Layout Love - The Sampler

Hi Everyone!  Remember a bit back I told you I managed to make bunches of fun things with my December kit from the Sampler?  Well....Here are two more layouts.

I really can't seem to stop with the different techniques on the background.  For this one I used bead medium.  So shiny when it hits the light, and such and interesting texture.

 I added in a bit of twine and some stamping to add interest.  And these photos of Mackenzie just crack me up.

 This photo of Brighton and Ainsley just makes me smile.  I am so happy my children are close.

A few (well, maybe more than a few) pop dots, some buttons and brads from my stash helped complete this page...which of course once again had a fun mottled background with the help of some ink and masks.

Hope you have a great day!

Hugs.

Nancy

Tower Bridge

Totally slacking yet again, nothing much getting posted here on my blog.  I have been just crazy busy.  I know...excuses, excuses.  lol

I have been busy creating.  But I have also decided to try and step up my designer status.  I recently became a Designer Member of CHA.  I had business cards made, registered for winter CHA, and have been working hard to make sure all my other commitments are met.  That, and I am trying to diet and exercise...all the weight I lost a couple of years ago is starting to creep back on.  sigh

Anyway, as usual, I have a million excuses.  I promise I am creating and now that things are a bit more under control I am hoping to post here more.

Today I want to share with you a project I made a few weeks ago, one of the ones that is on my business card....

Some My Minds Eye papers that have been sitting in my stash for like evah!  lol  A few buttons as well.  I find I don't use many buttons and I have a ton of them, so I need to start.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Hugs.

Nancy

Cones to Die For

Hi everyone!  Today I want to share with you a quick little project I made using a Brenda Walton die, Faceted Cone and the Mini Paper Rosette die by Tim Holtz.

Love the papers from Webster's pages for this project and the gorgeous trims from Hydrangea Hippo.

Ainsley and I were going to make quite of few of these to share with friends at her birthday party, but in the end we decided to invite a few boys (they grow up too fast) and so we went with simple bags.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs.

Nancy

Beach Life - Webster's Pages

Hi everyone!  Today I want to share with you a layout I made featuring Brighton.  It is so hard to find papers that suit him, but these gorgeous papers from Webster's Pages were just perfect.  Of course, it doesn't hurt that they were photos from the beach.

What a gorgeous day at the beach.  I am trying to work through my stash of papers and these were just calling my name

Mixed with fun Prima wood pieces, fun buttons from Hydrangea Hippo and a Pink Paislee wood font, the papers were manned up.  lol

And I love, love, love the super fun zipper (also from Prima) and the larger bird from Maya Road.
This fall Brighton will be living just a couple of miles from the beach so I imagine he will be spending quite a bit of time there.

Thanks for dropping by.

Hugs.

Nancy

Disney Days - The Sampler

Hi everyone!  Today I want to share with you one last project with the gorgeous Simply Sweet kit from the Sampler.  I have so enjoyed playing with this kit...the colors were so fun and the patterns...oh my.  My favorite though has got to be the buttons.  Anyway......

My family recently spent a few days in Disneyland where I snapped this photo of my girls.

Bits of the gorgeous mist in the kit and the fabulous buttons highlight this layout.  I really love the "bubble paper" that was in this kit...and did I mention the buttons?  hee hee

I loved the color of the mist and couldn't resist customizing my Thickers and adding a sprinkle of them to my card stock base.  You know me and pink.  lol

Be sure and grab your Simple Sweet kit before they are gone.  And don't forget about the sketch and card challenges going on here.

Hugs.

Nancy

Get your Simply Sweet Kit

The Sampler Simply Sweet

Girl Meet Grill - The Sampler

Hi everyone!  Today today to share with you a project I made with the Simply Sweet kit from the Sampler.  I had this photo of myself grilling this last summer and thought it would be fun to scrap it.

I promise the bottom of the paper is straight in real life, there was a bit of a wind and it was blowing...hee hee    I really love all the buttons in this kit.  They are just super cute.  Lately, I haven't been able to get enough buttons.

I misted the DIY Thickers with some mist from an older kit to match the buttons, adding a older set of Thickers as well as a banner for some interest.

Don't forget to check out this month's sketch and card challenge.  There is still time to play.

Hugs.

Nancy

This Month's Kit:

The Sampler Simply Sweet

Christmas Again

Hi everyone!  Today I wanted to share with you a project I made using the new October Afternoon papers, Make it Merry collection.  I really loved these papers but I am not quite sure I like the projects I have made with them.  lol

This is my table all set for Christmas dinner.

Ok, well...Gots to run!

Hugs.

Nancy

That Barbie - She Really Does Have Everything

Hi everyone!  Today to share with you a project I made for my Ainsley and her Barbie collection.

