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Thursday, December 22, 2011

Blog Hop Blog Candy Winner!

Congratulations to "Scrappin Melissa" who commented on my post for the Happy Birthday Jesus Blog Hop Day 1, and became a new follower of my blog!

Thank you to everyone who visited the blog hop, my blog, and commented on our projects to celebrate JESUS, the real reason for Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Luke 2:11

"Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord."

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Happy Birthday Jesus Blog Hop - Day 1

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESUS!
Thanks for joining us for our Happy Birthday Jesus Blog Hop.
Today, we are worshiping the King & celebrating the TRUE REASON FOR THE SEASON!
This Hop is hosted by Tina from Crafty and Green !
If you've hopped along from Shelly at KC Croppers , then you are in the right place!! If you are just joining me from your dashboard, or reading this via email, please be sure to start at the beginning with Tina from Crafty and Green. (We wouldn't want you to miss a THING!!) *** Thank you for celebrating with us today! In the midst of all the hustle and bustle of the Holidays, we have to remember the One we really celebrate and love and who is the TRUE REASON FOR THE SEASON: Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. BLOG CANDY:
We have 7 Sponsors for this hop with FANTASTIC PRIZES!!! 1. Jen's Digi Stamps - http://www.jensdigistamps.com/ (Gift Certificate) 2. Michelle's Scrapbooking & More- http://michellescrap.com/ (Gift Certificate) 3. Heather Flaherty w/ {ippity} - http://www.iheartippity.com/ (Gift Certificate) 4. Papercrafting World - www.papercraftingworld.com (Gift Certificate) 5. Scraptastical Kreations- http://scraptasticalkreations.com/ (Gift Certificate) 6. K Andrews Designs- http://www.kandrewdesigns.com/ (Stamp Set) 7. My Family Keepsakes- http://myfamilykeepsakes.com/ (12x12 print/page) *** What Do You Have To Do?
What You Have to Do To Be in the Running for these Fabulous Prizes:
1. The Ladies have all worked hard on their projects, so please comment on every stop along the hop both days. (Separate Line ups for December 17th & 18th) 2. Please Become a Follower of CraftyAnd Green (http://craftyandgreen.blogspot.com/) **I am giving away blog hop candy, too! SO.....become a follower of MY blog & leave a 2nd comment on this post telling me you became a follower!**
Here is the card I created to celebrate the wonderful night of our Savior's birth:
I used Close To My Heart cardstock, patterned paper, chipboard, twine, stamps, and ink. I also used products and tools from Martha Stewart, Fiskars, Marvy Uchida, Stickles, and Recollections.
To cover the white chipboard letters on the cover of my card, I first inked them, and later
layered 1 coat of silver Stickles with a fine paint brush. After drying overnight, I then painted on a layer of gold Stickles to tie in my gold and silver color scheme and add some depth.
I punched holes in one point of each star chipboard, in each letter, and next threaded waxy flax twine between them. I finished attaching the twine with a threaded sterling bead and a small knot. When I attached the stars and letters to the card, I wanted it to appear that these shiny stars were suspending the word "Starry" by golden threads, as if this came right down from the stars, right down from the Heavens.....
Inside my card, I continue the sentiment, which I wrote: "Starry Night...glorious night..." with lots of room left to pen a personal message to the recipient! Above that on the insie cover, is a stamped image of the Christ child and a paint embellished bright star, symbolizing the one that lead the 3 Kings to the stable where the newborn King could be found.

I then added gold glitter ribbon to extend the rich, celebratory theme of royalty throughout the card. I punched 1 side of the sentiment for added stars and detail.

This is a detail photo of the stamped image of baby Jesus lying in the manger, as found in the Close To My Heart stamp set: "Let Us Adore Him"

Now, Hippity Hop on over to Created 2 b Unique with Haidee to see her fabulous creation today! Don't forget to comment on my project & become a follower! :) Remember to come back tomorrow for my 2nd project that celebrates Christmas, and the most wonderful birthday since time began!

