If you're in Utah...

If you're a local Utah person, you need to check out The Wonderland Boutique!  A few of my sisters and I are putting on a huge boutique this weekend in Alpine (in the former location of the Peppermint Place candy store).  We have about 30 vendors selling unique handmade items and art.  I'll be selling my laser cut wood snowflakes, watercolor prints, and custom peg dolls.  We've even got the Waffle Love truck coming on Saturday from 10-2, and that is some serious deliciousness.

Over on our blog we have a TON of fun giveaways going on, including a set of 5 of my very own snowflake ornaments!  (The winner will be able to choose their 5 at the boutique.)  So head over to the giveaway post to enter, and come join in the fun on our Facebook page.

The boutique will be this Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at 123 E. 200 N. in Alpine, Utah.  I'll be there pretty much the whole time, so come say hi!

New watercolor pieces!

I've been a doodling typography artist for a long time, and lately I've been experimenting with using watercolor paints to color my pencil sketches.  I'm loving the results, so I'm adding prints of them to my etsy shop!  Here's just one example -- click the link to see them all!

Summertime Birthday Card

Hello again!  I'm finally back with another card for ScrapbookUSA Expo.  I know all you moms can sympathize with the fact that the last month of school is ca-razy.  But now we have months of wonderful summer ahead, and I am loving the sunshine and blue skies.  This card, using the lovely and eclectic Park Bench collection from Fancy Pants, captures the easy breezy feeling of summer in an elegant birthday greeting.

This collection has a ton of sweet embellishments, and this colored tag (the pack came with all sorts of pretty patterned and solid color coordinating tags) was the perfect anchor for my sentiment.  I used EK Success border and doily punches to add pretty details.  I love how it turned out!

Here's a closeup of the details:

Next time I'm going to showcase the funkier side of this collection with a fun layout -- stay tuned!

Time to Escape

I created this fun layout with the eclectic Park Bench collection from Fancy Pants, one of the great sponsors of ScrapbookUSA Expo.  I love that this collection blends the beautiful and the funky together so well -- so much personality!  It also feels grown up without being dreary -- there is plenty of energy here.  I used the great papers and a bunch of the fantastic coordinating elements to create this layout about a fantastic weekend getaway my hubby and I took a few months ago to celebrate our 11th anniversary.

I used the photo frames to create a title card and journaling card by backing the open spaces with some of the lighter papers.  A few stitches of twine to secure the title card turned it into a cool pocket for the journaling card.

Layering chunky embellishments adds lots of texture and interest to the layout.

Smashbooking Our Awesome Adventure, Part 2 -- Denmark

Last week I posted the Smashbook pages from the first leg of my husband's and my awesome 10th anniversary adventure, visiting family in England.  Today I'm sharing the pages from our days in Denmark, where we visited friends I knew when I served a mission there for my church and did lots of fun sightseeing.  It was so fun to show Dan the places I knew and loved so well -- I love that Smashbooking gives me such an easy way to record lots of little details we might otherwise forget.  And I love that it gives me a reason to use all the yummy washi tape I've stockpiled...

Any LDS friends might recognize the guy in this picture as the actor who played Jesus in The Testaments.  He was in my ward when I was a missionary, and I was so surprised he remembered me.  Mostly because he remembered the incredibly talented elder that I sang with quite frequently...

I had this page specifically in mind when I bought this cute road washi tape.  So fun!

I bought a set of old Danish dairy advertising cards at this museum, and used them to add more photos and journaling to a couple different pages.  This one says "Milk Butter Cheese" and then at the bottom, a word that doesn't have a direct translation that I can only approximate as "dairy-licious food!"

Inside this "Eat with the Danes" card, I wrote about all our food adventures in DK.

Next up, beautiful fantastic amazing Norway.  Ah, I get happy just thinking about it...

Smashbooking Our Awesome Adventure!

