Imaginisce & Cheery Lynn! Plus my i-Space :)

Such a fun week at Imaginisce and Cheery Lynn Designs! We've teamed up to inspire you with gorgeous paper collections and beautiful dies! Be sure to visit the blogs this week, there are lots of goodies to be won! :)

I was so thrilled to be gifted several Cheery Lynn dies, the selections I received are beautiful! I created a sweet card using Imaginisce's "Sole Sisters" papers and from Cheery Lynn: Mediterranean Lace Rectangle Frame die, Exotic Butterflies dies and Cuties1 border die. And I used my Imaginisce petal roller for the border die to create fun flowers and also added some bling with my i-rock :)

Here's a close-up so you can see the amazing detail on these dies!

Thank you Cheery Lynn Designs!!

Also! 

Last week I shared my scrap space with Imaginisce readers and I decided to share on my blog as well :)

 In a perfect world, I would have a big beautiful scraproom with all the pretties, bells and whistles. It's my dream to someday have my own craft room to get away, relax and do what I love with paper and glue. But reality is, I live in a small apartment with little space for anything. Maybe some of you can relate to my limited space dilemma? But I'm proud to say I was able to put together my scrap space within a 6ft x 5.5ft area in the corner of my livingroom. It's quite compact and stuffed, but not too shabby.. it works for me! :)

Against the only wall is where I keep stacked drawers and shelves that are completely filled with cardstock, tools, embellishments, stamps, inks, embossing supplies etc.

I rarely ever use my scanner, so on top of my printer is where I keep a caddy of some Imaginisce tools. I love how all my i-Top, i-Rock and d-stress tools and accessories fit so perfectly in there!

Underneath my desk, I have 2 shelf/drawer towers on each side of my chair. I put all of my loose patterned paper in 2gal Ziploc bags below with coordinating embellishments in the drawers above. I have pets and the bags help keep pet dander off my paper, and also, they help in organizing my paper by manufacturer, color, theme etc.

There isn't sufficient lighting in this area of the room and it can get pretty dim, so I installed some lights under each side of my desk so I can easily see and locate my supplies. At the right side of my chair, I keep most of my Imaginisce paper collections and supplies.. like my i-Magicut, i-Bond, sticker stackers, chipboard, diecuts, etc. I like it all there in one place because it's so easy for me to grab anything and everything I need. I was a HUGE fan of Imaginisce way before joining the team, so these drawers are jam packed with many many great Imaginisce collections! :)

On top of my desk is where I keep my pens, markers, scissors, sewing floss, buttons etc and awesome Imaginisce tools.

Well, that's pretty much the entire tour ;) As you can see, it is a bit cramped.. but, what I love most about having a small space is that everything is in reach. My computer is near for inspiration, all of my supplies and tools are either right beside me or directly behind me, and I have enough elbow room to create and make messes :) I also have a little bit of wall space to display some of my favorite projects.

I leave you with a random thought....

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Imaginisce - Teacher Appreciation :)

It's Teacher Appreciation Week at Imaginisce so we're sharing projects we created for our wonderful teachers. I work for our school district and every day I see the tremendous effort and patience being a teacher requires. They really do need our appreciation and thanks as often as possible.

I decided to create this note card set for a teacher friend. A sweet little box with four adorable cards inside and the box is reusable, too! :)

The card design is simple, but the bright colors and patterned papers are really what makes these so cute! I really love this Imaginisce "Geek is Chic" collection... definitely one of my top faves :)

I hope you'll visit Imaginisce during our Teacher Apprectiation Week. There are so many super cute projects to be shared. Plus, there's something really big and special coming up for Facebook Imaginisce! Be sure to like their Facebook page and don't miss out on all the fun! :)

Thanks for visiting!

PDCC127 "Happy Birthday" card & TPV tutorial

It's my turn to provide a tutorial for The Paper Variety today :) so I created this card and video which features a simple masking technique.

I also followed the challenge at The Play Date Cafe..

