Friday, October 30, 2009

Stinkin Cute Page


Click on the photo to see it enlarged for detail.

I had a great time with this page!  I had all these chipboard buttons that came in this kit I bought.  I thought they weren't the type of thing I could see using a lot, and I might as well try and use them with the kit since they matched.  I started playing around with them, and this is what I came up with.

I really enjoy working with the patterns of my paper to make them pop more.  It's easy to make everything flow that way, and it allows me to add a lot of embellishments without making the page look too cluttered.  For a begginner scrapper such as myself it's a great way to go!

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Sitting Back, and Feeling Proud

I have some new SVG's for ya'll, but I decided to post them tomorrow morning instead of today.  To give myself a break from really organizing a post.

I just wanted to share a simple sense of joy with everyone today.  My blog, videos, and projects may not be the best, in fact I KNOW they aren't!  *LOL*  Yet, I am bursting with pride and joy at the fact that I'm just "going for it!"  It feels good to do what I want, and to follow in the footsteps of all the talent I admire online!


This is a pic taken by my husband last night.  Today, I am pretty well snowed in, and I plan on spending the day enjoying life's simple pleasures.  Playing with my little ones, and working on some handmade ornaments for family.  I want to challenge each and every one of you to do something you've been putting off.  Whether it's an issue of making time, or feeling like you can't do it right, whatever.  Before the weekend is over, do one thing that's been on your list.  Try a new technique, use a product you purchased but never opened, start a blog, whatever!!!!  Do something fun that you'll enjoy.

Entering the Gypsy design challenge was an amazing experience!!!  I'm pretty positive I won't win.  In fact, if I did I would think somehow something was unfair, because I know there are projects that show far more talent and attention to detail then my own, but I am still proud I put myself in the running, that I tried!  I enjoyed watching my own little video diary of the experience.  I will always have that memory of the frantic day I spent trying to put that project together.  I challenged and pushed myself in new directions, and I'm glad!

I added to my design, just for fun, because I thought it was too plain!  I couldn't think of other things to add that followed the contest rules, so I had to wait until I'd already submitted.  So, I'm sharing the updated design with you.  I love Halloween, and I think it's so fun to have this up!  It's SO sparkly, but I don't think that really shows in the photo too well.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Another Super Simple Scrapbook Page and A Cute Birthday Card


I thought about not posting this scrapbook page.  I've already posted some of my really simple pages, and I thought maybe I should cut that out, thinking maybe no one wanted to see them, but then I thought again and I realized, I do not have to only show what I think is my best work!  As crafters we grow all the time, sometimes we do complicated, impressive stuff, and other times we do every day simple creations that take little time or thought.  I should be proud of each and every one of my pages, because they are mine, and they show off my beautiful babies!  So, here's to all of us being proud of our work, even when it doesn't seem very impressive.  :)   I'm doing what I love, and I might as well share.  No one has to be impressed for me to be happy.  *LOL*





This card I made for my Dad's upcoming birthday.  I really enjoyed making it!  I had actually cut the balloons a long time ago and set them aside.  The patterned papers are from the Cricut Celebrations paper stack, and the balloons were cut from the Celebrations cartridge.  I used some spare sewing thread to create the balloon strings, and some scrap ribbon for the bow.  I used my Ultimate Crafter's Companion to assist me with the bow making since without it I make some really scewy looking bows!  :)  I love the way this turned out!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

The last of my hand embroidered baby onesies

This is the last of the onesies I hand embroidered for my sister-in-law's new baby.  I'm so glad to be done :)



Check out my design challenge entry, and vote if you love it! Here's the link!

Monday, October 26, 2009

Packed Week Here at Staying Crafty

I have really fun stuff planned for this week!  Videos, SVG's, scrapbook pages, etc!  Some of it may spill into next week, as I will probably only post during the week and not on the weekends.

I just did the Gypsy 24 Hour Design Challenge and am SO excited!!!  I made a video diary along the way that is uploading to You Tube right now for you to enjoy ASAP :)

While I'm waiting for the video to load I thought I'd at least post a pic of the completed project and a link for you to vote!  Please, please... vote for me if you like my project!

http://www.cricut.com/gypsy/designchallenge/entries.aspx?did=170


Thursday, October 22, 2009

Be Happy Scrapbook Page


Click on the photo to see it enlarged.

Everything used here is from 3 Birds, HSN's exclusive line.  It's just a really simple page.  I found that I liked it this way because of the symmetry of the images.

I have found that I love such simple pages they are so quick that I feel accomplished quickly, and making sure and not making every single page complicated has allowed me to make lightening fast progress.

Some of my fancier pages will be featured soon.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Gypsy Sizing Tutorial

This is just a basic video talking about different ways to size your images using your Gypsy.  You can right click and select "Watch on You Tube" if you have any problems watching it embedded on my blog.