Sunday, November 27, 2011

I often have receipts, mail, coupons, etc...that I place on our kitchen counter for my husband to take to work, or that I need to remember to take with me on errands on any given day. I detest clutter, and having these lying all around on my workspace was often confusing! I needed somewhere to put them, instead of the refrigerator door, as my hubby often didn't see them - so...my METAL project was born out of my need for practical organization and my love for crafting! I hope you can use this tutorial for your own personal magnetic reminder board, and I'll list some other uses at the end of my post!
So let's get started! First, you will need to locate a piece of galvanized sheet metal! These can be found at your local Sheet Metal Shop, or Heating and Cooling company! Check the Yellow Pages of your local phone directory if you don't already have a company you regularly use! **Just stop by and ask for a piece of scrap sheet metal cut to the size you need, in my case: almost 12 in x 12 in! (YOU WILL ALSO NEED 3-6 small pieces of scrap metal to m ake your decorative metal magnets! These should be 1-3 inches in size, either square or rectangle. Mine were just randomly cut at the metal shop from another scrap in the heap!) Mine are pictured a little further down with the re-purposed magnets I pried out of some old magnetic clips I had.
*They will likely just give it to you for free, or charge you a very minimal price! (My husband and I own a family heating and air, custom metal duct business, so my scrap was free!) And if you agree to mention the business on your blog or to those who see your project, they may give it to you for free as well! :) You will also need a 12in x 12in square picture frame; I had a white, wood frame on hand which coordinated with my kitchen trim.
Tools & Supplies you will need:
Self-Healing mat, 12 in paper trimmer, scissors, Xacto knife, metal/acrylic cutting ruler, sanding block, and corner rounder. Pictured are the various adhesives I used: ATG Tape Runner, Tombow Permanant, Xyron 150 Sticker Maker and CTMH Liquid Glass.

You will also need several (3-6) small scraps of metal to make your magnets, and the same number of STRONG magnet pieces!

**The thin magnetic sheets, strips and coils are not strong enough to hold through several sheets of paper and cardstock! (I repurposed several strong, round magnets out of some old magnetic clips I had.)
You will also need Mod Podge, a craft sponge, and a rubber brayer to adhere the first layer of cardstock to the sheet of metal.

Here is photo collage of the embellishments I used on my project, and the Prima Valentine stem I also used 1 piece of solid 12in x 12in cardstock, and portions of 3 coordinating patterned papers. Now we can start constructing our Magnet Reminder Board! 1. Adhere base cardstock to clean sheet metal with a thick layer of Mod Podge using a sponge. Apply Mod Podge in sections, and smooth each section with your Speedball rubber brayer or similar tool.

2. Place the sheet metal face down between to flat, firm surfaces, and place a weighted object on top of your "metal sandwich" to help keep the cardstock smooth. Set this aside to dry.
3. Now, position your Prima multi-flower stem onto your frame, and adhere is with generous strips of clear Liquid Glass adhesive. Hold in place for a few minutes, and set aside to dry.
4. Next, let's construct the small metal-based magnets you will need to hold items onto your board! **These also serve as part of the decoration/embellishment on your board without taking up space! Run your small metal pieces through a Xyron sticker maker 150 loaded with permanant adhesive.

Cover the sticky side of your metal pieces with paper of your choice, and then trim off the excess using your Xacto knife, self-healing mat, and firm craft ruler.

Next, adhere your strong magnets to the raw metal side of your magnets with clear Liquid Glass adhesive, and be generous! Mine oozed around the sides of the magnet a little. Set these aside to dry, as you will be embellishing these last. (This photo shows mine face down with embellishments.)

5. Now it's time to trim any excess cardstock from your now dry metal sheet with your Xacto knife, ruler and self-healing mat.

