenge

Hi friends. So glad you're here! Today is the start of the Use Hearts challenge at Really Reasonable Ribbon. This challenge is sponsored by Creative Charms, who was generous enough to send the RRR Design Team a heap of pink and red goodies. Here's my project.

Love of My Life Card

Well, I was channeling Michelle Wooderson (aka Mish Mash) on this one. She uses doilies and baker's twine and kraft to create the sweetest projects. First, I created a card base with white cardstock and a piece of Martha Stewart pink patterned paper. Then, I layered on a Maya Road kraft envelope and Martha Stewart heart doilie.

And then the ribbon. TONS of ribbon covering a heart that I cut from my Cricut using the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge. To top it off, I used a Creative Charms Red Vintage Poppy brad and some Creative Charms Pink Pearls.

January's Shoebox Sketch

We're kicking off a new sketch challenge at My Little Shoebox and this month's sketch was created by yours truly. Woo hoo! Here's the sketch followed by my layout and the details about playing along.

January My Little Shoebox Sketch

Zip Up Jamas

I just love these photos of my little one all bundled up in his "zippie jamas" watching telelvision. He LOVES his pajamas and asks to wear them every day. Too sweet, hun? And how lucky am I that the Holly Jolly line by My Little Shoebox matches his pajamas perfectly?

I sure hope you wanna play along. Here's how:

• Create a layout based on the sketch using My Little Shoebox products.
• Post your layout to your blog or favorite gallery and link back to this post at the MLS blog.
• Upload your layout to our My Little Shoebox gallery at our Facebook page.
• Leave us a comment below with the link to your layout.

You have until midnight Pacific time on February 3rd to post your link to this post. Can't see what you do with the sketch!

RRR January Blog Hop

Hi and welcome to the Really Reasonable Ribbon January blog hop, featuring this lovely ribbon assortment.

January Ribbon Club Assortment

For my project, I created a little Valentine wreath. Basically, I covered a heart-shaped grapevine wreath with tons of 3" ribbon strips. In addition to the January Ribbon Club Assortment, I used a variety of red and white ribbons left over from Christmas.

Isn't it fun? So many colors and patterns and texture. And, you can use up all your scraps. No reason to waste your cute ribbon, right? Right.

Thanks for hopping over! You can see more projects using this month's ribbon club and the rest of the designers's blogs. And be sure to leave comments to be eligible for a great prize! Here's the order of the hop:

Really Reasonable Ribbon Blog

Jacque

Aphra (You're here.)

Kerri

Connie

Cheryl

True

Tilly

Erika