This week's suggested colors are...
Daffodil...Hydrangea...Kiwi...Cherry 
I used all suggested colors (similarly) and also added brown and white as neutral colors. I love primary colors so this challenge was a must do! :)
Thanks for visiting!

scootin by to say hi - Artful Delight (and a farewell.. kinda)

One year ago this month, my friend April was on the Artful Delight monthly kits design team. I remember telling her how much I loved the AD kits and how happy I was for her (and jealous! lol) that she was on the AD DT. Well April sweetly passed my comments on because shortly after that conversation, Leeanne (the owner of Artful Delight) emailed me inviting me to join the AD team. I was like "OMG!!" lol

Since then I have had thee most wonderful time creating with Leeanne's monthly kits.. all 12 of them! And I'm most grateful to her for giving me the opportunity to work with such great kits and such awesome fellow designers. This month brings an end to my 1 year term with Artful Delight and I can honestly say I'm going to miss it terribly. I've met alot of wonderful gals at AD... Leeanne, Courtney, Debbie, June, Kelly, Julie. All of them so very sweet, and their projects so inspiring. So I just wanted to again thank April for the shout out and to Leeanne for the opportunity. It's been a FANTASTIC year! :)

Thankfully, it's not a complete farewell, though :) I'm still going to be creating layout sketches for the Artful Delight monthly layout challenges! Yay! I LOVE creating sketches for AD and I was so happy that Leeanne wished for me to continue to provide them. So although I won't be on the designing team anymore, I'll still be a part of AD in that way. Yay!! I'm sure I'll most likely enter the challenges, too :)

Anyway! Here is my last project as a part of the DT. I created this card with the February card kit which includes those awesome Paper Smooches stamps I'm always drooling over! lol

This was such a fun kit to work with this month. So many happy and cheerful papers, embellishments and stamps. :)

Artful Delight kits really are the bomb! If you've been searching for a great scrapbook/card kit club with a variety of manufacturers and kit themes each month including the latest and greatest of scrappy products... Artful Delight is the way to go! Just look at the March layout kit.. isn't it a beauty!?!?

and the March card kit...

Sooo pretty!!!
Click here to see all the contents of these kits and to order yours before they're gone! :)

Also! Leeanne is currently holding a DT call! I can honestly say, without a shred of doubt, that AD is one of the very best DTs to be on! You all should definitely submit your apps! :)

Thank you so much, Leeanne, and the rest of the Artful Delight team. It's been a blast!

congratulations - Artful Delight

I used to babysit for Joseph.. the cutest little 3yr old boy! It seems like not too long ago that he would come to our house and watch Barney and carry his blanket everywhere. So sweet. His mother and I have been longtime friends since we were young, our mothers have been friends for nearly 35yrs. We're all more like family than just friends. Anyway...

Joseph got married yesterday.

OMG I'M SOOOOO OLD!!! LOL

I made this card for him and his new wife. I wanted to go with fun and cute, rather than lace and bells. I really love the LYB "Paradise" portion of the Artful Delight February kit.. Such sweet colors and fun designs--- love that beige and dark brown ledger paper!! :)

Thanks for visiting me! :)

Cards with Artful Delight & TPV tutorial :)

I've had a lot of fun this month creating with the Artful Delight February card kit! 

It includes brand new LYB "Paradise" plus Simple Stories, Jillibean Soup and Paper Smooches stamps.. all my faves so it's easy to say I LOVE this kit!

Last week I shared a layout using these goodies, today I'm sharing 2 cards :)

I'm so in love with those scooters.. how cute!! I've noticed I've been adding banners a lot lately for card sentiments.. I just love that banner look.. it really adds a special touch rather than just a circle, square or stamping right on the card.

Today is also my scheduled day to provide a tutorial for The Paper Variety. Visit TPV today to learn how to make your own embossing folder. I made this super simple note card in my tutorial.. it's very plain, but I wanted it that way so the focus is mainly on the embossing :)

Have a great Sunday!

so happy together - Artful Delight

My first project with the Artful Delight February card kit is a layout! :) Here is the card kit, isn't so fun!?

I love this kit! And I can't wait to use those Paper Smooches scooter stamps! :) For my layout, I used the sketch from the monthly sketch challenge at Artful Delight.

This is a great sketch! So many ways you can go with it :) I replaced the 3 photo spots with just one photo.

(Sorry about the photo quality, it was a gloomy rainy day and I couldn't get a good bright photo) This layout features my sister and her boyfriend. I love this photo, on a bench, together in a garden.. so lovely. I did use the Paper Smooches stamps for the clouds and the round alphas were fussy cut from the Jillibean Soup paper in the kit :) All items used are also in the kit, except for the title Thickers.

