Five for Friday

1.  As you read this post, I am sailing in a tin can in the sky, through the clouds and down to California for CHA.  I will also be heavily medicated, because guess what?  I'm dadgum sick, that's what.  I woke up Thursday morning feeling like I'd been run over by a truck, and even medication hasn't cleared the nasal passages for proper oxygen inhalation.  I decided to power through and go anyway, as I am pretty tough and never stay sick for long.  That said, please excuse the glazed eyes and manly voice.  I'm doing the best I can!  I'm excited to go!

2.  Today is the 28th, and that is also the new deadline for the Project 12 challenge.  This is what I came up with for December:

There was far too much math with this layout to stray far from the original sketch.  I followed the measurements very closely, except I took 1/4" off each side of the photos so I could trim my white border.

I had been sent the Traditions line from Fancy Pants for my winter SCT projects, so I used that for this layout, along with some Stampin Up buttons and my Studio Calico calendar stamps. 

I'm excited for the 2011 process.  I am really digging the use of two different patterned papers with cardstock for my 2pagers.  I did this twice more with my Studio Calico Candy Shoppe kit work.  I just think it is a fun look.  The kraft cardstock ties everything together without the layout looking choppy.

Don't forget to link your month in review layouts here for the Project 12 challenge.  As I mentioned, today is the deadline for December, etc.  I will be posting a new challenge on February 1 for everyone participating in 2011.  It's almost time to get out those January photos! 

3.  Have you ever seen the Back up Plan with Jennifer Lopez?  On one of my scrappy late nights last week I watched this movie, and oh my.  The delivery scene with the lady and the blow up pool?  That was one of the funniest things I've ever seen.  So if you haven't seen this movie, check it out.  It was pretty good.

4. Still on the subject of crafts and CHA, one of my assignments was a blog layout for Crate Paper using Emma's Shoppe.  This is the layout I created for the blog:

Everything on this layout is Crate Paper.  Since creating it for the blog I've been asked to bring it to California with me, so hopefully you'll be seeing it in the Crate booth as well!    I used the patterned paper, chipboard frames and flowers, die cut frames, sticker alphas, and that delicious trim is Crate Paper too.  Yum.

5.  I don't have much else to share this week except that it's hard to leave my babies for 6 days so I've been preoccupied with it all month.  I always miss them so much and feel refreshed when I come home, ready to take on motherhood again, so it's good for me, but it is still hard for me to go.  That's one of the reasons I like to take early morning flights...  I can't stand the goodbye.  Tears.  Can't do it. 

With that in mind, I can't be held reponsible for any outfit or hairdo that should present itself on a Fiero child in my absense.  They are with their daddy.  And they LIKE wearing clothes that are mismatched and too small, and Payton is growing out her bangs.  Steve can't always capture them all with his man hands, apparently.  So don't judge.  Please and thank you.

Have a great weekend!  Davinie

Studio Calico Candy Shoppe!

The Candy Shoppe is open for business.  If I were you, I'd dash to Lollipop first if you are after an add-on.  I think it sold out first this morning (it was also my favorite add-on).  Licorice Twist and Jawbreaker have GREAT stamps though.  I actually got all four. 
Don't forget more SC paper.  It was another great month, AND it includes the Crate exclusives for this kit.
While you're at it, get more kraft.  It's a staple with my orders each month (I'm sure you are shocked by that too, lol).
And then get this.  I needed one when working with the little bits this month.
On to the layouts:

It took a year to make this layout.  A school year.  2009-10, to be specific.  Payton has color days at school where they dress in the color, bring something from home, have craft projects in a specific color, snacks....  color days are her favorite days of the year.  I managed to grab my camera and snap a photo of her each morning on her color days, just so I could do a layout about it.

Lemon Drops ink on my clouds and then punched with the Large and XL Cloud punches from Fiskars. 

I mixed a bit of the goodies for some fun embellishing.  Too bad I didn't have anything in purple (although I had considered misting something, I do have a purple).

I think it's funny how at the beginning of the year, she was more demure, with a closed mouth smile, but as the year went on, the smile got bigger and so did the sass.  Cracks me up.

I did two 2pagers this month.  One 12x12, and this next one, 8.5 x 11.  Both were inspired by Miss Payton and preschool:

This was actually the first layout I made this month.  In the past I have pulled these photos out several times, but just hadn't found the perfect kit to compliment that necklace.  With Candy Shoppe finally came the perfect opportunity. 