If you are like me and have a girl that loves Barbie, you are probably always finding shoes, purses, and jewelry lying around.  It seems there is no "good" way to organize these items.  So, I decided to create a little "dresser" for Barbie to hold some of her accessories in;  you know, those shoes, brushes, and other accessories that always seem to be getting misplaced.  And besides...what girl doesn't need a little shabby goodness to help with her organization.

I used the Candy Box Sizzix die (don't forget to ask Kristina from Your Memories Here to pick one up for you if you don't have it) to create three separate boxes.  I painted the boxes and then covered them using the gorgeous Cashmere Dame collection from Glitz papers.

After painting the top with a coat of Rock Candy Crackle Paint I added some beautiful Prima blooms and bling 

And finally a few buttons to the drawer fronts to complete the look.  These drawers are actually quite large and will easily hold dozens of Barbie shoes in each compartment.

What girl wouldn't love holding some little treasures in these sweet boxes?  And, I have more boxes planned in the coming weeks.  I know you are going to want this die.  hee hee

Hugs.

Nancy

Hooray for Long Weekends

Hi everyone!  Hope you are having a great day.  I can't believe that Friday is already here and that we in the US are celebrating Labor Day.  Where did the summer go?

If you are looking for the Sampler blog hop post please go here....

If you just want to drop in and maybe have a cup of coffee....see what I have been up to?  lol

How about another project I did for Hydrangea Hippo using the Island Summer kit.   I really love this kit and decided one of the projects I just had to make was a mini album. So many fun goodies in the kit...how could I resist.

 This kit features some gorgeous papers from Trinity Paper Arts.  Perfect for all those beach photos.

 And the buttons///

 And the trims......

 And of course I put it all together with my Bind-it-All.

I hope to use this for some of the hundreds of photos I took while in Hawaii!  hee hee

OK, well....lots going on here as usual.  Spending a lot of time working one on one with Ainsley.

Hugs.

Nancy

Celebrate - the Sampler

Hi everyone!  I hope you are having a great day today.  Me...just trying to recuperate after our crazy swim season.  Hard to believe summer is almost over.  sigh

Today I wanted to share with you another project I made using the Summer Camp kit from the Sampler.

These are photos from Ainsley's birthday party.  We found this huge beach ball.  All the girls had a great time playing with it.  No one had ever seen a beach ball so big.

I love that this kit is packed with so many fun embellishments, washi tape, ribbons, buttons and cute stickers to layer and pop.  And the patterned papers also mix and match so well.

Well, back to work.  Be sure and check out the challenges going on now over on the Sampler blog.

Hugs.

Nancy

Wednesday - Time for a Vacation?

Hi everyone!  Hope you are having a great day.  Things with swim are really heating up here, so I am a bit late this morning.  So many details to cover...sigh.  Soon it will all be over and life will go back to normal, but until then.....

I really am ready for a vacation, but fortunately I am lucky enough to live in a place that many people consider a vacation destination.  Sometimes I am still amazed we live in such a scenic place.

 I used some of my older Prima papers from Your Memories Here to complete this project.

 And of course I coupled the gorgeous papers with a bit of Alecon lace and beautiful Prima blooms.

I even through in a few buttons and baubles from Prima.  I love that the grab bags from Your Memories Here offer such a variety of goodies.  And right now, today only, everything at Your Memories Here is 33% off in honor of our owner, Kristina's, 33rd birthday!

So be sure and hop over there and grab some goodies.

Hugs.

Nancy

A Cricut Birthday Invite

Hi everyone!  Hope you are having a great day!  Me?  Well, that still is waiting to be seen.  I thought we were going to head over to the beach today...but the weather doesn't look so hot (literally, high of 65).  And since I missed you yesterday...don't know where the day went.  I thought I would share with you a project Ainsley made using my Cricut and the Paper Trimmings cartridge.

 She turned the doily into a card merging two shapes.

 Cut the top layer and embellished with a pink button.  Yes, right now pink and green are her favorite colors.

A bit of printed vellum with a flower embellishment provides the party details.

I hope some of the girls RSVP soon.

Hugs.

Nancy

Sketch Challenge - The Sampler

Hooray for Friday!  My car is packed for an away meet tomorrow, it is the overnighter for the swim team tomorrow night and we are celebrating Ainsley's birthday!  It will be a fun packed weekend!!!!

Today, in scrappy news.....I wanted to share with you the project I made for The Sampler's Sketch challenge this month.  Here is the sketch.

And here is my take.  Phil and I hanging out at a friends.  Love, love, love the colors in this months kit, Walking on Sunshine, and the sketch was just perfect.

