Gratitude Challenge!

It is team activity time over on the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog!  Every so often the Master Forgers like to do a creative activity together and I am thrilled to jump in and join along.

This time, the lovely Lisa sniffed out a fantastic treasure with Allison Kimball's Blog.  Not only is Allison ridiculously creative (her blog is a very fun read), but she is so generous with free downloads that she creates.  Lisa very wisely was enchanted with some Thanksgiving ones that started the ball rolling with this activity and here we are!

Allison has some very fun, sketchy printables about being Thankful that are perfect for a lot of different projects.  Here are some of my favorites from her blog:

Gratitude Lists

Gratitude Pie Charts

The hardest part was picking WHICH to use on my layout.  I ended up with this very fun Org type chart that I filled up with my list of things to be thankful for...and some fun bits from my stash.  It came together quite easily and will be a great page for me to look back on.  I can't wait to use more of these for my kids to do.

More of my fantastic team did this challenge as well, so stop by Lynnette's blog next and then hop on down the list.

Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog   http://www.counterfeitkitchallenge.blogspot.com

Bethany   http://inspiredscrapper-bethany.blogspot.com  **You are here**

Lynnette   http://www.sassyscrapper2010.blogspot.de  **Hurry up and get here**

Susan   http://littlethingsbigdays.blogspot.com

Susanne   http://snapsandsnippets.blogspot.de

Leslie   http://lcsmithsaved-outofthemire.blogspot.com

Kelly   http://www.honeysucklehillcrafts.com

Margie   http://scrappinmargie.blogspot.com

Lisa   http://lisahausmann.blogspot.de

This would be a great project for YOU to try.  Make sure to post on Mr. Linky at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog if you make something using one of Allison's printables.  We would love to see it!

Spring is time for scrappy crushes!

Spring is in the air and crafty crushes are all around.  If you are crafty at heart, I'm sure there is SOMEONE out there that has a crafty style that you just dig.  Maybe it is because it is like your style...or you want to achieve that style...or that style just inspires you.  Style style style (Yes, I do keep saying that word, don't I?).  Today at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog we are all about crafty crushes.  Several of us from the CKC are sharing our favorite crushes as vaguely as possible.  LOL  It is all in fun.  At the bottom of my post please share who YOU think I am crushing on.

My go to girl for inspiration is the lovely ?  of the blog ? and designer for ?

If I could come back in another life as another crafter, I would pick ?. She is certainly an out of the box thinker when it comes to crafting.  I would love to be a fly on her wall (not in a creepy needs to call the police kind of way) to see her creative process.

What I LOVE:
**Clearly focused style for each project:  bright and fun, soft and pretty, graphic
**LOTS of details!  She is great at finishing touches!
**Out of the box crafter when it comes to using her supplies.  Now why didn't I think of that?
**She has mad stamping skills!
**Non layout/card projects are AMAZING!  She can throw down some 3-D projects!

Here are just a few of the reasons I think she is fabulous!  Check out some of her projects on her blog!  I mean, really?  How you you pick your favorite?

Now for my humble offerings to BE MORE LIKE ???.

Here is a card that she made that really inspired me:

Not my project...my mystery crush!

What I loved about her design:

the white space

the flowers drawing your eye in

the cheveron on the bottom.

  I wanted to make mine a bit more gender neutral, so I went with labels (stamped and cut out of card stock) and some sequins.  I feel I STINK at white space, so this was a challenge for me.  It is not bad.  I would mail it to someone.  LOL

There is a Birthday Post on her blog is so bright and fun!  Here is one of the projects on it:

Not my project...my mystery crush!

I decided to make a card for my nephew's birthday coming up.

What I loved about her cards:
bright colors
details
interactive

To mimic this look, I added sequins to the circle print on my patterned paper.  The photo on the front (in the frame) is also a magnet that my nephew can remove and keep.  Ben LOVES to color (and loves super heroes) so I made the inside ready for him to color.  I love this card!  It took a while, but was worth all of the details!

And WHERE did I come up with the papers for these cards?  Why from my March kit, of course...I made it, but never took the time to show it off, so here it is in all of it's crafty glory:

Make sure you head over to Counterfeit Kit Challenge to see what Crafty Crushes are going on over there!

Here is a list of the hop so you know where you are going:

Bethany:  http://inspiredscrapper-bethany.blogspot.com

Julene:  http://julenebydesign.blogspot.com

Leslie:  http://lcsmithsaved-outofthemire.blogspot.ca

Lisa:  http://lisahausmann.blogspot.ca

Lynnette  http://www.sassyscrapper2010.blogspot.com

Margie:  http://scrappinmargie.blogspot.com

Stephanie:  http://skylinepaperie.blogspot.com

Susanne:  http://snapsandsnippets.blogspot.com

Tomorrow (21st) they will also have a list REVEALING who our craft crushes are so make sure you check back in at the CKC blog!  Will you have guessed correctly?