6. Next, trim your first, second and third patterned papers to the desired size and shape, and adhere them to the solid cardstock!
I used my ATG for larger areas on the backs of my papers, and then went around very close on all paper edges with my Tombow adhesive runner. I have better control with a smaller tape runner, personally.
Here is the beginning of your Magnetic Reminder Board! For one of my patterned papers, I wanted a distressed look, and to take out some of the brightness of the green of the paper, so I did some heavy sanding all over with my 3m sanding block.
This photo shows "before" I sanded. And here is the "after" effect! For the Bandana patterned piece, I used the corner rounder for some interest on 2 of the corners.
Next, I ran lengths of ribbon and ric rac through my Xyron sticker maker 150, and positioned those onto my sheet metal.
I also tied a length of white tulle around the frame and flower stem in an upside-down bow, and it needed no adhesive.
7. Last, flip over your dry magnets, and embellish as you desire! I used some Prima and Recollections paper flowers, and cut golden pom poms off of trim and edhered them with Liquid Glass adhesive. I also added a few of these onto the frame as if they were part of my flowered stem!
8. Last - place your new magnetic memory board into your frame, replace the backing, and you are all done! Voila!
*I think these would make great baby gifts if made in coordinating nursey colors for a new mom! She could place photos, keepsakes like hospital bracelets, etc...on her board to display temporarily, and then later scrapbook them! Appointment reminder cards are also great to display, too! This could also be a sesaonal/holiday decoration! Just decorate as many sheets of metal as you like, and switch them out in the frame as seasons and holidays change!

Friday, November 11, 2011

Good Times

Welcome to my layout for the Fabulous Friday Challenge at Frosted Designs, featuring "Embossing." I chose to incorporate dry embossing on the red cardstock die cut shape behind the "E," as well as wet, heat embossing on the title and horseshoe accents! I really do like both types of embossing for different reasons: dry embossing is more subtle, and heat embossing adds pop!
So, I encourage you to get out those embossing plates and stylus, heat guns and fine powders, and get creative! (And messy, if you are like me! :)
Please join us each and every Fabulous Friday at Frosted Designs!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas 2011: This is my first Copic and Prismacolor marker project! I absolutely love Christmas, and traditional Christmas colors, so I just layered and layered those with my favorite shape, the square, until I was happy with my card. This DIGI image is by Mo Manning, and actually was chosen becuase this little boy, "Jimmy" looks so much like my own 3 year old! I usually add a lot more "bling" to my projecrs, but for this card, I really wanted you to be able to focus on the image of this sweet boy and his excitement about Christmas, so I took a more minimalist approach.
This being my first coloring project, literally, I was pretty pleased with how this sweet boy and his stocking turned out! I have just a few Copic Sketch markers, and so I mixed my coloring with Prismacolor markers that are available where I live. Both worked very well on the Copic Xpress paper, and I could tell a big difference in the ease of coloring with it and the basic cardstock that I tested colors on!
The angle of this photograph really emphasizes the embossed texture on the base of my card, and I think it adds a little something without being a distraction.
For this card, and the many duplicates I will make to mail to loved ones all over the USA, I dove into my STASH, and decided to CLEAR OUT the Clover Meadow cardstock from Close To My Heart that I have had for at least 3 or 4 years. I also used the last red rhinestone on a sheet that I have had for years, too...and yes I saved just one rhinestone... I was thrilled to be able to pull out a very old embossing plate out of my tools stash, and hand emboss the basket weave texture onto my base layer!
*Being a mother of ALL BOYS - I get to create papercrafted projects that reflect my primarily masculine household. (Me, and 2 of our pets are ladies! LOL!) Personally, I love ribbon, flowers, bling, etc... but, for this card, I wanted to truly reflect who we are as a family...we are mostly boys, very bright and colorful, very conservative & square, very complex with lots of layers, and completely in love with Christmas....and I feel that's what my card communicates.
TOP TIP TUESDAY: When working with any medium to dark colored solid cardstock, be sure to wash your hands with a non-moisturizing soap, and DO NOT apply hand lotion or cream! This will keep your cardstock fresh and clean without any oily fingerprints, and will prevent your photos and images from detiorating over time from oily fingers!
***I found some WONDERFUL blogs that are hosting challenges that worked with my card, and here they are! *** Please become a follower of my blog, and visit these, too! **** There She Goes: TSG129 Holiday Daisy Doodles Creative Challenges: #46 Anything Goes w/a digi Heart Song Inspirations: Challenge #23 Anything Goes
*Products I Incorporated Into This Card: Clover Meadow cardstock by CTMH (very old) Classic Red Textured Cardstock by Bazzill Sassy Trees on Ivory pp by Canvas Corp. Copic XPress It Laser White cardstock "Jimmy's Stocking" image by Mo Manning Twine by My Minds Eye Basket Weave Embossing plate by Fiskars (very old) Clover Meadow ink by CTMH (very old) Playful Numbers Stamp Set by CTMH (OLD - not used in 3 years?) Rhinestone bling by Me and My Big Ideas* (very old!) Copic Sketch Markers: 0, 100, BG10, E33, YR04, R29, YG03, YG67 Prismacolor Markers: PM-192, PM-187, PM-90, PM-88, PM-19

