Just Like Mom Page

Well, as I am still getting the hang of this blogging thing I am making some mistakes.  I did not write down the info on this paper and these embellishments!  Opps!  That might happen with some other things too because I have so many things already out of their packages and in other storage, but I promise to try and be more careful about that as I buy new product!  I know I purchased this paper individually, not as part of a stack, and I believe it was at Michael's.

Anyways, I love the way the colors in the paper and the embellishments worked together!  I just buy product I like, and then start playing with it when I'm ready, and sometimes things just happen to match really well!  I will also sometimes buy coordinating kits, but most of the time the matches just sort of happen from playing around.  I could not be happier with the way the page and the embellishments came together here!  Sometimes I find it worth it to splurge on individual papers or more expensive embellishments because sometimes they really do give an effect I wouldn't have otherwise gotten.  I think that's the case here!  High quality stuff that was well worth the price!

Loving My Gypsy!

Oh wow guys!  I have been having such a blast with my new Gypsy!!!  It is so lightweight!!!  I have been having so much fun with it!  I love being able to take it with me all over the house.  Yes, laptops are portable too, but this is much easier!!!!

It's funny, because when I first heard of the Gypsy, I sort of shrugged.  I didn't think I would really need it. Then, I started seeing the cool fonts, and how neat it looked, etc.  So, my husband treated me to my early Christmas gift, and now I can't believe I seriously thought about not getting it!!!! 

New toys are so much fun!

I am working on a SUPER cute little book for a baby gift!  I am planning on basically making it an 8 by 8 scrapbook with all the decorating already done, so all the new mom has to add is the photos.  It's turning out SUPER cute, and I've loved using my Gypsy to do the designing!!!  I'll be sharing it with you guys soon!

Yum Scrapbook Page!

This page was a lot of fun!  I used another paper from the Die Cuts with a View Sweet Stack.  I LOVE those papers!  I keep going back to them again and again!!!!  The glitter chipboard letters are also from Die Cuts With a View, but they were in a kit from HSN, so I'm not sure if they can be purchased seperately, but I would think so.

The adorable little ice cream cone was cut with my cricut, using the Doodlecharms cartridge.  It's really a diverse and fun cartridge, so if you don't have it yet... take a look!  It's got soummery designs, Christmas themed stuff, baby stuff, back to school things, etc.  Lots of variety so it is easy to use a LOT!  The glittery ice cream is also a Die Cuts With a View paper, I believe I purchased it at my local Michael's, but I think it's pretty widely available.

I had a bit of difficulty trying to figure out how to crop the photos.  They started off at 4 by 6, and were too big for me to get the look I wanted without some kind of cropping, or going to a 2 page layout.  I finally decided to crop around her bouncy seat, it was a nice clean cutting and easy to do!  I think that little bit of cropping came out looking nice, and provided the spacing on the page I was hoping for!  Sometimes something really simple makes a huge difference in the finished page!

Guess What I Got?!!!!

The Gypsy!  It's Provo Craft's hottest new tool.  Compatible with all Cricut machines it has features similar to Design Studio, allowing you to weld images, see where you'll be cutting on your mat, etc.  It also has some cool new features, but the best part is that it's super lightweight and portable, so now I can design anywhere, even sitting in the car, and then just connect my Gypsy when I'm ready to cut!

It comes with 2 free cartridges already loaded, they are exclusive to the Gypsy.  Then, you take all the cartridges you own, and load them into the Gypsy.  This way it remember what you have and you don't have to get your cartridges out each time you cut.  All the cartridges Cricut makes are available to preview and design with, so you can try out any cartridge you want and find out which ones you'll really love!  I think this is a great feature! I've used that in Design Studio also, but it's easier to be able to check it on the go too, since just browsing cartridges can really eat up a lot of time!

I'm super excited to have the latest and greatest!!!  If you're curious... here's a video that explains a bit more about the Gypsy and shows it.  http://www.cricut.com/gypsy/testdrive.aspx

Sweet Scrapbook Page

Pages don't get much easier than this!!!  This is a GORGEOUS paper from the Die Cuts With a View Sweet Stack. The texture and sparkle in it are breathtaking in person!  With a paper this fabulous I didn't want to over-do it and take away from it's beauty.  I used Sure Cuts a Lot to cut out the word Sweet.    Then I took my 4 by 6 photo, and just cut around it with my Martha Stewart paper scissors, which I LOVE!