Don't you love macaroni necklaces?  I've had this one for a year and it's still intact.  I'm sure pieces will crack and I'll eventually have to throw it out, which is one reason I wanted to make sure to get photos and create a layout about my necklace.  Payton was so cute when she gave it to me.  I just love it.

Again I went with multiple patterned papers for the background, loving this look, and I also used that WRMK tool I've been raving about.  If you missed it in my last post, I will be checking out the 8 new heads at CHA and hope to have them added to the shop as soon as we can.  I'm a fan of this tool!  I'm so glad April decided to stock it.

For the design, I snippped hearts, circles, and tags and lined them up in rows, inspired by the necklace.  The stitching was a way to bring those elements together, as a play on the necklace theme.  I didn't want it to be too striped, so I broke it up and didn't stitch on every line. 

For this last layout, I had fun with the Crate exclusives and the main kit:

My mom made me a pair of overalls with this pattern 29 years ago (couldn't have been more than that, wink wink).  I thought it was so sweet when she carefully opened up the pattern envelope and created a jumper just for me to pass down.  Morgan wore it when she was little, and then I saved it for Payton to have a turn.  I love having these photos next to each other.  I wonder if they would have played together, if they had been friends, you know, the same age.  The idea always fascinates me.

I loved the delicious color palette this month and tried to stay away from the kraft a bit to juice up my work. I'm happy with how it all turned out.

If you have any questions about the Sew Easy or anything else I've shared here, please let me know!  :)

Have a great night!  Davinie

Today is Reveal Day!

It's time to head to the Studio Calico store for new goodies. 

I recently had the pleasure of working with WRMK's Sew Easy tool and suggested it to April for the shop.  She happily complied, and you need to dash RIGHT NOW to the Supply section and pick it up.  The initial order did not contain a large supply of these tools, and while Lorie did call about placing a second order, the main tool is backordered until March.  So if you are thinking of getting one, do it now.

Also?  Word on the street is that WRMK is coming out with 8 additional designs at CHA, and I'm going to be dashing to their booth to let Lorie know my favorites.

You know I love stitching.  I've hand stitched on layouts since the beginning of time.  I'm a fan of this tool.

Is it perfect?  No.  If you have layers of thick cardstock it won't be able to pierce through them all.  But it WILL leave marks in the appropriate places and when you go to stitch them all, they will be easy to identify and pierce through.  It's quick and easy, and the stitch patterns they have out now are really fun so I can't wait to see what else they have in store.

I'm just sayin'.  :)  You saw that middle sneak in my last post, yes?  I used the zig zag stitch all over the place on that layout. 

So pick up the Sew Easy Tool.  And then pick up Lollipop because it was my favorite add-on this month.  And get some chewing gum and cough syrup, and some soap powder (because I don't have soap powder but really wanted a good blue). 

Sound good?  I'll be back tonight with my projects for the month.  I am happy with them and can't wait to share!  Davinie

Blog hop winner and Candy Shoppe Sneaks!

AlissaG said...

oh my! those 2 lo's are gorgeous! i can't wait to play with these 2 lines! thanks for the chance to win!
6:57 PM

Alissa, email me at cooperdees (at) yahoo (dot) com and I'll set you up for your prize!  :)

Now, on to some Candy Shoppe sneaks!

This first one used a new tool that will be in the shop this month: 

I'll share more about it when I can reveal the whole layout.  I am excited about the possibilities!

















These last two use a lot of the exclusive products designed for the kit this month by Crate Paper. 

I had a lot of fun with this kit and really like my projects.  I just wish I had more time to create more.  But CHA is this weekend and I'll be gone for several days, so I've been up to my neck in crafting project and laundry/groceries so that I can leave and not worry.  You know.   Because hubby won't really be able to do it all without me.

Right?
Right?

Have a great day!  I'll be back later with my Project 12 layout.  You have until the 28th to finish your December layout!  And then it'll be on like donkey kong for 2011.  :)

Davinie

Studio Calico Blog Hop!

Good Morning!  I hope you are up and ready for a chance to be inspired by new product at work, and are raring to work your way around the web to get some for your stash too.