I threw in a few buttons from last month's kit to finish it off.

OK, well....back to work.

Hugs.

Nancy

The Sampler - Dye It

Hi everyone!  Sorry I missed you yesterday, but it was crazy around here.  We got my scrap room painted on Mother's Day, but that meant yesterday I spent the day putting everything back in its place.  I think I may make too many things.  lol  Well, more about my scrap room in a bit.....

Today I wanted to share with you a project I made using this month's kit from the Sampler, Two Scoops.  I love, love, love the colors in this kit.  So bright and springy.  

The Hambly transparency was just perfect to add a bit of depth and texture to my layout.  And I used a bit of baker's twine left over from my April kit.

Wood buttons, gorgeous colors and cute decorated brads were just perfect for the sketch I received from my good friend Heather.  There is still time to enter the April sketch and card challenges at the Sampler.  And later this week we will have the May challenges up.

OK, so onto my scraproom and our winner.....

Last Thursday, I stopped at the Ace Hardware next to the pool because they carry my favorite Benjamin Moore Paint; and found a lovely, bright summery yellow called Sundance.  Well, the Ace next to my house has a different display unit, so I couldn't find the color I was looking for.  I picked up the phone and called Phil, who unfortunately remembered the name of the color as Sunburst.  Well, needless to say, the Sunburst was just a bit too bright, almost like a yellow highlighter....so we had to start over.  At least we had only painted one wall.  lol

So, now the room is a bright, but not too bright, sunny yellow and everything is back in place.  I think I need to open an etsy shop or something to share all the goodies (mini books and off the page projects) I have been making.

So, our winner of the 52 Challenges book is....

Heather.  So, Heather....send me your mailing information and I will get your book out to you.

Hugs.

Nancy

If I Knew You Were Coming - The Sampler

Hi everyone!  As I mentioned yesterday I have tons of new projects to share.  Gotta love a weekend away when there is lots of time to crop.

Today I am sharing a project I made with this months kit from the Sampler, Two Scoops.  As usual, Holly has come up with a great mix of colors and textures for us to play with, and when I saw the sketch from Lisa Dickinson I knew I this would work perfectly.

Ainsley was so proud to make her first cake from scratch all by herself.  Quite the budding little chef.

And I just love all the beautiful colors and textures in the Sampler kit.

Super cute little wood buttons from Prima Marketing.

And fun brads from Echo Park.

This months kit is just packed full of fun.  So be sure to pop in and pick up your Sampler kit soon.  And don't forget there is still time to play along with us at the sketch and card challenges as well.  You can find them here.

Well, back to work for me.

Hugs.

Nancy

A Box Full of Ballerinas and A Winner

Hi everyone!  Happy Friday.  I hope you have great plans for the weekend.  For me?  Celebrating one of my favorite holidays....National Scrapbook Day!  hee hee

First, let's pick a winner from The Sampler blog hop.....

Number 1 is Cheryl!  Cheryl...send me your mailing info and I will get your package out.


Today I want to share an exploding box I made with some gorgeous goodies from the Hydrangea Hippo etsy store.  I knew as soon as I saw these cute little ballerinas in the store I just had to have them, especially after all the years of ballet the girls have taken.

And I love the little sprays, and the beads, and the roses, and the.....oh goodness, this was such a fun project to make.

I know Mackenzie will enjoy looking at the little photos from her years of dance.

Well...hope you have a great weekend.

Hugs.

Nancy

Sweet Saturday

If you are looking for the information on my RAK, check it out here.

It's Saturday, and boy do I have a lot to tell you today.

First up....How about some new scrappiness.....

This one if for a fun class I have been doing over at Big Picture Scrapbooking.  A while back I won Nic Howard's Dimensional Detail class from Prima Marketing.  It has been fun.  This week the focus was on adding stitching.  So, I broke out the sewing machine and.....  Lots of yummy Pink Paislee goodies.  I am loving the swirly flowers.  They feed my flower addiction while still remaining somewhat "masculine.

And here is Amanda and I on the beach in Florida.  So much fun.  Love me some Webster's Pages goodies.  And you know...these days...loving some burlap.  Thinking I am gonna head out in a bit to the new Joann's Fabrics and see about acquiring some canvas.  I am having so much fun adding fabric to my pages.

On the homeschooling front, things are slowing down and wrapping up.  I plan on doing a review of my year, what things did and didn't work.  It has been quite an adventure with the charter school, Brighton's starting high school, Mackenzie's digital arts...and you know everyday is an adventure with Ainsley!  lol

Hope you are having a great weekend.....Chris, Sue and I are gonna head out for some fun girl time.

Hugs.

Nancy