We hope you'll join the sketch challenge, too! You could win the March Artful Delight scrapbook kit!

Thanks for visiting me!

love/congrats - Artful Delight

I've been ill, but I took meds daily and worked all week in a pre-k class. My evenings have been spent mostly in bed sleeping. I wasn't feeling at all crafty this past week - but I managed to put together two more cards using the Artful Delight January card kit.. Yay! :)

There was a lot of fussy cutting involved with these cards and I've become really fond of pairing red with kraft- love that combo! Everything used for both cards is included in the kit, except for the Paper Smooches "congratulations" stamp and white cardstock.

There are still cards kits available! See here to purchase yours! :)

Have a great Sunday!! :)

Challenges resume at The Paper Variety!

I'm so thrilled that The Paper Variety is back for a new year and a new design team! We took a break over the holidays but we're back and better than ever! 

Why are we better, you ask? lol Because there are a lot of changes! Nice changes! Like I mentioned, a new design team - these gals are fabulous! We've totally revamped the blog.. everything is so much easier to navigate now. :) And instead of weekly challenges, they're now twice monthly so you have more time to create and enter your projects. Also, we have DAILY inspiration that include designer projects and tutorials too!! Plus... Yes, there's more! Plus.. monthly giveaways on our Facebook page! And no worries, not everything has changed.. we still have great challenge prompts and great sponsored prizes! I really really hope you all will join us! You'll be soooo glad you did!! :)

Today begins a new challenge and it's a fun one!!

I LOVE this color theme! Black & white with any color is just gorgeous!! I had so many ideas rolling around in my noggin.. should I create something trendy, or fun, or whimsical? Well I switched gears from happy & fun and decided to go with an elegant sympathy card. 

Everyone needs sympathy cards on hand and not too often do we think to make them. I thought it would be a nice card for this color theme :) I used my Serenade Cricut cart to cut the spray and the white butterfly is the ever so popular Martha Stewart punch. The purple butterfly is actually a Martha Stewart clear stamp....

I tried something totally new-to-me and used Ranger's PUFFS (a gift from my sweet friend, Kim!) It works just like you would use regular embossing powder, with your watermark stamp pad and heat gun.. although PUFFS leaves a neat fuzzy surface.. almost like flocking... or even like a shag carpet! lol I love it!! Thanks Kim!!

So what do you win if you enter this TPV challenge? Look at this beauty!

An October Afternoon "Farmhouse" collection!! Isn't it gorgeous!?!? Yes, it is!

We hope you'll join us for ALL the crafty fun at TPV! :)

Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge

So I was blog surfing today and came across the latest Sparks Challenge at Paper Smooches. I LOVE Paper Smooches stamps, they're sooooo cute!! I have a few of their sets.. but I've never joined in on one of their blog challenges before. I thought I'd give it a try today :)

Here is the prompt, a photo inspiration....

I love the rainbow colors and black & white (gray) combination on projects. It really makes the color say "Hey! Look at me!!" Here is my take on the sparks challenge...

I have 3 PS sets: Sentiment Sampler, Word Up and Surf & Turf... and I used all 3 on my card. I popped up the "I love you" and the special fish for dimension and also added some black & white twine. The rainbow paper is from Echo Park "Summer Days" 6x6 pad. :)

I'll be giving this card to my son. He's always showing what a special kid he really is and I think he'll love it. :)

Click here to see more of my cards using Paper Smooches stamps.

I'll be back Sunday with an Artful Delight project using the January kit, and also a project for Paper Variety as we resume challenges for 2012!! And please join me on Monday when I share my first DT project as a designer for Imaginisce 2012! I'm so excited!! :) :)

Thanks for stopping by! 

Happy New Year!!!

just because - Artful Delight

This weekend begins a new month at Artful Delight with new scrapbooking and card kits shown in my previous post. I'm really excited about January's kit and I can't wait to start creating with it :) 

But before I can play with my kit, I have to share the last card I made with AD's December card kit. I'm really happy with it.  I think it's a nice card to cheer up a friend or just send a hello - just because. Once again, the 3 Cs have triumphed (cute, colorful & clean lines) lol. 

Design inspiration came from Kelli's super cute cards at Bee Craftee. I love her 3C style, too! :) I was happy to pull out my Cricut for this adorable butterfly. She's from the Live Simply cart and she has alot of dimension. She almost looks like she's going to fly off the card :) Love it!