Last summer, my husband and I celebrated our tenth anniversary with a fun and exciting trip to England (to visit family), Denmark (so I could show Dan where I lived and served as a missionary for my church), and Norway (just for fun). A couple of months before, just as we were beginning to plan the trip, I had the luck of getting to go to a Smashbooking class at Creating Keepsakes headquarters, taught by the fantastic Megan Hoeppner. I knew Smashing would be the perfect way to commemorate our upcoming adventure, so as we traveled I saved all our memorabilia so I could include it. Now, my original intention was to create the book as we went along on our trip, gluing in memorabilia and writing up journaling each day. That totally didn't happen. In fact, all of the fun bits and pieces from our trip, as well as my Smashbook, sat in a ziploc bag in my scrapbook room until March, when I went to the ScrapbookUSA Expo for a weekend and decided to make it happen. And I'm so glad I finally did, because I LOVE how it turned out! My Smashbook is heavy on journaling, because I wanted to remember all the little bits of experience we had together, and then lots of pictures and memorabilia. I know that this will be a treasure for Dan and me for the rest of our lives, because it really captures so much about our adventure together. There are a LOT of pages in a Smashbook, and I filled nearly the whole thing. That's a little much for one blog post, so I'm going to break it up into three parts. This first post covers planning the trip and the England leg of the journey. Dan's sister Jana is married to an English guy and they live in London, and my little brother Eric is married to an English girl and they live about an hour south of London, so we had lots of wonderful people to see.

I doodled this title page during the class at Creating Keepsakes.

I adhered this brochure into the book in such a way that it could fold out entirely.  Then I used the interior to add more pictures.

Smashbooking is so fun!  It stretches your creative muscles in a whole new way.  I'll post the pages from Denmark and Norway over the next few days and link them up here!

ScrapCodes -- possibly the coolest new thing in scrapbooking...

Ooh, I have the coolest new thing to show you today!  ScrapCodes makes customizable QR code stickers that are fantastic for both traditional and digital scrapbooking.  If you have a smart phone, you are probably already familiar with the little square codes we're starting to see everywhere.  Advertisers use them all the time: "Scan this code for more information!"  You scan the little code with a smart phone, and you are whisked away to whatever information is locked into that code.

So now, brilliantly, we can do the same thing on our scrapbook pages!  You can link it to a picture slideshow (hello, perfect for those of us who take 700 pictures of a single event and somehow can't figure out how to cram them all onto a layout...), upload a video, record an audio message, write a note, or link it to a website.  For my first project, I linked my QR code to a YouTube video...

Last month my daughter, sister, mom and I took a little girls' trip to Los Angeles (to be on America's Funniest Home Videos, how crazy is that?!), and we took Eliza to the Santa Monica Pier.  She became instant best friends with a street performer named Lenny Hoops, who sang and danced with her for better than 10 minutes.  I posted a video with the best 3 1/2 minutes to YouTube.  The pictures are adorable, but I knew when I scrapped this event I had to include the video somehow to really tell the story.  I was just going to include the YouTube link in the journaling, but this is SO much better!

The QR code comes as a nice, sturdy clear sticker.  I mounted it to some white cardstock, then onto a washi tape covered tag.  Now anyone flipping through our Smash book from the trip can just whip out their phone to see the awesome video.  And you don't have to have a smart phone, either -- you can also type that little web address at the bottom, and it will take you to the same place!

These ScrapCodes stickers are pretty easy to use, too.  It took me a few minutes to download the app, get logged in, and figure out the best way to link up my video, but it the instructions were simple and thorough.  Anyone familiar with a smart phone could do it easily, and I think now that I am all set up and I know what I'm doing, setting each code up will take about a minute.

The only downside I can think of is that they aren't necessarily pretty.  I think the digital-y look works great with the edgier style of Smashbooking, but what about other styles?  The code could easily be affixed to a hidden tag or journaling spot, so that it's just out of view but totally available.

I am really excited about the multi-media possibilities offered with these new stickers.  I always have way more pictures than I can add to a page, or way too much journaling, or audio or video that I wish I could include.  Now I can!

Soon you'll be able to get your ScrapCodes stickers at their website, but you can snag some this weekend at ScrapbookUSA Expo!  The Expo is Friday and Saturday, and it is going to be a seriously good time.  Hope to see you there!  (I'll be wearing a pink Design Team t-shirt, so come say hi!)