For those that don't know what a Gypsy is, it's a product that works with a Cricut die cutting machine, basically, you can cut your own shapes and images to customize the colors and sizes of your embellishments.  Visit http://www.cricut.com/ to learn all about their machines.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Cute N Cozy Page


Everything I used on this page is from 3 Birds, HSN's exclusive line.  It's just something really simple with plenty of foiling and a little bling.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Laugh Out Loud Page


Click the photo to see it enlarged for detail.

I had fun making this page.  I feel like I really found the perfect sentiments in my collection with "Laugh Out Loud" and "Leave Your Mark"  I don't think I would have thought of the sentiment "Leave Your Mark" on my own, and it's pretty cute with my little girl looking like she's chewing the couch like a puppy!  *LOL*  I enjoy having a large variety of stickers and rub on's with different sentiments because often, like this time around, just flipping through them will find something that fits perfectly!

Sadly I had some adhesive issues and goobered up my photo.  I will probably replace it, but I will do that later when I'm totally done with the book so that I don't slow down my pace!

This GORGEOUS paper is from Die Cuts With a View, the Sweet Stack (I LOVE that paper.)  All the other embellishments are from 3 Birds.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Another Baby Onesie


This is the 2nd baby onesie I've embroidered recently.  I still have one left to go.  I had a hard time picking the colors for this one and such.  I just used 3 seperate embroidery designes and put them all on.  I love the colors of the rattle, but I'm not sure how well I think it matches the bottle. Oh well, it's done and it's cute.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

The Little Things Scrapbook Page


Click on the photo to enlarge it for detail.

I really love this photo of my daughter just enjoying herself. It is wonderful to see the world through the eyes of a child, and see that simple things truly bring the most joy to our lives. I wanted to capture that thought when making this page!



This gorgeous paper is from Die Cuts With a View, the Nana's Kid's stack.  It is just so breathtaking in person.  The ribbon was just some random stuff I had on hand from a previous clearance.  The other 2 embellishments are from 3 Birds.

I ran the ribbon through my Xyron Create-a-sticker machine with the permanant cartridge.  It took a couple tries to get the ribbon looking centered properly, but I think it turned out well.  I have found that the Xyron does great for ribbon, and adheres really well to all the glittery papers I enjoy using!


Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Love Me Scrapbook Page


Embellishments and background paper by 3 Birds (from HSN)  Photo mat and foiled corner are parts of a page from the Die Cuts With a View Blossoms and Butterflies stack.

This page was a real challenge for me!  I know it probably doesn't look like it would be!  What I struggled with was how to use the pretty paper.  I ended up just cutting around the foiled design, and creating a mat, this only used up half of a 12 by 12 paper, so I have some left.  I played forever with using the whole page, half of it, etc, before finally settling on this.  It's funny how sometimes the most simple things throw me for a loop and leave me unable to make up my mind!

Monday, October 12, 2009

Love, Cherish, Adore Page


Click on the photo to see it enlarged for detail.

This is just a simple page I threw together.  Everything on it is from  Birds, HSN's exclusive line.  I stocked up on a bunch of it at once because of good deals and such, and it's been easy to put it all together since a lot of their kits coordinate with other kits they've put out.

This is just 2 die cuts, one layered on top of the other, and 3 sparkly flowers attached with brads.  I used a favorite tool of mine to make the holes for the brads.  It's a punch by Martha Stewart that allows me to punch holes in 3 different sizes, anywhere on a page.  I couldn't have gotten those brad holes in far enough with a traditional hole punch.  What I really love about it is it's ease of use, and the onboard storage for the other sizes when you aren't using them.  I just have a very generic cutting mat I use with it.  I found a link to the tool on Martha's Crafts official site, but it's widely available, I picked mine up at Wal-mart.  http://www.marthastewartcrafts.com/detail.php?p=21808&v=msc_prod_tool_punches

Friday, October 9, 2009

Halloween Goodies - Free Fonts

 love Halloween, it's my husband and I's favorite holiday.  I'm not sure I'll have much to scrap this year, as the kids are too young to really enjoy the festivities, and also too young for me to feel comfortable leaving them so late at night to visit haunted houses and such, but I still couldn't resist picking up a few Halloween crafty goodes for future use!

I got great epoxy stickers, and a $1 clear stamp set from Target.  From my local Michael's I purchsed a really fun paper pack, and some really neat metal embellishments.  I've picked up a couple other things recently as well regarding Halloween, and been tempted by many more.  I am hoping to get a couple of the Martha Stewart punches that are Halloween themed.  There are some really cool ones out!

Another fun thing about Halloween is the wonderful fonts!  Here are some wonderful free fonts I think you'll enjoy for your projects.. all Halloween themed!  http://www.dafont.com/theme.php?cat=803

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

I Want Lots of Kisses, 2 Page Layout


Click on the photo to see it enlarged!