**For the purpose of this post being a mystery, I am not able to link up to my crush.  I am giving her FULL credit though for her great projects and will come back later to put a link in the bottom that will not spoil the mystery of it all.  So BIG apologies to ??? for not being able to link up yet.  

Stamp Challenge #3: Story Time

Anyone remember this:

I have this weird nostalgic obsession with vintage school and children's things.  I am never quite sure what to do with them, but feel the need to buy them when I see them.  Sort of like the adorable stamp from Pink Persimmon:

It is seriously cute, right?  It reminds me of a simpler time that I, um, read about once.  LOL  Honestly, I love how graphic they are...and they are just sweet.

I bravely dug into my October Afternoon box because, let's be honest, they have super cute papers which is why I hoard love them so much!  I picked a mix of school and nursery papers that will work perfectly if I can talk myself into cutting them up.  UGH!

Of course OA has great alphabets and embellishments, too.  Oh, my!  I'm starting to scare myself a bit!

I think I need to go before I hyperventilate.  Have you made any kits based on a stamp set?  I would love to see it!  It will take my mind off of my dwindling OA box.  Sigh.

Stamp Challenge #2: Make it work

I will admit a guilty pleasure of having watched Project Runway quite a bit back in the day.  Now I don't have the time or inclination to binge watch anything, but I do have fond memories of Tim Gunn and his valuable input.  

My girl is such a fun mix of tomboy (climbs a mean tree) and girly girl (sparkly boots anyone?).  She frequently comes to check in with me in the morning to see how she is looking an if I have any accessory advice (let's face it...she wants to borrow my stuff).  I bought the Greeting Farm stamp set ages ago with her in mind.  It really reminds me of her (and her love of hats!).

I am dubbing this kit: Make It Work in honor of my fashionista.  I picked some trendy papers from Echo Park.  I love this bright mix of colors and kraft.

Neon is another new love that found its way in this kit.  We must keep it fashionable, right?  I had fun picking out some nice textural things like different ribbons, wood pieces and flowers.

I finished it off with some fun frames, labels and a LOT Of bling.

I think this kit is ready for a night out!  Two kits down and one to go!  See you soon!

Stamp Challenge #1: Into the Woods

I have been an avid reader and lover of all things (well written) literature since I was very little.   That is probably why this stamp set is one of my favorites:  

I was lucky enough to purchase this used on a buy/sell group...it included the dies, too!  It makes me happy every time I get it out!

I have pulled some fun things inspired by this set and am calling my kit: Into the Woods

And if you are sitting there thinking...hmmm...that sounds familiar...isn't there a new movie out by that name?  Why, yes there is!  And I fell in love with the stage play YEARS ago, so seeing the movie over Christmas was a treat.  And if you are sitting there thinking...hmmmm...I wonder if Bethany knows all of the music and can sing along with it.  Why, yes, yes, I can.  

For an added little treat...one of my favorite songs.  Yep.  I am a sarcastic girl at heart.

Take your time.  Savor it.  I'll wait.

Ready to see my kit?  I bet you are feeling as happy about it as I am!

I had some great fairy tale papers that I keep forgetting about using.  How perfect are some of these?  I add some woodgrain and solid colors to round out all of the patterns.

There are a few stickers and tags that got me thinking about some projects with this kit, so I threw them in...along with my coveted October Afternoon alphabets.

Lots of nature embellishments in my stash...they all came out to play here!

One stamp inspired kit down...two to go!  Check back in to see my next kit!

Showing my kids a little love...

For some strange reason I have been all over the map when it comes to traditions for Easter and Valentines Day.  We always make it special for the family, but don't really do anything consistently.

I guess at my house you can expect the unexpected.  LOL

This year I want to do some planned dates with the kids.  A couple of years ago I gave Billy a years worth of dates (one envelope for each month...date planned out...all we had to do was pick the day to do it) and he is STILL asking for me to do it again.  I think the kids will love a few planned out dates with Billy and I.  One on one time is hard to come by when both your parents work at a church...our time is impossible to schedule and not really our own.  Our kids are good sports, but our family time is constantly interrupted.

This will be fun!

Blog lovin offered up this really pretty "wrapping" idea for the date cards I am going to make...

Link to source

I love it when the package is even better than the gift.  LOL  Let's get started on some pretty packaging!

I found some fun little bags at the Silhouette store and purchased a few since I wan't sure what I wanted exactly.  They cut out easy and only took seconds to fold and glue together.  NICE!

I pulled together a pile of possibilities that I could decorate my cute envelopes with and tried to get a good mix of boy and girl things.