Washi Tape Monogram

Spring is just around the corner (thank heavens), and I'm starting to work on a little revamp for my entryway. My first project was this little monogram to sit on our entry table. It's a plain papier-mâché letter from Hobby Lobby dressed up with washi tape. The little flower is also made from washi tape, and I'd be happy to make a tutorial if anyone's interested.

This was a great project to break into my stash of washi tape. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has collected way more than I've ever used! If you're looking for affordable washi tape the best source I've found is Downtown Tape. They have dozens of different designs for two dollars a roll. You can find them online or they have a great booth at the ScrapbookUSA Expo at the end of this month.

Man Cards... for ScrapbookUSA Expo

When the opportunity popped up on the ScrapbookUSA Expo design team to use Basic Grey to make cards and tags for men and boys, I snagged it.  It is HARD to make cards for men, but I've always thought Basic Grey nails it with their masculine collections.  And having the right ingredients sure makes the rest of the job easier!

This first card uses the new Hipster collection -- SO cool.  I also ran a line of washi tape across the front to anchor that metal frame.

And this gift tag could really be used for any age guy.  I used the Kneehighs & Bowties collection.  I love the stickers that come with this collection -- layering them onto the basic tag shape made this project super easy.

Just over a month until ScrapbookUSA Expo!  Hope to see you there!

Stripping... (for ScrapbookUSA Expo)

I love the little strips Basic Grey includes at the bottom of their 12x12 papers -- perfectly usable little bits of paper with pretty patterns using otherwise useless little bits of paper.  Did that make any sense?

This month I got to work with some of Basic Grey's brand new collection -- Kneehighs and Bowties, with an eye towards cards and gifts for kids.  I decided for my first post to make a couple of cards using the little border strips, just to add a few more ideas of what you can do with them.

My first card shows an old favorite for little scraps -- turn them into something bigger!  To create the star on this card, I glued the strips to a piece of scrap cardstock, then cut a star out of it.  The layers of the strip create a lot of texture and interest on the card.  These great letter stickers are by Basic Grey, too.

This pretty card would be perfect for any little girly girl.  I first created the card base, then layered on the border strips to create the V pattern.  Add a few embellishments (the label and flag are stickers from the paper pack), and it's all sorts of adorable!
So don't throw away those cute little border strips!  There are so many fun things you can do with them. :)

35 Years!

In December my parents celebrated their 35th anniversary, and my brother took some really fabulous pictures of them while he was visiting from England. This past Saturday was my dad's birthday, so I thought I would make a scrapbook page for him. (Several years ago I started a scrapbook for my dad. I do 8 1/2x11 pages, and gave him an 8 1/2x11 frame so he could frame the first layout. The idea was that every time I made him a new page he could put the new one in the frame and the previous one in the book. The only hitch is that he likes the first one I made him so much he's never taken it out of the frame!)

 And my mom mentioned how much she liked the "10 Years of Us" layout I posted last month, so I thought I'd do a version of that, and I stole their wedding album last weekend to find a suitable picture.  Here's the result:

Aren't they beautiful and handsome?  My dad liked it so much he has decided to buy another frame so he can put this one up too, and not have to switch out that first layout. :)

Hmm, I don't think I've ever posted that one.  It's pretty darn cute -- I'll have to post it in the next couple days!

Valentine's Chalkboard Wall

Ah, Valentine's Day is almost upon us.  And while I'm still trying to figure out something fun and romantic for my hubby and me for V-day, I thought I'd share what I did with my chalkboard wall for this month of love...

I didn't ever figure out what to do for Valentine's decor, so I just gathered up all my red and pink washi tape, red and pink spools of thread, and red and pink flowers from my crafting stash to fill my apothecary jars, and found a spray of pink flowers to stick in my vase.