I am very, very happy with this 2 page layout!  I rarely do 2 page layouts.  I usually treat each individual page as it's own totally seperate work of art.  I don't worry if it matches the page next to it, or the book cover, etc.  I find it all just works out as long as I make each page look great.

This beautiful paper I picked up challenged me.  I loved it so much I was nervous to use it!  I always struggle to use my favorite products because I'm afraid I'll mess them up!  I dreaded covering it up, and I was also nervous that it would overshadow my photos and be "too much" so I decided to cut it and turn it into a two page spread.  I wanted to make the most of the paper and enhance the design by using the circles as frames for my embellishments.

I had an absolute blast coordinating everything for this!!!  I really went all out and used a real variety of products, buttons, ribbon, brads, flowers, and paper embellishments.  The embellishments are all from K & Company and 3 Birds. So far this is my favorite part of my daughter's baby book and I'm so proud of myself for constantly pushing to try new things and make everything look different and unique!

I hope you enjoy it!  Maybe you can try taking a single paper you love and basing everything around it like I did, it sure was a lot of fun to work that way!!!


Monday, October 5, 2009

Sweet Baby Girl Scrapbook Page


This is one of my absolute favorite pages!  I think these photos are just precious beyond all belief, great close up shots with really sweet expressions, like the holy grail!  So, I used some of my very best embellishments for this page.  They are from K & Company.  The clothesline is actually a wire attached by brads on the ends, and the clothes are all seperate little stickers that have tabs that go both above, and below the wire.  The dimension and attention to detail in these embellishments is WONDERFUL!  I couldn't be happier with their quality.  I'm a big fan of their brand of embellishments!  They catch my eye every time I go out for scrapbooking supplies. 

I tried to keep this page simple and give it a sense of symmetry.  I wanted the embellishments and the photos to stand out on their own, so I went with a simple layout and background paper as not to detract from them!

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Baby Shoes Page


Here is a sweet little page.  I decided to do something a bit different and just put a single photo on this one.  Doing that allowed the precious paper to really frame it.  I used some chipboard and some stickers from various sources to dress it up a bit further.  The stickers on the bottom I know are from K & Company.

I remember when I found this paper I just HAD to have it, I found it long before I started my daughter's baby book, but I knew that's exactly where it would go.  Precious little baby shoes for a baby page!  Sometimes those simple and obvious little things really turn out to be the perfect fit!  I didn't want her whole book to look the same, so you're seeing a real variety with some trendy colors, some pastels, etc.  However, I wanted to make sure I had some traditional things too, like this! With the pastels and obvious baby theme!  I figure I won't get a chance to do these kind of pages any other time except for my kids' baby books, so I'd better make sure and do at least a few!

Friday, October 2, 2009

For You Sweet Baby Girl Card


This card was quick and easy.  It was made to go with the book I just made.  I think they match beautifully.  Anyways, I used my Gypsy Wanderings cartridge for all the lettering.  It's really a wonderful and diverse cartridge!  It's easy to use too!  All these letters were pre-welded, I just sized and cut them!  Super easy!  I did weld "baby" and "girl" together by the little tail like swirl.  That's it!

The reason my bow looks so nice is that I used my Ultimate Crafter's Companion.  I assure you, I stink at bows!  *LOL*  That thing really comes in handy!!!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

My First Project Using My Gypsy, A Baby Word Book


I had an absolute blast designign this!  It's basically a small, pre-embellished scrapbook for a new mother.  I designed all the pages to fit a 4 by 6 photo perfectly, and included a place on each page to record a date or small note.  I am just showing my favorite page, instead of all of them.  Every single one of the stickers is from HSN's exclusive line, 3 Birds.  The front page patterned paper is by Die Cuts with a View, and I used Plantin' Schoolbook, and Doodlecharms Cricut Cartridges for the design.  The ribbon is all pretty random stuff.

I had some real difficulty with figuring out the binding.  I ended up using ribbon.  I glued the ribbon to the back of each page, then I sewed all the ribbon together.  I scored the cover, and then glued it down to all the ribbon.  I used Zip Dry adhesive to do all this with.  I think it worked out pretty well, although it left me really wanting a cool binding machine instead!

To watch a great tutorial on making word books using the Gypsy, check out this fabulous blog!  http://craftingthenightaway.blogspot.com/

This project taught me so much, and ti was a great feeling completing it! I also loved the fun I had with the googly eyes.  I remembered that I had some leftover and though I'd try it, and I just LOVE the result!

Please excuse the photo.  I had not yet attached the cover, so it's mis-aligned, and when I took my second series of pics after attaching it, they came out really dark and crummy, so instead of giving it a 3rd go I decided that photo was good enough!  *LOL*