Tag Mini Album

Spring is FINALLY here.  Yesterday I hung the laundry out to dry for the first time this year, and there are already a few flowers blooming in my yard.  I guess wintertime has not yet faded from my mind, though.  Yesterday I finished a Christmas mini album!

General supplies for album: tag paper by Bo Bunny; mini alphabet stickers by Lily Bee; white paint by Ranger; scrap of red ribbon; office hole punch.

This is a tag album, in the same style as one I did last year.

I used tags of all different shapes and sizes.  The title tag is long and thin, allowing the other tags to peek out behind it.

Additional supplies for this page: label by October Afternoon.

The album documents a bunch of little things (food, decorations, etc.) that make Christmas a special time of year.

Additional supplies for this page: star & stocking stickers by Karen Foster Design; label by October Afternoon.

I can't save every Christmas card I receive, but at least I have this photo of my full card holder

Additional supplies for this page: all stickers by Crate Paper; rub-ons by October Afternoon.

Every year we put up our big Christmas tree, but we also put up two little table-top trees.

Additional supplies for this page: labels by Cosmo Cricket.

Notice that I put the dessert page before the dinner page.  Yes, I have an incurable sweet tooth.

Additional supplies for this page: labels by October Afternoon.

I love label stickers, so I was happy that I got to use a lot in this album.

Additonal suplies for this page: stickers by Crate Paper; pens by Zig.

I love the crocheted rainbow yarn garland that my friend Angie made for one of our mini trees.

Additional supplies for this page: label by October Afternoon; star stickers by Karen Foster Design; pens by Zig.

I also love this star garland from my friend Sima.

Additional supplies for this page: sentiment sticker by Karen Foster Design; label sticker by October Afternoon.

And I also love these little paper angels from my friend Nanda.  She sends me a new one every year.

Additional supplies for this page: label sticker & rub-on by October Afternoon; pen by Zig.

My sweet little nieces gave me this puffy snowman sticker to wear on my shirt on Christmas.  :)

This album is special to me because of all the happy memories that it holds.  But it's also special for another reason.  Remember when I was lamenting that my LSS, Scrapbooks Too, was closing?  Owner Sue Turchick was preparing for a new job with CHA, so she sold off all her stock, and even her fixtures, and prepared to close the store.  But then, at the eleventh hour, a buyer came forward, and the store lives on!  The Bo Bunny tag paper that I used to make this album is the first paper that I bought at the all-new Scrapbooks Too.  Don't you just love a happy ending?  :)

Well, now that I've finished showing you my Christmas album, I'll get back to the present and end this post by saying that I hope everyone has a happy May Day tomorrow!  :)

The Flowers that Changed my Life (OUAS & B71B)

ETA: I'm floored--my layout is featured at Once Upon a... Sketch!  Thank you to OUAS design team member Solange Marques, who selected my layout.

Supplies: green paper by Basic Grey; purple paper by Doodlebug; all other paper by Graphic 45; aqua rub-ons by Hambly; doilies by Royal Consumer Products; thread by DMC; tulle by Wyla; mesh upcycled from candy packaging; key by Zeus & Zoe; ribbon rose by Berwick Offray; charms upcycled from charm bracelet; Distress Stain & Distress Marker by Ranger; punch (used as stencil) by All Night Media; household pen.

This layout, called "Scott's Roses," is for the April challenges at Berry 71 Bleu and Once Upon a...Sketch.  The B71B challenge them is "flowers," and the OUAS challenge theme is "the best day of your life."  

See these two roses, one yellow, one pink?  The day I received them was the best day of my life.

My journaling explains the significance of these roses.  "In college I had a crush on my friend Scott.  But did he feel the same?  I got my answer when he sent me roses for Valentine's Day, 1996.  Such a happy time!  And it has only led to more happiness: dating, then marriage, then parenthood.  Those two little roses started it all!"

Thanks to the "Secret Garden" collection from Graphic 45, the title "Scott's Roses" was ready made for me.  :)  I cut around the bunch of roses and treated the edges of the cut-out with Distress Stain.  I also ran my white Distress Marker over the background of the design, so that the title and the roses would stand out more.  This also gives a bit of a vignette effect.

The Distress Marker got some use on a few other spots around the page as well.  I love the dreamy way in which it can soften the look of a background paper.

I did a lot of fussy-cutting with the roses and other motifs on the Secret Garden papers.  I also fussy-cut bits from a silver doily to place under my paper cuttings.