One thing I love about Studio Calico is how well their products work together.  Take a little bit here, put it with that there, and voila, you have a project you can be happy with.  With that philosophy in mind, I took a little bit of State Fair, added a dash of Countryside, and created a layout about Easter:

With the State Fair line, my favorite print is this green patchwork grid pattern, called Midway.  This print is the B side to the paper.  The A side looks like this: 

I just turned the print sideways and looked at it as spring grass.  I made Easter eggs using the pink Cotton Candy print as well as vanilla cardstock from American Crafts (my favorite vanilla). 

I wanted to bring in more blue and other spring colors, so I grabbed the die cut from the Countryside Collection and used just the fun border edge, and then I had to use the pretty Wildflower print and it's lovely B side (although it was hard to hide that woodgrain):

Embellishing my layout was easy.  I used the super cute chicken egg tag from the Countryside tag set, some veneer butterflies, and the Addy alpha in pink for my title.  I also added blue label stickers, and the finishing touch were some buttons from an old Studio Calico kit.  I picked up an extra set during the Black Friday sale.

This is my second layout using these new collections.  The first one will be in the Studio Calico booth at CHA next week.  My assignment was the Countryside Collection and this is what I came up with:

As soon as I saw the winter release I knew I wanted to do something with hexagons.  It was tricky learning how to cut the properly though.  I also didn't have a lot of spare paper to play with, so made due and had fun with it.  This layout also features the fun new pink houndstooth fabrips, and look at the B side to the Betsy print and those cows.  FUN!

This layout also features the Countryside chipboard alpha set.

I've also made cards with these two lines and have shared them on the Scrapbook and Cards Today blog.  You can check out State Fair here and Countryside on this post.  Both posts also give instructions to recreate the cards I made. 

Thank you for visiting my blog for the Blog Hop!  If you leave a comment, you will be entered for a chance to win a prize! 

Inspired by my blog hop layout, I'm giving away the wood veneer butterflies, and a package of tags.  These products offer lots of fun possibilities for your projects!

Just leave a comment letting me know what your favorite product from the new Studio Calico release might be.  Good luck!  The deadline to enter is 12:00 AM EST on Wednesday.  :)

Now be sure to head to the next stop, Miss Emily Pitts. 

Have a great Monday!  Davinie



7 this Friday (well, Thursday). On Saturday

I'm overwhelmed with CHA prep but wanted to do my Friday fives.  But then my eldest daughter went and turned 7 on Thursday, and then had a slumber party on Friday, so my Friday Five post ended up a Saturday evening random. 
1.  Morgan is 7.  I canNOT believe it.  I can still smell her, that baby smell.  When we moved into this house there was a countertop in our kitchen that hung out a bit and we were so thankful she wasn't tall enough to bump it yet.  She's shoulders above that spot now.
She complains her legs hurt all the time.  Growing pains.  I think she just likes to shop for new pants!  :)
She reads.  She writes.  She's an artist.
She's also growing her hair back out.  Not super long, but longer.  Mama is happy about that.
She lost those 4 teeth in September, and goes back next month for 4 more.  This time on the bottom.  It's time to work on that future mouth (although I might get an Orthodontic consult before having the bottom teeth pulled).
She loves to bake.  She tells me she wants to be a chef when she grows up.  She also tells me she wants to be a rock star, a doctor, and a teacher.  Her future is bright!

2.  Speaking of birthdays....  this is random but I love shopping at amazon.com.  One of the reasons I love doing so is because of that brilliant marketing tool where they offer suggestions of things you might like to purchase.  I often add things to my wish list based on these suggestions.  There are such fun products out there!

The suggested purchasing led me to buy this book last week:

It's called Your Birthday Book.  It's a keepsake journal.  It has pockets to store memorabilia or invites/cards, it's like a baby book where you can jot down details about the birthday party, but the part I was most interested in was the interview.  It has a question and answer section that is going to be so fun to fill out and look back at over the years.

Yes, I'm a scrapbooker, and yes they have baby books, but I thought this would be a fun addition to the memoirs, so I picked one up to check it out.  I love it so much I'm going to get a second one for Payton's birthday.  It doesn't bother me at all that I"m starting on years 5 and 7.  The first three are just records of the party, etc., and they are still young enough I can fill in some details for the other years.  But it goes to age 18.  Check it out!   

3.  As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I'm knee deep in crafty.  Morgan's birthday and her slumber party put a hitch in my craftalong, but she had such a great week that I'll just go without sleep until next Friday.  ha!  I'm busy with my Studio Calico kit, Countryside and State Fair too, Scrapbook and Cards Today Spring assignments, and new lines from Crate Paper.    Have you seen the new Crate Paper?

