Pockets, notebooks, and miscellaney

First off- I wanted to share my great news with you guys! Last week I showed an album here that I made for a contest at Lily Bee Designs.

I found out last night that it won! First place!!!! Can I tell you that I was a good bit shocked and over the moon excited to see that email pop up in my inbox?!!!!

I am so honored and delighted that they chose me. Seriously, seriously awesome. :) A big thank you to the team at Lily Bee goes out from me!


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Onto other scrappy stuff:

I saw this great tutorial for this lovely little "diaper fold origami pocket" on someone's blog, and I immediately wanted to try it! They were using it to package party favors, but I knew I had a little mini album that would fit perfectly in one.

I made the actual pocket in about 1 minute. It is super fast & easy to make- you don't even need adhesive!
I made it with supplies from the Noel Mignon Nightingale kit (there are still a couple of these left if you're interested in one!), plus I added one of these Prima flowers (they are my FAVORITE right now!), and some seam binding & ribbon from my stash.
How great would these be for all sorts of things?! An envelope for a card, a treat container for a friend, even a pocket on a layout for some hidden journaling or extra photos!


The other thing I have to share with you is a notebook I made from the Noel Mignon Penny Arcade kit. If you have the Penny Arcade kit, it goes perfectly with the Nightingale kit!The idea for this came as partial inspiration from one of my favorite home decorating blogs, The Nesting Place. There are often times I will be doing something around the house and think, "I need to grab a new lamp for over there," or "Man, I need some new dishtowels!" This is going to be my place to jot down all those ideas.

I used binding rings from an old notebook of mine that I was about to toss out. I clipped them to 5 rings each and punched holes in my cardstock & covers with my Crop-A-Dile. I love doing little projects like this!

The cover is made with cardstock & patterned paper from the Penny Arcade kit, and then layered with some Hambly from the Nightingale kit to add durability. I want to be able to toss this in my purse any time I'm out shopping and need to reference what items I need for my home!
I die cut (with the AccuCut) some of the grungeboard to make the little house, then painted it with acrylic paint. Some sanded Thickers and a pearl make the perfect trim for the house!Inside, each room of our house has a section, divided by stamped cardstock with little half circle tabs I punched and attached.

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That's all from me tonight. Looking forward to doing some scrapping this weekend- I got my refills for my ATG gun today (that's adhesive to all you non-scrappers- not a weapon!) and have some fun new summer pics to print out tomorrow. I'm all set!

Hope you have a beautiful weekend!

Creative Stuff

This week is my week on the NoelMignon Tip & Technique blog, so I came up with these tissue paper pom pom flowers after experimenting with them at my luncheon table at church a few weeks ago.

Click here to see my step-by-step picture tutorial on how to make these fun little embellishments! (This card was made with the Lovely Day kit, by the way.)



We have a really cool "Let's Do Our Makeup" challenge going on right now too. One of the other design team members, Michelle, brought us a very ethereal picture of some gorgeous spring makeup, and we are using that as our inspiration for our layouts. Make sure to click here to see the other DT layouts and to submit your take on it!
This is a detail shot of my layout. I used bits and pieces from the Nightingale kit, the Lovely Day kit, and my own stash to create this!

Speaking of NoelMignon.com kits, a new one is about to be revealed tomorrow: the Penny Arcade. I'm SUPER excited over this kit. I mean, could it be any more up my alley?!!! Look at all that beautiful shabby chicness!!!
It kind of matches my new blog template, doesn't it?

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A few more links for y'all to check out:

Meg sweetly featured me over at Shabby Blogs this week! You can click here to read my interview. (A word of warning: I'm even more dorky when I'm being interviewed. Just sayin'.) Make sure to check out the new blog backgrounds while you're over there! Thanks again Meg, for featuring me! It was such an honor!

You can click here to see an album I made for AccuCut's limited time lunch box die. They are having a really good deal on several of their limited time die sets right now!

