Yesterday, I celebrated 12 years of marriage with my husband. Since we dated for 10 years prior, it can sometimes feel weird to say it's our (12) year anniversary. We have been blessed.
I think with Fall being just around the corner, I have begun to redecorate my home. I have added minimal decorations to the front porch, plus I have added small touches to my bathrooms and the living room. I even bought this cute wooden sign for my laundry room. I am embracing the Farmhouse style. Right now, it's not a good time to repaint (busy schedule), but I have hopes of doing so this winter when things are slow. I'm really excited about these changes. My home has been a blank canvas for years. :)
Today, I am sharing a card I created last week with our new Paper Fundamentals.
Recipe:
All supplies are CTMH.
Paper: Basic Fundamentals, Adventure Fundamentals
Stamp: A Million Thanks
Ink: Pacifica
Tools: Paper-Piercer, Micro-Tip Scissors
Other: Heavenly Blue Ribbon (retired), Sugar Rush Sparkles (retired)
I love blue and grey together. Gorgeous. H2H has a new challenge going this week called "Anything Goes". I am entering this card. You can never have enough Thank You cards on hand.
Thanks for stopping by today. Have a wonderful day.
Casandra
I'm back again today with another card I created on Friday. Our friend, Brianna, is getting married next month. She used to attend my card workshops when I first started out, so I knew that I had to make a special card just for her and her fiancé.
I kept coming back to the fun, new sketch at Heart 2 Heart Challenges. The paper was the easy pick. Neutrals are really trendy right now, and our Basic Fundamental collection fits that trend beautifully.
Recipe:
All products are CTMH.
Paper: Basic Fundamentals, White Daisy CS
Stamp: Just to Say
Ink: Expresso
Tool: Paper-Piercer
Other: Designer Sparkle Brad, Bitty Sparkles
I love that new Expresso color. My second favorite (new) color right now is Charcoal. They are gorgeous and elegant, and a great alternative to black.
Thank you, H2H, for providing me with the perfect sketch.
Casandra
On Friday, I played hooky from work. It was raining outside, and I broke out my 6x6 paper samples and got crafty.
In fact, I made 18 cards on Friday and 3 the night before that. Here is one that I made for the TGIF Challenge: You are Fab-ul-ous!
Recipe:
All supplies are CTMH.
Paper: Basic Fundamentals, Whimsy Fundamentals, White Daisy CS
Inks: Raspberry, Pixie, Memento Black
Stamps: Tickled Pink, Just To Say
Tools: Tickled Pink Thin Cuts, Paper-Piercer, Micro-Tip Scissors
Other: No Worries Sequins, White Twine, Thin 3d Foam Tape, Bitty Sparkle
I am really loving our new basic fundamentals line. It's my favorite of the 4, this go-around. It really pairs well with pink and blue. The inside of the card reads "You are fabulous!". No kidding.
Thanks for stopping by today.
Casandra
Last summer, when the new fundamental lines were introduced, Brenda Rose, a fellow consultant, shared her designs with us. I knew that I would eventually use them, and when I was approached recently to do a baby boy album for my Aunt's great-grandbaby, I knew this workshop would be perfect.
I did not use much of the whimsy patterns, but instead chose to use up a long-retired kit that was actually in my sell pile. The blue and champagne colors were perfect for baby boy, and didn't necessarily scream "Winter" and "Snow". Of the few patterns that do, they were specifically alotted to the months where winter reigns in Northern Michigan. I added Canary cardstock, and even some other retired papers, such as Twitterpated. I mixed stamping and cricut cuts for my embellishments. And my favorite of them all is Month 10 and 11. Foxes and teepees are super trendy right now. Goldrush cardstock was the perfect color for my fox.
I am so pleased with this album. It was THE fastest one I've ever put together, with project completion under 24 hours. I started this on a Friday night at 9pm when kids were in bed, and finished it up at 5pm the next day. And that was with sleep, too.
Hope I've inspired you to look at those papers in your stash in a new light. Just because it was purchased for one theme, doesn't mean it wouldn't work for something else. And don't be afraid to mix and match your collections.
I would like to enter the fox layout into the H2H challenge for this week "What a Wonderful World". Babies do make this world a wonderful place.
Happy crafting!
Casandra
I actually shared this layout once before, but without pictures. I couldn't resist updating you with the pictures in place.