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Riding Horses

I wanted to share this layout with you, as I am really pleased with how it turned out! I used some brand-spanking new products, as well as some older ones that I was thrilled to incorporate! Again, this layout features my youngest son, and showcases his confident personality! This "horse" is life-sized, and he was fearless as I hoisted him up into the aged leather saddle!
As for the newest of my supplies, I incorporated the natural and black burlap fibers, and the horseshoe die-cut that I puchased this summer at a Creating Keepsakes Convention. The oldest supplies include the natural string, and the year stickers in the lower left corner. The string is so old, I can't even remember where it came from, but it is certainly from my pre-scrapbooking days, which dates it pre-2001!
My partial list of supplies:
Sandylion and Karen Foster stickers, Basic Grey brads, CTMH Sarsparilla, DCWV patterned paper, Want 2 Scrap die-cut
*****

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Anchors Away!

I was really happy to create this layout with 9 photos, and still have a little "white" space not covered! I used square punch to create the uniform photo size, and then distressed all photo edges with my hardware store sanding block! I love the sanded photo look, and I think it fits my subject well; my rough and tumble little boy! I would say this is one of my signature looks.
I used these products to create this nautical layout:
Cardstock (CTMH, Bazzill & Recollections), Patterned Paper (American Crafts), Nautical Stickers (Martha Stewart), Metallic Font Chipboard (Me and My Big Ideas), Twine (My Mind's Eye), Blue Pearls (Queen & Co.), Silver Charms (Michaels), Anchor Punch (Martha Stewart)

Friday, October 28, 2011

Frosted Designs Fabulous Friday Challenge 10-28-11 Candy/Food

Welcome to my design team entry for the latest Fabulous Friday challenge
from Frosted Designs! As a FF Design Team member, this was a challenge for me, as my son is allowed very little candy! But, I remembered that he had been given a lollipop by his buddy, Gracie, while we were at the zoo! Well, you can tell I love bright colors, and lots of patterned paper! Me and My Big Ideas: Sunny Days patterned cardstock

ATD/Momenta: textured cardstock Die Cuts With a View: patterned paper

Celebrate It: diamond ribbon, glitter ribbon

Recollections: all flowers Wrights: ric rac Martha Stewart: punches Close To My Heart: brads ______ I hope you will join us again at Frosted Designs for Fabulous Friday, each and every Friday!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

WINNERS! Part 2!

AND THE 2 NEW WINNERS of the 400 Followers Contest are: Vannessa Miller & Rachel Miller
  • Luanne
  • Karen Bahit (Winner did not respond to posts.)
  • JoAnn (Winner did not respond to posts.)
  • AllyBug28
  • Crafty and Green
  • Debpaint16

Random.org chose the winners from the two groups of 76 comments!

**Please e-mail me your name/mailing address so I can get your blog candy in the mail to you! (My e-mail is mrsme6th at bellsouth dot net ) Keep an eye out for my next giveaway & thank you for following and commenting! Roberta :)

Friday, October 14, 2011

Frosted Designs Fabulous Friday Challenge 10-14-11 Fancy Trim

The Fabulous Friday challenge this week is to use "fancy trim" on your project! As a professed scrapbooker, and a mother of 3 boys, I seldom have an opportunity to use a feminine fancy trim! So, I was extremely excited to find this faux leather fringe at the Buy The Yards Ribbons booth at the CKC-Charlotte convention vendor fiar! I snapped up all she had in her booth, knowing I would be workin on all of our cowboy/indian photos from Tweetise Railroad!
I used 2 strips of this trim, and adhered it to my layout with Zips Clear Adhesive Lines Ultra Thin. I think it turned out great! I hope you like it, and will give some of those masculine trims a try when you come across them!
Keep an eye out each Friday for a new challenge at Frosted Designs!