How cool is this craft desk? I would love to make one like that for myself sometime down the road when I don't have toddlers on the prowl.

This is a really cool blog that my aunt shared with me; it's got lots of great & creative ideas for toddler meals. I don't know about y'all, but I have the hardest time coming up with new things for them to eat.

I think that's all I've got for today!

Ciao, bellas!

Two is Not so Terrible

This is another layout that I did for AccuCut's CHA booth (sorry for the glare on the photo!). I used the big circle die with the ribbon edge and cut it in two to make a unique layout...

Thanks, B, for the title idea too! hee hee

You can find this die locally at Scrap Etc. or get your LSS to order it! :)

Slowing down...

Do you ever feel like you get into a major rut in everyday life? I really struggle with getting really monotonous- the bad kind of monotonous- in our routines. I start to dread the next day because I know I will be grouchy the whole time because everything I do seems fruitless.

It's when I'm getting into that sour attitude I eventually realize the reason why I feel so frustrated is because I'm focusing on everything I *do* around the house

Changing sheets.
Sweeping up crumbs.
Filling seemingly empty-bottomed sippy cups.
Starting a load of laundry to see at least three more behind it.
Picking up, picking up, picking up.

Each thing seeming to be yet another meaningless task.

I get caught up in wanting my house to look neat and tidy all the time. I think in my head, "I'm not asking it to be perfectly sparkling or for their not to be toys out... I just want to be able to have some semblance of cleanliness around here!"

But I quickly get to where I switch roles. I quit being the stay at home mom and focus on being something else... I'm not even sure what to call it. It's definitely not "home-maker" though. It's more like "Virginia's House of Serenity Now- No Kids Allowed" maker.

I don't want my kids to remember that all their mom did was clean or grump at them for messing up HER house. I want them to remember it as home. A comfortable, welcoming home, to all of their things and activities. I don't want them to feel like they are intruding.

Kerry Lynn linked this article about this feeling yesterday, and boy oh boy did it strike home. If you have a hard time striking that balance, or feeling like no one ever notices... read it.

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This has nothing to do with the above musings, but I felt I needed to leave you with some sort of picture!

This was a layout I did for AccuCut's CHA-W 2009 booth. I used the new Ribbon Heart Die and also their scalloped border die. You can go here to see some more pictures from their booth!


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Make sure to come on by the Noel Mignon message board tomorrow! We kick off our Valentine's online crop in the morning... I have a make & take I'm dying to share with you!

AccuCut Project #1 for CHA-W 2009

Now that CHA-W 2009 is over, I can share a few projects that I did for AccuCut using their fun new dies (and previous favorites!).
On this layout of my sweet friend Kari, I used the new jumbo sized blossom die, the swallow die, and the cool journaling spot (underneath the title). In love with all of these!

A few closeups of details:
Remember, if you are local, Scrap Etc. has an AccuCut machine and a LARGE library of AccuCut dies, so you can make the most of your stash.

If you aren't local, ask your LSS to think about getting an AccuCut machine. I have never used scraps as much as I do now because now I know what to do with them- create embellishments, journaling spots, and other accents, die cutting all those random papers in my 'scraps' bin.

You Go Get 'em, Girl!

It has been raining non-stop here this week... we've gotten 4 inches of rain here already in 2009!!

With all that dreariness, the Love Story kit definitely helped chase away some of those "I've been trapped inside with the kids for way too many days" blues. ;) I just love all these bright, happy colors!




*ETA- I got the inspiration for this design from the Inspired Blueprints Sketch #5!

I have this funny story about Em that I had to get down on paper before I forgot. You can click on this pic to read the journaling if you're inclined. :)


A cupcake's not a cupcake without sprinkles, right? And what better way to add them than with stickles? (Fruit Punch Stickles not included in kit, but you can get some here- they match perfectly!)
I've also been on a big organizing kick (as I'm sure all of you are too!), and one of the things I wanted to make sure I had was a new sketch book I could throw in my purse to jot down ideas and sketches for scrappy stuff.