I started piling things on each envelope until I liked the way it looked and then glued everything down.  They came out super cute, don't you think?

I can't wait to make some "date cards" to put in them.  The kids will be so excited!

A bit of a distraction...and a challenge!

Anyone else have days when your brain is just all over the place?  I just can't seem to focus on anything today, which means that today is the perfect day to do a lot of little things.  LOL

First up is some sneaks at the CHA Mega Show!  Scrapbook Update Sneaks

I have found SEVERAL lines that I adore already!  What do you spy that you like?

Crate Paper has stolen my heart this season with their new lines!  The best part is that I have a shot of actually finding them in town when they come out! YEAH!

**YES!  Those are craft frames!  Really!!!

The colors in these collections are wonderful!  So many great details and textures.  I am completely taken by JOURNEY.  That is a must have for me!  Good thing I have a gift card to Amazon...might need to be saving that for awhile.

Another little happy distraction today has been THIS POST by Jennifer Grace.  Her layout is fabulous

and inspiring!  It makes me want to get busy making something!

Now onto some fun!  As I was pulling together some Valentines Day cards, I was struck by how much I still really like some of my older stamps.  Some of my sets I have had for years and they still make me happy.  Now how can I do something fun with them?

Challenge:  Take a favorite stamp set and create a scrapbook kit based on it!

Here are the 3 stamps sets I pulled for this challenge:

Yes, I know, they all have a girly feel to them.  I guess that is what I am digging today!  Now I am off to pull together some kits based on these stamps.  You are welcome to pull your OWN stamp to make a kit or use my stamps to inspire you.

I'll be back later with the results of my kit making and really hope to see some fun kits from you, too!

Knocking it out Valentines Day Style!

Yes, I am fully aware that it is still the beginning of January.  Impressed with me?  My aspiration this year is to actually DO the things that will make me happy.  I LOVE making and sending cards to some of our younger and older family members.  It is so much fun to get mail when you are a kid...and some of my sweet older family members love to feel a part of things and like they have not been forgotten.  I am hoping to send cards out every month, but thought I would start with Valentines Day.  Right now I am all happy to have my box of Valentines themed stuff out, but I know the closer it gets the more I will feel like moving onto the next thing on my list.  LOL 

I kept the design very simple, but had a great time digging through my stamps and getting some good old coloring time in.  My other goal was to use some of a brand new pack of adorable heart puffy stickers, so each of the cards has some of those on it.  I guess it is a magic pack of stickers because there are still SO many left!  LOL  Good thing they are pretty.

(Now if we could just get our Christmas Decorations put up so I can redecorate for February...hey...I was sick and the temperature is now negative numbers...don't judge me!  LOL)

Don't be surprised if you see some more Valentines Day projects very soon...since I am early and all.

Here are a few that I am loving from Pinterest and may need to recreate in my house:

Photo Credit

I have a nice big bay window that could use some dressing up...I've never messed with it before, but these are adorable!

Photo Credit

The wall of hearts might be too tempting for my kitties, but I love the texture and the monochromatic look!

Photo Credit

I am definitely feeling a pull towards adding some foxes to our Valentines Day Decorations!

Photo Credit

I bought some of the Stampin Up Sweet Treat Clear containers at a Garage Sale last year...Isabel and I have plans to use them on her Valentines to add a treat!

Some crafty fun for me!

I am TRYING, really TRYING to relax more and do more of the things I love.  My One Little Word for this year is...

JOY

I know I will not be perfect at it, but it is something to focus on and grow in for 2015.  It is my heart's desire to not only choose joy in all circumstances, but for me to be flowing over with it...to share joy with everyone I touch.

Since I get joy from being creative, I made some time to make a few things the last couple of days.  I am still getting caught up (home and work wise) from being sick all last month, but this is important, too.  

My first layout of 2015:  I wanted to keep it simple and just enjoy the process for once.  No preset plan or reason for making it.  Just letting it happen.  I decided to skip a photo, since that would be more work and pulled a Project Life card to serve that purpose.  My goal was to sum up last year and look forward to what this year will bring.  I love how cheery it is and the paper is one that I adore, but was always afraid to use.

I tackled a Project Life layout, too.  I thought it would be fun to make a page to share my goals, one little word and a family crest of what I want for us this year.   And what do you know...Counterfeit Kit Challenge had a challenge up to scrap with a list.  I did a challenge without even knowing it!  LOL

**I LOVE this crest idea..it was such a joy to put together what I want for us for this year...to travel more (mostly day trips), play more together as a family and freshen up our house and yard together.

I pulled together a quick card, too, while I was at it.

Alright, time to run...I hear some supplies calling!  What to do first?!