2 Christmas layouts with Basic Grey for Scrapbook USA Expo

Hi all! I'm back with a couple more Christmas layouts- this time using some beautiful Basic Grey product. I was sent a paper pack of their 25th and Pine collection. This collection includes a TON of pretty papers as well as an embellishment sticker sheet and an alpha sticker sheet. The thing I love the most about Basic Grey product is the fun and unique patterns and the how well they coordinate together. I always find it inspiring to find different ways to incorporate as many of them as I can into my projects. This collection is no exception. Here is the first layout:

This is the Christmas photo we're using this year. Our baby is due January 12th, but he could be here any day really! I have asked him not to come on or before Christmas, but anytime after that is all good! Hence, the "Do Not Open Before Christmas" tag. Because this photo had some darker colors, I liked that the paper patterns had some darker colors in it as well.

The "special delivery" tag couldn't be more perfect, right? It even says "Do Not Open Before Dec. 25"! I love it. Both this and the gold tree tag were cut out from a page with lots of different tags and journaling blocks.

The upper sticker said 'Christmas Greetings'. I only wanted the 'Christmas' part so I covered with another sticker and layered the second part of my title over the rest. The 'bliss' font is the sticker alphabet that came with the pack.

There were several cute, coordinating border stickers as well as some fun shape and journaling stickers. Because the background pattern is so bold, I decided to keep the rest of the layout more simple so there wasn't too much distraction on the page.

Here is my second layout:

The color palette is a little subdued and almost vintage-y looking. I cut out some snowflake-like shapes from my Cricut and used the insides as well, showing the reverse paper patterns. Always looking for ways to incorporate more paper onto my layout!

I used some border strips here- I love incorporating these in my layouts and Basic Grey's are very unique! This ticket was cut from a page of cute tags, tickets, journaling tags and other cute images.

This cluster includes another tag cut from a page, as well as some of the cute stickers.

I found some coordinating thickers and used them for my title.
Again I had enough paper and embellishments left over to at least do another layout or two as well as several cards! Lots of fun, cuteness to work with! Thanks for looking!

Christmas Tree Decoration with DCWV

Hi all! I have a fun (and easy!) home decor project to share with you using unfinished wood shapes, acrylic paint and DCWV paper! DCWV has some really cute holiday stacks this year and the nice thing about this project is you can customize it to suit your taste and decor (traditional, whimsical, vintage, etc.).

To start with I got some unfinished wood Christmas tree shapes with dowels on blocks. Here in Utah we have a local store that sells these fun shapes, but I know that a lot of craft supply stores sell things like these now.  They look a little something like this when you're first starting out:

Next you're going to choose your paper. I chose some papers from the Jolly Whimsy stack. I like the whimsical look for these trees, but as I mentioned earlier, there are several stacks to suit your personal taste!

Once you have your papers chosen you're going to mark the FRONT of your tree and flip it so it is facing the BACK of the patterned paper you chose. Then you're going to trace the outline of the wood piece on your paper and cut it out. Don't worry if it isn't perfect or if you couldn't get to some of the really tight nooks and crannies. You can always trim it up after it's adhered to the block with a razor or sand paper.
Next you're going to choose your acrylic craft paint color and paint it up! I color the entire back and most of the front where the paper is going to go, but you can paint just the part that is going to show if you wanted to save time (and paint!)

Once this is dried you are going to adhere the paper onto the front of your shapes. You can use Mod Podge for this, but I was once recommended to just paint on wood glue and that has always worked great for me. I just paint on the glue the same way I would the acrylic paint and then carefully place the paper. The glue takes a few minutes to dry so if you need to reposition the paper it's not a problem. I use a squeegee type of tool to make sure there aren't any air bubbles and then lay it paper side down to let the glue set so it doesn't pucker.

While that is drying I paint my bases and dowels. I found some fun glitter paint that I used on the bases. I drop a little wood glue in the hole on the base and then place my dowel to help secure it. I do the same thing when securing the tree to the dowel.
Now all you have to do is add some embellishment. The possibilities are endless- ribbon, craft wire, glitter glue, etc. Whatever suits your fancy! I used some tinsel ribbon on mine.

I hope you enjoyed the project- thanks for checking it out today!

2 Christmas Layouts with Echo Park for Scrapbook USA Expo

Hi friends! It's that time of year again! Time to start making Christmas crafts and projects! I love how I am always so much more motivated to do projects during this time of year- gives me a chance to catch up! So I was privileged to receive some wonderful product from Echo Park. I was sent the Tis the Season paper pack. This pack has some very nice traditional elements as well as some fun, modern trends (like chalkboard!). I have included 2 full layouts that I created with the pack, but easily could finish a couple more as well as some cards! There is a LOT to work with including 2 sticker sheets and some journaling tag/card pages. There is one page that has numbers 1-25 in different fonts which would make an adorable advent calendar project. Here is my first layout:

With this layout you can see a little bit of that fun chalkboard element that is so trendy right now. The rest of the colors and patterns really complement each other very nicely.