Matryoshka (Nesting Doll) Family

Ever since I painted my first peg doll family, I have developed a real love for painting wood figures.  I just love turning a piece of unfinished wood into something completely new and different.  My awesome-socks husband totally gets me, and he surprised me at Christmas with an unfinished matryoshka (nesting doll) set that I could turn into our family.  I hadn't even thought of that, but I was tickled pink!  I finally had a chance to sit down and paint them a little while ago, and here's the finished product:

I decided to go with a much different face style than I've ever done before (I've always stuck with a super simple set of eyes and that's it), but I took a deep breath and tried to capture all our goofiest grins.  My hubby is sporting his newly cleanshaven face, his favorite leather jacket, and the ever-present Seahawks shirt.  I don't actually have a turquoise chevron sweater, but I would totally dig that... Sam (9) is the oldest and is totally into computer programming, so I had him write down some code for me to put on his shirt.  Josh (7) is the middle, and he has the CUTEST no-front-teeth, scrunchy-eyed smile right now.  (Wanting to capture that smile is actually what made me want to give everyone smiles.)  He gets an air bender symbol on his shirt, as a shout out to his current obsession with Avatar.  Then Eliza (4), the little princess, who gives bats her eyelashes and asks us "So, do you think I'm fascinating?"

These just make me smile every time I see them.  I think I'm going to have to do more in the future!

Game On!

Kristin over at the ScrapbookUSA Expo blog has started a fun monthly challenge, and here I am on the last day of the month, just sneaking in!  You should, too -- the prize for the randomly chosen winner is two free Early Bird tickets to the Expo.  That's a $40 value.  Just sayin.

Also, the challenge is to use this sketch from Shawn of Nuts About Sketches, which is a great one I can see using over and over:

Here's my take on it:

I used the cute "Little Sport" collection from Fancy Pants, and chipboard letters from Jenni Bowlin Studio that I snagged at the last ScrapbookUSA Expo.  I created the football accent myself with a scrap of leather-ish vinyl and some embroidery thread.

Look at that face -- little cutie.  And would you believe after doing this whole layout I remember I bought some of those professional player/team pics they do and I totally forgot to include them?  Oh well -- I guess another page is in my future!

To the one I love... Valentine's Card for ScrapbookUSA Expo

Back again with another card for ScrapbookUSA Expo, using the delicious Kissing Booth collection from Basic Grey.  This collection has a lovely eclectic style.  I used a pre-die-cut scallop-edged card, then added the doily and stitched ribbon border strips.  The paper doily went so nicely with this collection, and then trimmed a couple of hearts from one of the sheets of patterned paper.  The flag is one of the great stickers from the collection.

Thank goodness for Valentine's Day -- just the thing to warm up the cold wintertime!

10 Years of US... for ScrapbookUSA Expo

Time again for a project for Scrapbook USA Expo, and this month I get to play with the lovely Kissing Booth collection for Basic Grey. This collection has a lovely eclectic range of papers that would be great for any Valentine's project, or anything romantic or girly.

 Last year my wonderful hubby and I celebrated our tenth anniversary and had new family pictures taken in the same spot where we'd done our engagement pictures. I was inspired by a similar layout I saw in the most recent issue of Creating Keepsakes and started with our engagement picture, then added a small picture from each year of our marriage, and ended with our most recent picture. For this layout I loved the effect of the layered, stitched border strip with buttons, which came pre-made with the collection. How handy is that?! I also used the letter and number stickers for the title and to label the first and last pictures.

Click to enlarge -- you know, if you're dying to see us close up... :)

Click to enlarge

 Valentine's is such a fantastic time to celebrate the loving relationships in our lives -- what better way than with a layout chronicling your journey together?

Infographic: Our Family in 2012

I wasn't planning to make time for Christmas cards this year -- just one thing I couldn't squeeze in -- but then I saw THIS POST from the Nicole's Classes blog on Pinterest, about making an infographic about your family instead of the typical card or newsletter.  I fell in love and decided I'd have to get it done one way or another.  I still wasn't able to get them out in time for Christmas, but I just finished it up and decided it will be perfect to send out as a New Year's greeting.

Click to enlarge

I also set up this photo to include in the envelope.

Hope your New Year is starting out fantastic!