Isn't this sweet? The pictures are from a Daddy/Daughter dance my loves attended last year. This is about the time that life got really crazy for us, but we took a small time-out for the things that matter most.
My husband was wearing this dark green and blue plaid dress shirt and my daughter had on the perfect purple dress and sweater. I'm sad that she has already outgrown this outfit, but I think we will be passing it on to a little school friend who has mentioned several times how much she loves that dress. And she has the same name as my sweet girl.
Tomorrow, I am going to share with you a baby boy album I created in a 24-hour time period...no kidding. You'll have to stop in again to see this one.
Happy Easter!
Casandra
Last month, we promoted a tea cup stamp set as our stamp of the month. I think it was a popular one.
Unfortunately, whenever we have stamps of the month, I rarely see layouts created with them. Which, for me, is a bummer because scrapbooking is still my first love. But, Close To My Heart has been doing a great job of making some brilliant designs to showcase these special promo stamps, and last month was no exception.
Please forgive them terrible photos of my creations. I stayed up until 1am putting finished layouts in protectors and forgot to take a picture of this one before I slipped it into its final resting place.
The top layout was scraplifted from Close To My Heart, with a few minor changes such as the title.
The bottom layout was created to be a companion page to the first, since the occasions were on separate dates, but the overall theme was the same. I used a Reflections sketch for "Page 2". And of course, I couldn't resist adding more tea cups to the layout. Initially, I was going to stack them as a decoration from top to bottom along the right edge. But then, I changed my mine because I felt that journalling was especially important when telling the story.
This is way cuter in person. Lots of texture and depth.
Thank you for stopping by.
Casandra
It was love at first sight when I saw the Dreamin' Big paper collection. I pondered for a while what I would use the kit for, and one night as I was drifting off to sleep, a light bulb went off. It was the perfect kit for the childrens' vacation layouts to Busch Gardens and Billy Swamp Safari in 2016.
I plan on using some of the pocket plus memory protectors to include more photos. Busch Gardens was especially fun while taking pictures. The kids were hamming it up and I couldn't get my camera out fast enough. It was worth it having to lug that heavy camera bag through the park. I also kept my Iphone handy, and when I needed to capture pictures quick, it was a snap.
My first layout was inspired by a sketch I stumbled upon on Pinterest. I added the create-a-critter animals from Design Space, and if you click on the picture to enlarge it, you will see I used some pattern papers on some of the animals. My daughter said it looked "baby-ish". She's 8, and when the pictures were taken, she was just 7. LOL Oh well.
The final 3 layouts were created pretty much on point from the WYW kit. I thought they worked well with my photos. Sorry for the graininess of some of the pictures; I had Shutterfly print them in a matte finish, and I'm not sure I am happy with the results. It's the first time I've gotten prints that were less than perfect from there, so I'm willing to give them another shot.
If you are interested in the Dreamin' Big collection, it is only available this month while supplies last. You can visit my website here to see the entire collection.
Thank you for stopping by.
Casandra
The day is finally here. This is the last page of my niece's baby album. I changed things up a bit and used the Sugar Rush collection. It seemed just right to celebrate Baby Lauren's first birthday.
I also used some fundamentals scraps for embellishments and banners. Isn't that little bear just the sweetest? Eek! It even had the bib with "1" on it. I couldn't resist it. And every 1-year-old deserves their very own "smash cake" on the big day. A bit of smoothie twine and gold glitter stickers gives it the perfect amount of texture. This was way cuter in person. It was a dark winter's day when I took these pictures, so I apologize for the lighting.
While I am in no hurry for this sweet baby to turn 1, I can't wait to see this baby album complete. LOL I hope she will know just how much she is loved.
Thank you for sharing in this journey. I spent probably about 6 weeks on this album in my spare time. It was a labor of love.
Happy crafting!
Casandra
I love how sweet and simple this next layout turned out to be.
Even though "BRIGHT" is a flaxen color, I thought it blended nicely with the second generation fern color featured in the pattern paper block. Can you believe we are now at 10 months? Just a few more to go!
Have a great day!
Casandra
Here is another layout that I created for my niece's baby book. I combined papers from Hello Lovely and the retired Charlotte kit. I also added in some retired Whimsy Fundamental complements.