I adhered the photo with my Scotch repositionable glue stick, and I ran the letter through my Xyron machine to adhere them.  Super easy and quick!  I did have some trouble with the letters, I'm sure you can see they aren't exactly even. I think the problem is that I centered the middle "E" and worked around it.  Since the W is a lot wider than the other E it kind of threw off my proportions.  Oh well!  I should have used the repositionable Xyron adhesive instead of the permanant.  So, that's my tip if you attempt this page!  *LOL*  Luckily, I was able to just say "heck with it, it's good enough" and move on!  :)  I am really working hard not to be too perfectionistic about all this, and instead take pride in all I'm accomplishing and be proud I'm actually DOING my daughter's baby book!!!!

Pink and Lime Scrapbook Page

This is a really fun page I enjoyed designing.  Lots of fun stickers gave me my color scheme, and I used some hot pink ribbon and a lime green glitter button for added interest and texture.  While I like to keep things simple, I also enjoy a bit of layering or other special touches now and again.  I was really tickled with the way the spunky sticker fit the size of my ribbon so well, and I love the layered effect that simple touch created!

The stickers are all 3 Birds brand, same with the glitter button.  They are all available exclusive through the Home Shopping Network.  They have some fun stuff on their website.  The ribbon is by Offray.  I have no idea about the cardstock.  I keep so much cardstock that it's pretty impossible to remember where it's all from!

Teal & Brown Scrapbook Page

Here's just a basic scrapbook page I did.  I really enjoyed this color combination of teal and brown.  I played for a long time with the potential fonts to cut.  Three different ones are used.  I cut them using my Cricut and Sure Cuts a Lot.  I am not totally satisfied with the T.  I love the shape, but I wish it were more bold.  Luckily, instead of not doing the page at all over something like that I finished it anyways and love the results.  All the rest of the embellishments are 3 Birds brand, available from HSN. 

Hand Embroidered Baby Onesie

I made a sweet baby carriage, hand embroidered on a baby onesie for a baby gift!  It's been a long time since I've done hand embroidery!  I really struggled with the french knots, but I love the results!  Click on the image above to see it in more detail.  My favorite part is the spirals on the bottom, I am very pleased with how I was able to get the stitches to flow into each other!

Screw Perfection!

OK,  I am really, really working on killing the perfectionist in me!  It's especially important when doing my arts and crafts because I can be totally nuts!

I was able to get 12 pages of my daughter done, which I'll be sharing on here soon.  :)  The only way I got through them was just doing it. Not agonizing over every little detail.  There are some crooked things, some colors that aren't exactly what I wanted, etc.  Yet, the pages are all cute, and I'm still preserving precious memories.

It is so hard sometimes to shut up that voice in my head that says it's not good enough, that it will never be good enough, because it's FINE!  Why is it so hard for me to see that?!

Years from now when my children look at their baby scrapbooks I'm sure they will treasure them, and appreciate what I've done preserving those memories, I doubt a crooked photo will ruin all that hard work!  Never getting them done for fear of them not being perfect.... now that would be the real loss!

Scrapbook Page!

Boy am I excited!  Lately I have gotten SO many new papercrafting supplies, with my main goal to do scrapbooks, and I haven't had time to do any pages!  Today, that changed and I finally finished one!

It probably isn't totally complete yet.  I would like to add an embellishment of a dinosaur, and either some bones, or some dino footprints, but I have no idea what I'd use yet.  I have to browse stickers, stamps, designs I can cut with my Cricut, etc.  So... it could be awhile.

I decided that it's better to get going now, instead of waiting until everything is perfect, or I'll never get anything done.  I tend to have that problem!  I wait until everything is just so.... and then I'm waiting forever!  I needed to push myself out of that rut and get my butt moving!

The pic isn't the best, but here it is!  I am hoping to get a better system for taking photos, with some focused lighting and a better backdrop.  Click on the photo to see it larger, you can see it a lot better that way!  :)

A Small Challenge for Myself

I recently got a whole bunch of new papercrafting goodies from the Home Shopping Network.  I just couldn't pass up some really good deals.  One of the kits I ordered came with a whole bunch of great papers, and even some prefolded, printed cards.  I liked all the designs, but typically when working with something small, like a card I tend to stay away from heavily patterened backgrounds for fear of how to use them.  So, I decided to challenge myself a bit and flex my creative muscles.

I chose one of the patterns of cards, the one I thought would be the most difficult for me to work with, and I decided to make 3 different cards.  I figured they could all be similar, but had to have slight differences, so in the future I would have an idea of what kinds of things worked best.  They were all very simple and quick to do, and I'm really pleased with the results!

I think when crafting, it's super easy to get into a rut where you find yourself repeating the same techniques over and over again, using the same colors, or whatever.  One of the things that excites me the most about getting large kits is that since I don't pick each individual item, I find things that are not my typical style to help challenge me to learn new techniques.