I have many crafty projects to keep me busy this week! This weekend and into next week, I'll be sharing my first Imaginisce DT project (Yay!), and we'll be resuming challenges at The Paper Variety with our new design team (Woohoo!). I'll also be sharing an Artful Delight project using the January kit (Yay!) and I might share my first Boys Rule DT project, too! (Woot!) 

I have alot to prepare for and do these next few days.. I love it! Crafty hands are happy hands, right? :)

Thanks for stopping by!

so happy for you - Artful Delight

Today I'm sharing another card I created with the Artful Delight December card kit. The card kit is now sold out (Yay!) but there are a couple scrapbook kits left which include the same as the card kit, just on a bigger scale and a few more items added. Hurry to purchase here before they're sold out, too! :)

So here's my card...

I really love how it turned out. This card design was inspired by a card from Kristina Werner that she created last year. I love Kristina's cards, I get a lot of inspiration from her blog (if you haven't noticed already! lol) 

Is everyone ready for Christmas!?!? I am! Well sorta.

All of my shopping, decorating and planning is finished. But this is the first year in probably 15 years that I didn't send out any Christmas cards. *GASP* Not even any store bought ones. December went by so fast and I lost track of time and then it just became too late to send any out. Maybe I'll send out some Happy New Year cards instead lol. I feel so bad about forgetting, I'm sure my family is probably thinking I must be ill or something. lol Nope! Just got busy and forgot. I'm human. :)

Hope you all are enjoying your week. Only a few days left till Santa comes! Yay!

thank you - Artful Delight

Today I'm sharing a card I created using the Artful Delight December card kit!

The 3 Cs are my favorite type of projects..

Cute, Colorful with Clean lines :)

I added alot of dimension to this card and also used glossy accents (included in the kit!) on the flowers. Aren't they darling?

There are a few card kits left to purchase, so if you love this beautiful collection as much as I do.. head on over to Artful Delight to grab one for yourself :)

Also, there are sooooo many fabulous projects to inspire you on the Artful Delight blog, created by AD's awesome design team. Do check them out, you'll be glad you did :)

Hope you all had a great weekend! 

Only one more week until Christmas!! *Gasp!* This month flew by!!

"Just Because"

Good morning!

I have 2 "just because" cards to share with you today using the December Card Kit from Artful Delight!

CLICK HERE to see what all is included and pick up one for yourself :)

One of my favorite things in the card kit is the Paper Smooches stamp set "Word Up"

Perfect for these cards to let someone know you care and are thinking of them:

Aren't they sweet? It's always great to have cards on hand "just because".

I know I need them!

Have a great Sunday!

Halloween Card Challenges :)

I was feelin kinda Halloweenie today so I decided to join a couple Halloween challenges :)

CAS-ual Fridays wants to see Halloween projects with absolutely no orange...

I used EP Dots & Stripes paper, the web/spider stamps are from WRMK "Spookville" and the sentiment is StudioG. I've always loved purple and green together :)

Also I created this colorful, too cute to spook card...

I used my Live Simply Cricut cart for the frame, DCWV Ghosts & Goblins patterned paper, La Petites felt 3D stickers and Paper Smooches "Sentiment Sampler" stamps :)

I'm entering this card into three challenges! wow.. that's the most I've ever done with one project, I think lol

My Craft Spot wants projects of black with orange, green or purple.

Paper Cutz wants Halloween projects using stars, circles or diamonds.

And Cricut 360* has a fun blog hop going on right now.. but you have to join the fun to know what the challenge is, it reveals itself as you hop :) Cool idea!

Thanks for letting me share :)

Abby

Miss you

This week at The Paper Variety, the challenge is all about anything nautical. The ocean, sea, lighthouses, the beach, sea life etc :)

I made this card for my sister Sarah who is currently on the other side of the ocean serving with the Peace Corps in Rwanda. I miss her a lot, but also I'm so proud of her for fulfilling her life-long dream with the PC.

I used some EP "Splash" paper and also Paper Smooches stamp sets, "Surf & Turf" and "Sentiment Sampler".

If you join me in this challenge, you could win this beautiful kit from WeSCRAP!

Just load your project here before Tuesday at noon est!

Thanks for visiting!

Abby