Silver was not the only metallic in play on this page.  I also used loops of gold thread under all my page elements.

I also used tulle and mesh to add texture and depth to the layout.  Dangling metal heart charms are the finishing touch for the page.

So now you know why February 14, 1996, was the best day of my life...and it's all because of two sweet roses.  Thanks for dropping by my blog to see my page and read my story.

Smile When It Rains

ETA: On May 3, this card was featured on the Lily Bee blog as the winner of their April challenge.  Hooray!!!  Thank you, Lily Bee.

When I originally made this post, I was not sure to whom I would send this card.  Since that time, I decided to send it to a long-time friend who was in need of a pick-me-up.  She is a paper-crafter, too, and I'll definitely be sharing my Lily Bee prize with her!

Supplies: paper, alphabet stickers, & die cut by Lily Bee Design; cloud sticker by Bella Blvd; heart punch by All Night Media; corner rounder by Creative Memories; tulle by Wyla; Distress Stain by Ranger; pen by Zig.

This card was inspired by two challenges: Lily Bee's challenge to sew a heart, and Shopping Our Stash's challenge to use text-print paper.  I must admit that it was also inspired by Grumpy Bear, that lovable curmudgeon of a Care Bear, who has blue clouds and pink hearts on his tummy.  Hey, you never know where you'll find inspiration.  :)

^^^ a peek at the text-patterned paper ^^^

All the papers I used for this card are older papers from my Lily Bee stash.  The pink paper for the card base is from Victoria Park, and all the rest of the papers, including the text-filled cloud paper, are from Persnickety.

Ready to embroider!

To embroider the heart, I traced  a Lily Bee die cut onto the back of my paper panel.  Using a stick pin, I poked hearts along the pencil line.

~front view of the heart~

I used pink tulle to back stitch through the holes.  This formed a poufy, dimensional heart.

~side view of the heart~

I think this card could be used for many purposes: a friendship card, a get well soon card, a cheer card, or a smile-when-it-rains card.  Or maybe even a smile-when-it-snows card, because we are expecting ANOTHER snowstorm later today.  Oh well, someday spring will come.  :)

CAS (Clean and Snowy) Card

This is what happens when you start making a card during a snowstorm.  :)

Supplies: white card stock (Pulp), Kraft card stock (Jillibean Soup), alphabet stickers (Lily Bee Design), corner punch (Creative Memories), household twine, upcycled lace & button.

Earth Day is coming up soon, and the current Playing in Paradise challenge is to use something recycled.  On this card I used a button and a scrap of eyelet lace from an old shirt.  

I'm also entering my card in the current round of CASology, where the cue is "word."   I interpreted this cue by leaving lots of white space around the sentiment of my card, so that the words really stand out.

It has been awhile since I have shared any nature photos with my readers.  Let me show you a few right now.  These are from the April 18-19 snowstorm.  Can you see how the weather influenced my card?

I'm hoping for more sunshine than snow this weekend.  Wish me luck!

Inspired by Parcel Post / Вдохновение из посылки (Kraft It Up)

I recently had to order a new battery for my laptop.  When the parcel arrived in the mail, I didn't just get a battery; I also got scrapbooking inspiration!  Using elements from the battery packaging, I created the layout below, which is called "Just Cute."  A piece of the corrugated cardboard from the packing box became a page element.  An unusual piece of packing material, which looked like spongy plastic, got trimmed into a smiley stamp.  And here is how the layout turned out...

Мне недавно надо было заказать через почту новую батарейку для компьютера.  Получила в посылке не только батарейку, а тоже вдохновение!  Сделала вот эту страничку, которая называется "Просто прелестный".  Кусок рифлёного картона из коробки стал часть страничкой.  Я нашла в коробке необычный тип прокладочного материала, который похож на пластмассовую губку.  Из этой губкой я сделала улыбку (штамп).  Вот так получилась страничка...

Supplies / материалы: cardstock / картон (Wausau Paper); paper labels / бумажные этикетки, alphabet stickers / клейкие буквы, & die cuts / бумажные формы (October Afternoon); patterned paper / скрап-бумага & decorative sticker / декоративные наклейки (My Mind's Eye); old playing cards / старые игральные карты (Olla Podrida); paint / краска (Ranger); foam packaging / пластмассовая губка & corrugated cardboard / рифлёный картон (upcycled / переработанные).