I cut out the covers with an AccuCut machine, and then used the insides from an old MemoryDock planner that I had. (The MemoryDock always looked a little intimidating- I was always afraid I would "mess up" the pages inside with my scribbles. It's so refreshing to put them in a book that looks like I can get messy inside!) I punched holes with my Crop-a-Dile and bound them up with some Bind-it-all rings. If you don't have access to those rings, you can always take them out of an old notebook or journal and use them! (I've done this before too!)

I make a lot of journals this way, and it's really easy and quick!

Thanksgiving

I have been rushing around all week finalizing some AccuCut projects, working on Christmas gifts, feeling bad for my sick Hubs, and packing for Thanksgiving!

EDITED TO ADD- AccuCut posted one of my favorite projects for them today on their blog! Go check it out!

I actually need to get up from here and get dressed so we can run to the store so I can get the ingredients for this- yum!!!

Before I do that, though, I wanted to leave you all with a layout I did last night with the November Scripts kit... scrapping my Emerson's first Thanksgiving!

I used an October Pagemap sketch for the basic design on here... I love using a sketch when I feel stuck in a rut with my own ideas!
I just loved that I could make my own pile of leaves under the die cut tree. :)
I didn't need the word "Life" on the stamp from the kit, so I just inked half of the stamp and stamped it above and below the title. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Looky-loo

Heather just posted the pic of the Twelve Fridays December kit! SO cute!


I got to talk to Heather a little bit yesterday on the phone, and she was telling me about some of the fun planned for the Weekend Celebration that Twelve Fridays is hosting in March. What a beautiful time of the year to visit the Smokey Mountains!

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Also, if you CLICK HERE, you can go see a little friendship album I created for AccuCut. Have I mentioned lately that I'm a big fan of the AccuCut machine? LOL

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On a random note, can I tell you how very excited I am to hear that Scrubs is moving to ABC, rather than being cancelled?!! I've seen every episode (I'm a bit OCD about having to every episode of shows I like), so it makes me happy to know that I'll be able to continue to watch one of my favorites. :)

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Finally, I've been preparing for our annual Christmas Bazaar at church. Katie, Gretch, Brittney, and I are all contributing towards a booth.

My friends Michelle, Shan, Kim, Laura, Whitney, and I am sure MANY others are all hosting booths too, with their amazingly creative work.

See you Saturday! ;)

8 Days 'Til Halloween...

If you don't think these are cute, maybe you need to get your cuteness meter checked.

In case you're looking for other fun Halloween yummies, my friend Kim is the diva of Halloween treats, and you can check out some ideas on her blog for:

Homemade Snickers Candy Bars
Monster Pizzas
Caramel Apples
Sugar Cookies (Ghosties and Pumpkins)

(She also has a great Halloween playlist.)


Also, if you want a free t-shirt for your kids and some other really cool deals, check here to see about Old Navy's fun weekend planned!
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I have some fun news that I wanted to share with all my blogging friends: check out this link to see me being featured on the AccuCut blog with a page I made with a Crop Addict kit!

I will be regularly designing projects for AccuCut, and if you have read my blog with any frequency, you know that it's a dream come true for me!! I am thoroughly addicted to their die cutting system, so it's a win-win situation for me. :)

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Today was my day to do Project Friday on the Twelve Fridays blog. If you're unfamiliar with this, you need to check out their blog... every Friday, they post a tutorial to kick off your weekend. There is an enormously talented team of designers on there (I feel VERY blessed to be in such good company!), so you get treated to a lot of fun inspiration!

Here's what I made with the new November kit.... I'm getting into the Christmas spirit, folks! Just get me past Halloween and it's gonna be Christmas tunes playing here non-stop! ;)

[Click here to see the tutorial.]