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!