Getting creative with paint!

I finally had some free time today and Ryan and I used it to paint. First I finished a layout I had started over Spring Break with pink paint and a foam florish stamp:



Then I made some cards that I'd been imagining in my head for awhile. 4" x 4" card (you can make 4 of these from a piece of 12" x 12" card stock) from free Archiver's cardstock, ivory paint swirled in the background, and a "Me and my Big Ideas" jelly sticker:



Finally, a page I've been thinking about for awhile. I've had the pictures printed, the title in my brain, and a bunch of supplies collected to do it. Today, I went by Archiver's (I have coupons that expire on Monday burning a hole in my pocket) and picked out new and different paper to do the layout:



Bazzill, Archiver's and CM cardstock, paint (made the circles with the top of a wine glass!), and BoBunny patterned paper. Wanted to do it 8 1/2" x 8 1/2" to go in my moments albums, but too many pictures led to a 12" x 12" layout. Not sure what to do with it now, maybe a frame.

TFL!

Story Tag Book

Cathy Zielske posted this idea on her blog, and at first I thought, I could do one little tag every day in March.

Wrong! But I can do one little tag for every day of Spring Break!

It's not completely finished (but then again, neither is spring break), but I am very happy with the product. I did not buy any new items for this project, only used things I have been given and have collected over time. I do not even know all the products I used, but if one sparks your curiosity, ask me and I'll try to figure it out!

Feeling too creative!

Apparently 2008 is the year of creativity for me. I am working on a few projects this evening (that I will post sometime this weekend when I get pictures taken) and I was thinking that I have made a few fun, creative things this year, and fortunately I have started this blog and I will be able to keep track of them seeing as most of them have been given away as gifts!

Then I remembered one I had not posted. And truthfully, it would be part of a 2007 collection, but who's really counting?

I made gratitude journals for my sister and for my dear friend Cory for Christmas. I know I stole the idea from someone, but I do not feel like finding it right now. I believe Cathy and Ali posted it, but that it may have orginally been Emily Falconbridge's idea.

My journals involved a 6 x 6 album made from 52 pieces of paper, one for each week of the year. I even tried (as my sister noted on Valentine's Day) to match seasonal paper to the correct week. The crazy part was that I wrote a quote on each page and stamped the numbers 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 on each page. I will probably not do that part if I ever do that again. Here's a look at the inside...the page on the left was actually a transparency:

So now, they can each write down 7 things they are thankful for each week. The other cool thing is I used Hambly clear acrylic sheets for the cover and the back. The title is on the clear acrylic with stickers:

I am eager to see how they turn out.

Valentine's Day and Spring Break Check List

I thought I lost the pictures I took of this little project, but found them the other day. Got the project straight from Ali Edwards' "Weekend Creative." I love it when people share their projects, even supply downloads for some of the pieces, as Ali did here. Check out her others, too. Every weekend it's something different, sometimes a project, sometimes something to think about.


I made two of these, one for Scott and one for my sister. Very cute. Next thing I am trying is this. I really wanted to do the whole month, but have decided to just do spring break, because we are having some serious fun over spring break, and we aren't even traveling! A big woo hoo to that!
And on today's spring break check list, 12 pages done (total, but ok, two still need some touch ups) thanks to Kellie having us over today to crop and her mom for keeping an eye on Ryan and Arlan while we did! Also, cleaned out the old email inbox last night (some of you may know this because you got long overdue emails from me!). Nice to cross a few more things off. Now if I could just get to painting that wall...

Spring Break Checklist

Only one day into Spring Break and I can check a few things off. Finally made this frame I've had in my head for awhile:

The stamps are Autumn Leaves (stamped onto the mat) and the rub-on letters are American Crafts (rubbed onto the glass). Pictures are the front doors of the two houses Scott and I have owned.

I've also done two scrapbook pages, two loads of laundry, and built a snowman. So far, so good.

Scraplift

I posted this layout on my other blog but wanted to show it here with the inspiration. This LO came from an ad in Creating Keepsake's Magazine. The scan and zoom have lessened the quality, but it will give you an idea:



And here's mine:

Pretzel Kisses or Hugs

I made these for some little Valentine's Day gifts and a few people asked about them, so I thought I'd post the recipe:

1 bag pretzels (the square snaps work well, but even better are small circles if you can find those!)
1 pkg. M&Ms (I use the appropriate holiday colors when available)
1 pkg. Hershey Kisses or Hugs

Place pretzels on baking stone or sheet. Place a Kiss or Hug on each pretzel and bake at 200 degrees for about 8 minutes (just watch for the Kisses/Hugs to melt). Remove from oven and promptly place an M&M on each pretzel, pressing into the melted chocolate. Allow to cool before serving. At room temperature, this takes SEVERAL hours. I would recommend making these the day before you plan on eating/delivering. Or you can put them in the refrigerator to speed up the process.

Inspired Cards

One of the things I wanted to share when I started this sight was something I created and the inspiration from which it came.

Here are some cards made by the incredible Becky Higgins. She is a big time scrapping celebrity, and originally from my hometown of Frederick, Maryland, and I am a BIG fan.

Here are my copies (some of you saw these at Christmas!):

More cards from Becky (she used the Making Memories tag crimper thingy):

And my copies (I used a bunch of tags I had leftover from other card projects):

TFL!