Monday, October 3, 2011

You & Me Friend

I created this layout based on a pagemaps sketch, however I missed the deadline to enter it in a contest. I'm very pleased with how it turned out, and I was able to use 4 of my too many photos of my son's first trip to our local theme park! LOL! So, here it is! I also loved entering the Bird is The Word challenge for "You & Me," because it fit what I was already working on! My recipe for this layout: 1. white cardstock, CTMH 2. bracket die-cut, Best Creations, Inc. 3. multicolor polka dot paper and yello embossed paper, Best Creations, Inc 4. large green tonal polkadot paper, My Mind's Eye 5. stars punched with Martha Stewart All Over the Page punch 6. hearts punched with Marvi Uchida punch 7. small bracket punched with Fiskars punch 8. jornaling with CTMH Sunflower ink marker 9. brads, CTMH 10. sentiment/title stamped with font stamps from CTMH and stamp pad in Garden Green I am entering this layout into these challenges: Bird is The Word You & Me Challenge Make It Monday #57 CropStop Challenge #39 Stamp Sentiment & Plus to Use "Friend" I hope you like my layout, and are able to read my terrible (LOL!) handwriting! Roberta

Friday, September 30, 2011

Frosted Designs Fabulous Friday Challenge 9-30-11 Fussy Cuts

I guess everyone can tell by the layouts on my blog, that I really love to photograph and then scrapbook my son, Ezra! And much of what he wears, and what we do involves bright colors! So here we are at our local amusement park, Tweetsie Railroad, on one of my favorite rides: The Merry Go Round! I am really not sure the difference between a carousel and merry go round, but we sure do love them!

As a very thankful member of the Frosted Designs Fabulous Friday Design Team, I was challenged to do fussy cutting! For this layout, I cut out the 5 clouds from a piece of My Mind's Eye Lime Twist Out of The Blue "Smile" Float Paper, and the 2 carousel horses from a piece of Best Creations, Inc. Looops and Scoops paper. Boy, those carousel horses were very fussy!!! LOL!

I added Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Faded Jeans with a stiff bristle brush to the top edges of the clouds, and adhered them with foam circles! For the horses, I also adhered those with foam, and for a "Twist" of fun, I used Lime Twist baker's twine, 2 strands twisted, for the poles of the carousel! I hope you like it!

My best tip for fussy cutting -- use a pair of sharp, fine or microtip scissors! It will save you time and frustration! Keep an eye out for a new challenge each Friday at Frosted Designs!

Thursday, September 29, 2011

We Can Fly

Here are more photos of my sweet boy, Ezra on his first outing to Tweetsie Railroad in the Summer of 2009! I know we will both be glad when I am finished with this series of photos! I must have taken 200! :)
My Recipe for This Layout: Cardstock: CTMH, kiwi, and Ocean (SCRAP),Patterned Paper: My Mind's Eye, Lime Twist, Out of The Blue Playful Galaxy Paper, Fly A Kite Fly Paper die Cut, Fly A Kite Spring Stars Paper (SCRAP), American Crafts Junior Defense Embossed Orange Dot Paper (SCRAP), Bazzill Phoenix Swiss Dots (SCRAP), Orange linen (SCRAP)All STARS and ARROWS are cut from punches: Fiskars and Martha Stewart, and all are cut from SCRAPS! Fiskars puffy font stickers, Celebrate It ribbon in lime green, Buttons and sewing thread from my stash, Singer sewing machine, Xyron Sticker Maker. Zots clear adhesive dots, 3M sanding block for distressing
I am entering this layout in these challenges:

http://www.scrappinmojo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14357 Scrappion Mojo September Terri's Sketch Challenge

http://ooh-la-la-creationschallenges.blogspot.com/2011/09/challenge-89.html Ooh-La-La Creations Challenge #89 Punches/Dies (Star and Arrow punches)

http://heartsonginspirations.blogspot.com/2011/09/hsi-challenge-17-use-ribbon-andor-tag.html HeartSong Inspirations HSI Challenge #17: Ribbons/tags (Lime green ribbon border and tails on top left button)

http://dreamvalleychallenges.blogspot.com/2011/09/challenge-16-buttons.html Dream Valley Challenges #16 Buttons (orange and turquoise buttons)

http://whimsicalwednesdays.blogspot.com/2011/09/anything-goes.html Whimsical Wednesdays Anything Goes Wed. Sept. 28th

http://www.lovetocrop.com/2011/09/its-challenge-time-lets-scrap-it.html Love To Crop Friday Challenge Sept. 23rd - Scraps (Argyle print, green polka dots print, striped strip, turquoise strip, orange dotted strip, red dotted strip, star strip and all stars and arrows are SCRAPS!)