Here's the stamp I made...

Вот мой штамп...

Just a quick post for today, and I'll end with this note...

My new friend Julia Barr put three questions to me (a sort of mini-survey), and here are my answers:

Короткий пост сегодня, кончу этими словами...

Моя новая подруга Юлия Бар задала мне 3 вопроса (это можно называть мини-анкета), и вот мои ответы:

Q: Do you have any scrapbooking-related dreams?  Maybe you want to learn a new skill, join a design team, or just become a leader in the scrapbooking world?  Or maybe your scrapbooking dream has already come true; if so, then tell us all about it.

1 Есть ли у вас мечта в скрапе ? Может вы хотите чему -то научиться,стать членом Д.К. или просто стать гурускрапа). А вдруг ваша мечта уже сбылась)? Так поделитесь этим с нами))))  

A: For me, scrapbooking is just an enjoyable hobby.  I'm really glad that I'm on the Scrap for Help design team, and that some of my pages have been published in online magazines.  But my goal is simply to have fun with my hobby.

Скрап для меня--хобби, увлечение.  Я очень рада за то, что я член Д.К. "Scrap for Help", и что некоторые мои странички появились в онлайн-журналах.  Но моя цель--просто увлекаться своим хобби.

My team / наша команда: http://scrapforhelp.blogspot.com

Q: Do you want to be at the center of the scrapbooking blogosphere, or just watch the unfolding drama from the sidelines and keep on quietly creating?  In other words, how important to you is recognition of your authority in the online world of scrapping?

2 Вы хотите быть в центре скраповогоблогомира или посмотрите со стороны на все страсти и пойдете спокойно себе творить дальше? Иными словами насколько вам важно признание вашего авторитета в блогомире(речь только о виртуальной жизни)

A: I'm pretty modest, and I'm one who would prefer to stay at the sidelines and keep on creating.

Я вообще скромная, предпочитаю посмотреть со стороны и спокойно творить дальше. 

 

Blogged here.

Q: Which techniques do you love to incorporate into your work?  Which styles do you love?

3 Какие приемы вы любите применять в своих работах,какие стили вам нраватся?

A: I adore the graphic style.  I love bold colors, interesting text treatments, and structured pages.  I've recently become interested in the homespun style, and I like handmade and recycled page elements.

Обожаю графический стиль.  Люблю яркие цвета, интересные фонты и структурные странички.  Я недавно интересуюсь примативным стилем.  Рукодельные и переработанные элементы мне нравятся. 

Just a fun photo with a sign at Sears.  Забавное фото с вывеской в универмаге.

Well, ladies, do you feel like you know me better now?  That's all for this time; see you again soon!

Ну как, девчонки?  Вы теперь лучше знаете, кто такая Дениз Прайс?  Пока-пока!  До скорого!

 

10 on the 10th: Animal Names

Welcome to the latest installment of "Ten on the Tenth," my monthly adventure in de-stashing.  For this group of ten projects, I worked with a file of supplies that is a bit of a mixed bag.  It's my "animal names" file, and it contains items from Doodlebug Design, Cosmo Cricket, and Lawn Fawn.

This file had a good amount of supplies, including different papers and embellishments, but there was a lot of variation.  First of all, I had quite a bit of glitter cardstock, which I over-bought one year at Christmastime.  I also had a few random animal stickers (a koala, a rhinoceros, a turtle, and a zebra) to use up.  And last, but not least, I had a lot of flowery/feminine items from Lawn Fawn. Could I rise to the challenge and use this assortment of supplies?  See for yourself...
 

Project 1: banner stickers & glitter cardstock by Doodlebug Design; red/white heart patterned paper by Authentique; fussy-cut heart paper by Crate; all other paper by Cosmo Cricket; rectangular mini alphabet stickers by October Afternoon; all other stickers by Cosmo Cricket, including square mini alphabet stickers; punch by All Night Media; black pen by Creative Memories; green pen by Sakura.

I started with the glitter cardstock.  For my first project, "Sparky Show," I tore a free-form hole in a sheet of green glitter cardstock and placed the sheet atop my layout as a frame.

Project 2: previously blogged here.

No surprise, I used the remainder of the torn green glitter cardstock for my next layout, "Carnival." 