I created a little cluster with fun stickers in the upper right of the page, and added some border stickers in the corner.

I thought this chalkboard style card was so cute I decided to use it as my title. I love when products can do double duty- really makes my layouts come together quickly.
Here is the second layout:

I cut the music style piece on my Cricut. I love that it was done in the chalkboard style as well.

I created the title using one of the cute journaling cards, and the letter stickers from the pack.

The little banner was also fussy cut from one of the pages and popped up on foam dots for dimension.

I hope you enjoyed my projects, and be sure to pick up Tis the Season for your holiday projects- so much versatility and inspiration in this pack!

Puppy Love for Scrapbook USA Expo

Hello friends! I am back with another fun Valentine's Project with the totally awesome 'Lucky in Love' collection from My Mind's Eye. I am once again highlighting a 'different' type of love than the romantic love you usually see with Valentine's Day projects. This is great for those of us who don't currently have a romantic relationship, but want to make a fun Valentine's project, or utilize all of the adorable Valentine's product out there. And Lucky in Love is no exception- I just adore the themes in this collection- especially the hot air balloons! Without further adieu- here is my layout:

This is me and my big boy Cash.  He's a big sweetheart, and he is going to be my valentine this year. I used my Cricut Elegant Edges cart to cut out the big white center mat with the cute heart cut-out, as well as the photo frame. I then layered some fun stickers, and created a title with thickers. Here are some details:

I am a really big fan of utilizing the little border strips that many manufacturers add to the edge of their 12x12 sheets that show a preview of the pattern on the reverse side. They make great border accents, and I feel like I am getting more out of my product.

Arrows are very popular right now, and with this being a Valentine's page, I felt it necessary to add some :)

There's my project- I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for stopping by, and be sure to visit My Mind's Eye to pick up some of their amazing product for yourself!

We Wish you a Merry Christmas for Scrapbook USA Expo

Hello friends! It's Heather and I have another fun holiday layout to share with you today using the ADORABLE Winter Wonderland collection from My Mind's Eye. I love the bright colors in this collection, it was really fun to work with. Here is my layout:

 

 My cute nephews got their picture taken with 'Santa' (it was their dad dressed as Santa, how cute is that??) and the bright colors in the photo matched perfectly with the bright colors in the papers. I used a cute sketch from Jenny Evans as inspiration, and then just ran with it. I started with some spray ink on white cardstock. I figured out that if you depress the nozzle slowly you get the bigger paint splatters, vs the fine mist you get when you depress it quickly. I like the bigger splatters so it took a lot of trial and error to figure that out!

 

Next I cut out a bunch of solid circles and circle frames on my die cutting machine out of several different coordinating papers and layered them beneath my photo. I topped them with some cute buttons and chipboard shapes for a fun, whimsical look.

 

 

I used a sticker as my title (love what a time saver that is!!) and added some additional stickers and my project was complete! I hope you enjoyed my project, thanks so much for stopping by today!!

Fall Fun for Scrapbook USA Expo

Hello my friends! I hope you enjoyed the Scrapbook USA Expo Design Team blog hop- we have some very talented ladies on our team, right?? Make sure you head over to join up with our 'thankful' linky party! Just link up any project with a 'thankful' theme and you could win a Basic Grey card kit!!
Well, today I am back to share another Fall project with you, again using the awesome DCWV Halloween and Fall stack. I hope you have been able to see how fun and versatile it is! Here is my layout:

For the background paper- I loved this subtle patterned paper, but thought it was just a little too thin to hold up all my layers, photos and embellishments on its own, so I just glued it to a heavier piece of kraft cardstock.

There were some great matching stickers and other embellishments that coordinated perfectly with these papers. I also created some of my own. For these fall leaves, I cut the shapes on my cricut on Kraft cardstock and then used Copic markers to color them in. I tried not to be even with the coloring so you could see some darker and lighter areas like you would on a real leaf. I popped one up on a foam dot to give some added dimension.

I cut the title using some paper from the stack, and some matching cardstock. I added some additional kraft leaves popped up on foam as well.

I hope you enjoyed my project today! Thanks for stopping by!

Supply List:

Patterned Paper: DCWV Halloween and Fall Stack
Stickers: DCWV
Kraft Cardstock: Oriental Trading Company
Date Stamp: Smash by K & Co.
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink
Markers: Copic
Cartridge: Straight from the Nest (leaves), Paper Lace (Background quilt shape), Simply Scarecrow (title), Opposites Attract (title- welded with Gypsy)
Border Punches: American Crafts

Scrapbook USA Expo Design Team Blog Hop!!