Please stop back tomorrow for another baby layout. If this is your first visit to my blog, be sure to check out previous posts from this month for the entire series (to date).
Happy Crafting!
Casandra
This next layout features a special pack I got FREE last year called "Happy Times".
Recipe:
Paper: Happy Times, Hello Lovely, Whisper CS, White Daisy CS, Blossom CS, Juniper CS (CTMH)
Stamps: Love You Forever, Georgie WOTG (CTMH)
Inks: Black, Whisper, Sorbet, Flaxen (CTMH)
Tools: Circle Punch (Fiskars), Watercolor Pencils, Blender Pen, Paper-Piercer, Micro-Tip Scissors, Glue Pen (CTMH)
Other: 3d Foam Tape, Whimsy Fundamental Stickers (CTMH), Pink Embroidery Floss (DMC)
Every baby book I have ever made has featured this wonderful stamp set. I can't get through that book without crying. The kids always end up holding my hand and rubbing my back. :)
Thank you for stopping by. Have a great week.
Casandra
Good morning. This next layout was heavily inspired by one I found on Pinterest. I only changed/added a few things.
The title was a bit awkward, but still would hold true for a baby album, I thought. Either way, I couldn't resist using it. So pretty! I have suggested that my sister-in-law may want to use pictures of both girls together on this layout. It would be a nice way to capture their special bond.
Happy crafting!
Casandra
This next layout was inspired by the Seasonal Expressions book and the Easter Bunny stamp of the month. I also took inspiration from the Calypso workshop guide. Because my sister-in-law has 2 little girls, I decided to use a much-loved but long-retired Easter stamp set "Sensational Season".
Recipe:
Paper: Hello Lovely, Sugar Rush, Blossom CS, Colonial White CS, White Daisy CS (CTMH), Pink Ombre Paper (DCWV)
Stamps: Easter Bunny, Sensational Season, Georgie WOTG (CTMH)
Inks: Black, Juniper, Sorbet, Sea Glass, Fern (CTMH)
Tools: ShinHan Alcohol Markers, Watercolor Pencils, Blender Pen, Paper-Piercer, Glue Pen, Micro-Tip Scissors (CTMH)
Other: 3d Foam Tape, Coral Reef Sequins, Whimsy Fundamental Sticker, Hello Lovely Complements (CTMH)
The pink ombre paper wasn't quite so dark as pictured. That sugar rush paper is a favorite.
Casandra
Welcome back. This next layout features adorable koala bears. I couldn't resist that stamp set because my very first stuffed animal was a koala bear. I kept it until I was into adulthood.
Recipe:
Paper: Hello Lovely, White Daisy CS, Whisper CS (CTMH)
Stamps: Georgie WOTG, Cute Koalas (CTMH)
Inks: Black (Memento), Sorbet, Whisper, Juniper (CTMH)
Tools: Paper-Piercer, Micro-Tip Scissors, Glue Pen, ShinHan Alcohol Markers (CTMH)
Other: Whimsy Fundamental Stickers, 3d Foam Tape, Hello Lovely Complements, Coral Reef Sequins (CTMH)
You may have noticed that my large photo mats have camera stamps that are slightly off-centered. I did this on purpose in case my sister-in-law would like to add 1-2 extra photos to this layout. I remember I had a hard time narrowing down all of my childrens' baby photos back in the day.
Please be sure and check back tomorrow for another baby layout featuring the beautiful Hello Lovely paper collection.
Casandra
I was doing a search in Cricut Design Space recently and came across this adorable sleeping baby embellishment. It inspired this next layout; and PageMaps provided the perfect sketch.
Recipe:
Paper: Hello Lovely, Charlotte (retired), Whimsy Fundamentals, Swan Lake, Juniper CS, White Daisy CS, Canary CS, Champagne CS, Chocolate CS (CTMH), Sorbet Dot Paper (DCWV)
Stamp: From the Notebook, Georgie WOTG (CTMH)
Inks: Whisper, Sorbet, Peacock
Tools: Cricut Explore Air, Paper-Piercer, Micro-Tip Scissors, Glue Pen (CTMH)
Other: Gold Fundamentals, Whimsy Fundamental Sticker, 3d Foam Tape (CTMH)
I can't wait to see these pages come together with photos. This was such a joy to create.
Please come back tomorrow to see more pages. I went all the way up to her first birthday.
Casandra