Project 3: glitter cardstock by Doodlebug Design; cupcake paper by Crate; blue patterned paper & banner paper by October Afternoon; bracket frame sticker by Cosmo Cricket; alphanumeric stickers by Lily Bee Design; epoxy dot sticker by EK Success; Stickles glitter by Ranger; household stapler.

I only had a half sheet of blue glitter cardstock, so it became a card base.  I decided that some glitter is good, but more is better, so I smoothed Stickles glitter over the banner and bracket frame.

Project 4: luggage tag, doily sticker, & all paper by Cosmo Cricket; border stickers & koala by Doodlebug Design; alphabet stickers by Lawn Fawn; foam flower by Darice; aida cloth by Charles Craft; tulle by Wyla; small scrap of lace (brand unknown); Distress Stain by Ranger; pen by Zig.

Next, I worked on using the animal stickers.  My husband loves Australian wildlife, so the koala sticker made its way onto an anniversary card. 

Project 5: animal, banner, & alphabet stickers by Doodlebug Design; masking tape paper & star paper by Crate; mini file folders by Teresa Collins; label stickers by October Afternoon; pen by Creative Memories.

The rhino and turtle worked perfectly on this page about my son's imaginary safari.  

Project 6: previously blogged here

And you've already seen how I incorporated the zebra sticker into a mini album last month.  Now I've used all my animal stickers!

Projects 7 & 8: journaling cards, floral paper, & green alphabet stickers by Lawn Fawn; cardstock by Wausau Paper; round mini alphas & white rub-ons by October Afternoon; number sticker by Bella Blvd.

The flowery, feminine supplies from Lawn Fawn were great for creating a pair of Women's Day cards.  This Russian holiday is celebrated on March 8, which is one of the few Russian dates which I can spell out with English letters--8ое марта.

Project 9: previously blogged here.

Pink and purple are colors that I seldom use, but the art journal page above gave me a chance to use Lawn Fawn alphabet stickers in these colors.

Project 10: previously blogged here

There were also some squares of pink/red feminine paper among my Cosmo Cricket supplies, and they found a home on another art journal page.

I'm really enjoying the process of de-stashing, and I feel like it's making me think about my supplies in a more creative way.  I hope you're enjoying reading about my de-stashing adventures.  Thanks for dropping by my blog today!

Buttons à la Russe

Russia has a beautiful craft tradition of hand-painted wooden items.  Sometimes a husband-and-wife team does the work: he does the woodwork, and she paints.  I adore traditional hand-painted items, so you can imagine my delight when a friend gifted me with two sets of hand-painted Russian buttons, made by a husband and wife team from Moscow.  In today's post, I want to show you how I used two of these buttons on layouts.
 

Supplies: all paper, die-cuts, & stickers by Lily Bee Design; thread by DMC; glitter paint & Distress Stain by Ranger; button by Vadim & Galina for Peace Fleece.

You saw the first type of button, with a leaf design, in the photo at the top of this post.  I used it on a layout with photos from my husband's childhood.  "Gump" was his baby-name for his grandfather, and this layout is called "P.J.'s with Gump!"  It's readily apparent that Gump (whom, alas, I never met) was a loving grandfather.

I used Lily Bee die cuts and letter stickers to create the two parts of my title: "P.J.'s" [pajamas] for the first part and "with Gump" for the second.

I edged all my page elements with Distress stain, so that the page would have a soft, vintage feel, to match the feel of the photos.

My second layout has an entirely different feel, though...
 

Supplies: cardstock by American Crafts; stickers & glitter paper by Doodlebug Design; party hat paper by Crate; vintage-look ephemera, flair badge, & blue buttons by October Afternoon; strawbery button by Vadim & Galina for Peace Fleece; white button by Blumenthal-Lansing; chipboard by DCWV; foam embellishments by Darice; rhinestones by Petaloo; white paint by Deco Art; orange paint by Plaid; dark & light blue paints by Ranger; pen by Creative Memories; twine by Crystal Palace; thread by Singer; scrap of felt. 

Here is a celebratory, carnival-themed page.  Did you spot the button?

This time I used a strawberry button, and it is one of several embellishments that I used to add an eclectic variety of textures to the page.

I paid special attention to the "northeast" and "southwest" corners of this layout, applying a thick layer of glitter paint to the photos.

I also added a sprinkling of confetti-like embellishments in the corners.

These two layout are vastly different in character, but both were a joy to create.  I still have two more Russian buttons to use on future layouts.  I wonder what those layout will look like.  Time will tell!  :)