I am SO excited to be a part of the brand NEW Design Team at The Original Scrapbook USA Expo. Today you have a chance to get to know all the talented ladies on the team by hopping on over to each of their blog’s to check out their fall crafting! ALL of these ladies are so talented and fun and their blog’s have some great scrapbooking and crafting ideas.
So, here is the plan - between now and Wednesday November 7th at midnight, visit each of the blogs on the hop, and  leave a comment. Each time you comment on one of the blogs you will be entered to win 2 of DCWV’s brand spankin’ new Christmas 4X5 pads!!  With Christmas just around the corner these would certainly come in handy!! Great news is that if you comment on each of the blogs (as well as at homebase) you will be entered 8 times!! woo hoo!

So, start “hoppin” and thanks SO much for stopping by! Here is the lineup:

Original Scrapbook USA Expo Blog

                Heather <---you are here

                     Andrea  <--- go here next

Ange

Tomi Anne

Wendi

Kassi

Jennifer

Here is the fall project I created for you today. As many of you are well aware, I am a layout designer, so I of course created a layout for you! I was able to use some more of the awesome DCWV Halloween and Fall Stack. I love that this stack has both Fall AND Halloween, so you can do all of your Autumn projects with one stack! Here is my layout:

I started out with a kraft base. I cut some fall leaves from my Straight From the Nest Cartridges, laid them down around the paper and misted over them with some olive colored spray ink. Then I started adding my layers.

I had some great DCWV coordinating embellishments to work with, and I also used some fun washi tapes from Bella Blvd. and My Mind's Eye.

Just used two different alpha letter stickers for my title. I used to cut ALL my titles out on my Cricut, but I am definitely loving the letter stickers now. Allows you to add interest with different fonts, sized and colors, and is SO much faster!!

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I hope you liked my project- be sure to leave a comment so you will be entered to win the BRAND NEW DCWV 4x5 Christmas Pads! Now go stop and see the lovely and talented Andrea to see what she has cooked up for you! :)

Also, don't forget to mark your calendars, the spring show hits Sandy Utah on March 22-23, 2013!

I am also entering my project in the following challenges:

FCCB - Fall Harvest (Use Fall Leaves)

And Linking up with:

Everday is an Occassion

2nd Halloween Project for Scrapbook USA Expo Design Team

Hello! For those that missed my post yesterday, I was recently honored to be chosen to be part of the first-ever design team for Scrapbook USA Expo.  If you are not familiar with the Scrapbook USA Expo, it is a HUGE bi-annual expo that features the top names in scrapbooking and paper crafting. I look forward to it every 6 months. It's kindof like a Papercrafter's holiday around here! Be sure to check out their blog to learn more about it. For my secondproject I am again using the adorable DCWV Halloween and Fall Stack . I was so excited to be able to create a second project with this fun line. Here is my project:

I used a kraft base, and inked through a chevron shaped template to create some background interest. I continued the chevron pattern with my journaling.  Here are some detailed photos:



Some more fun, coordinating epoxy stickers that I layered over some festive washi tape.

Some additional stickers layered over washi tape.

I added some letter stickers for the title and done! Working with all these coordinating products made this a very quick and easy project. Only about 30 minutes from start to finish!

Thank you for stopping by to look at my project today- be sure to stop by the Scrapbook USA Expo blog to meet the rest of the talented design team and to see how you can participate in this awesome bi-yearly expo!

I am entering my layout in the following challenges:


Unique Crafter's Challenge - Halloween
Top Tip Tuesday - Halloween
For Fun Challenges - Color Challenge (Brown, Orange and Cream)
4 Crafty Chicks - Halloween

Scrapbook USA Expo Design Team!

Hi my friends!! For those of you that are local to Utah you are probably very familiar with the Scrapbook USA Expo. It comes to a local expo center twice a year, and I look forward to it every 6 months. It's kindof like a Papercrafter's holiday around here! Be sure to check out their blog to learn more about it. Recently, I was thrilled to be chosen to be a part of their first-ever design team!! I am beyond excited about this awesome opportunity! For my first project I got some adorable DCWV product to create with. All the paper comes from their Halloween and Fall Stack with some matching embellishments. This stack has so much goodness in it it was hard to narrow down the sheets I ended up using. Here is my first project:

This is my adorable niece Evie trick or treating in her sweet ladybug costume last year. I love the witch hat print! Here are some close ups of the layout:

I used the cute coordinating epoxy stickers to form my title- Trick or Treat Cutie Pie. I am NOT a fan of spiders, but I thought this guy was a little cute.

I layered some additional epoxy stickers over a strip of paper and some matching washi tape in the upper corner.

I added a date die cut from the Chic and Scary cartridge layered over strips of patterned paper that had been put through border punches.

I hope you have enjoyed my project today- be sure to come back tomorrow for my second Halloween project for the Scrapbook USA Expo blog. And make sure to check out the blog to meet the rest of the talented design team and to see how you can participate in this awesome bi-yearly expo!

I am entering my layout in the following challenges:

Exploring Cricut -  Happy Halloween
Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog - Halloween project using black and orange
Unique Crafter's Challenge - Halloween
Top Tip Tuesday - Halloween
Party Time Tuesdays - Trick or Treat