http://www.youhadmeatcraft.com/2011/09/guest-designer-lala-palooza-with.html You Had Me At Craft Made It Myself Mondays Week 16

http://myshericrafts.blogspot.com/2011/09/my-sheri-crafts-challenge-69-sew-simple.html My Sheri Crafts Challenge #69 Sew Simple (Real stitching with white thread and sewing machine, and faux stitching with white gel pen on punchedd elements.)

I hope you like my layout, and please become a follower of my blog! Thanks a bunch, Roberta

Monday, September 26, 2011

all you

I had a lot of fun making this layout about my youngest son, Ezra and I on an outing to our local theme park. It also sparked some sadness as I chose my title inspired by the song, "Yellow," by Coldplay. This was one of my oldest son's favorite songs in 2000, and he later passed away in 2001 at the age of 14. Hearing this song again, and thinking about how much he would have enjoyed his youngest brother was heartbreaking. This photo is a closeup of my very old blue chipboard title that I distrressed and attached together!
Here is a closeup of my ticket-title! I cut several sizes of tickets on my Cricut, and layered them until I was happy with the look!
This is a closeup of the multitude of hearts, buttons, and glitter dots on the side of the layout. I just love these 3 bright colors!

I created this layout using these materials: Bazzill cardstock, Phoenix swiss dot & CTMH cardstock, Ocean American Crafts Cardstock: Junior Defense embossed dot

Patterned Paper, Lime Twist, Go Fly A Kite, My Mind's Eye

Cricut Cartrides, Carousel and Plantin Schoolbook

Fiskars Puffy Stickers font Blue Alphas

Chipboard font from my stash

Recollections Glitter Adhesive Dots

Buttons from my stash

Offray Microspool felt ric rac

Martha Stewart border punch and liquid glue

I am entering this layout in these challenges: http://sketchabilities.blogspot.com/2011/09/sketch-55-design-team-reveal.html Sketchabilities #55

http://designed2delight.com/blog/2011/09/saturdays-challenge-die-cut-divas/ Designed 2 Delight Saturday's Challenge - Die Cut Divas (2+ Die Cuts: hearts & ticket)

http://www.scrapbookexpress3.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11425 Scrapbook Express Final Weekly Divas Challenge, Any past weekly challenge: July 27-August 2 Big Shape (rectangle patterned paper)

http://scrapbookers-anonymous.blogspot.com/2011/09/september-challenge-and-birthday-treats.html A-Z Challenge, letter "B" stash (very old BLUE chipboard) http://scrapfit.blogspot.com/2011/09/wwu-14-winner.html ScrapFIT Weekend Warm Up #14: Buttons (orange buttons) http://scrapitwithasong.blogspot.com/2011/09/new-challenge-coldplay-yellow_22.html Scrap It With A Song New Challenge: Coldplay "Yellow" (I was inspired by the lyrics especially, when thinking about my littlest son in these photos, and remembering my oldest son, Corey, who loved this song when it was released in 2000. In the song, the artist sings about bleeding himslef dry for his subject, and as a parent, I know exactly how he feels. I would do anything for my children, and I appreciate the chance to express that through this song challenge!)

http://stuckonusketches.blogspot.com/2011/09/sept-23-die-cut-challenge-heart.html Stuck on You Sketches Sept. 23 Die Cut Challenge :Heart (All the red, turquoise and orange hearts)

http://ppp-makeitmonday.blogspot.com/2011/09/make-it-monday-56.html Make It Monday #56

________

I hope you enjoy my layouts, and please click on the "400 Followers Contest" on the top of the page, and enter to win one of 6 prizes!