I'm busy working with Emma's Shoppe right now. 

Check out Emma's Shoppe and Toy Box.  Themed without being themey, with plenty of neutral options and fun new embellishments too. 

Two more lines from Crate Paper this Spring are Portrait and Neighborhood.  Portrait is the most beautiful wedding Collection I have ever seen.  Hands down.

Check out Portrait and Neighborhood in this post.  My projects will be shared on the blog next week, but I'm also sending work to CHA.  I'm SO honored to be working for this talented company.  It's a dream for sure. 

4.  I've been Tweeting.  I feel weird talking about crafty play by play and what my kids are doing on Facebook.   Does anyone else feel weird doing that?  I feel like my dad and real life friends aren't going to care about that stuff, so I feel awkward mentioning that type of stuff there.  Working on it.  I'm actually suffering in all aspects of social networking.  I don't blog like I should, post family photos in a Facebook album like I should (note to self, start winter album before spring!).  It's often hard to balance and organize everything.  Part of that is because my kids are busy.  Part of that is also because crafting doesn't pay my bills.  Health insurance does.  Gotta work for the man and earn that paycheck too.  Balance.  A companion to my word for the year, Focus, I do believe.  I have to find a way to balance the haves with the wants.  NEEEDS.  Crafting is definitely a need.

5.  Finally, to sum up random....  we are already thinking ahead to what we want to do as a family this summer.  We've been going to the Northern Oregon Coast for the past few years with friends, but this year we are doing things a bit differently.  My family plans to hitch up the trailer and head South.  We want to go to the Southern Oregon Coast, maybe play on the sand dunes, and then head to Northern California and check out the Redwoods, take the kids to the Trees of Mystery and meet Paul Bunyan.  :)  My girls are getting old enough that the fun educational adventures can now begin.  I'm excited to teach them about our world.  Next year we plan to head back to Disneyland, but we are thinking to drive this time.  Take the trailer again.  Head to San Diego and Sea World and the Zoo while we are at it.  San Francisco too.  A very a la Griswold type adventure.  I'm actually looking forward to it (and saving my pennies now).  Even though they were barely 5 and just shy of 3 when we went to Disneyland the first time, the girls still talk about it, and we are anxious to go back.  If I get into the Master's program I'm looking at, I'll probably be ready for a break by then too.  In the end, we deserve it! 

That's it, for this Friday turned Saturday evening post.  You should know I will be back very soon.  I have Studio Calico sneaks to share, CHAW11 product to share, Project 12 to share, lots to share.

Have a great night!  Davinie

Fiver for Friday

I've decided to jump on the Friday Fives.  It gives me a place to talk about the scrappy and family random.  :)

1.  I'm feeling more confident with my goal to run a half marathon this year.  I was touched by the comments left to me, and the support of my hubby (he's going to train with me and run one too).  I was a little overwhemed by 13.1 miles, so figured the easiest way to keep focused, was to start small.  I already  run a 5k to exercise, so I needed something a bit longer than that to work towards.  My plan is to run the Grin and Bear it 10k in March.  This will work great, because the half marathon I've chosen is at the end of May.  It's the inaugural Happy Girls Half.  Looks like a great course!  (ooh, and there's a sterling silver necklace for your medal at the end.  And a schwag bag.  And handsome pacers.  Sweet!)  There's also a little girls 1.5k which I think is a GREAT way to include my kids as I'll need them to ride bikes to train with me sometimes.  1.5k might be too far for Payton though. 

2. Okay, I'm going to talk more about this when I share my Project 12 layout for the month, but suffice it to say, I'm fairly obsessed with the Pink Paislee Parisian Anthology Album Refill packs.  They flew off the shelves at Studio Calico but you can still pick them up at 2peas.

Here's the deal.  Down the road, I don't want to have to look in this album for 2011, that album, and that other special album over there.  I fear if I spread myself out too thin I'll never be organized enough to remember what I did where.  And there *will* come a time when I won't be able to look at a photo and note age, location, etc.  So I put it alllll in one place.  I have one album.  It has my Project 12 layout in it for the beginning of the month.  Then any layouts I've done with photos taken that month go next, and then the next Project 12 layout marks the beginning of the next month.

These protectors?  They offer the pefect opportunity to include memorabilia that didn't get on a layout, like the button we got a Disneyland marking our very first visit, or the program from Payton's recent ballet recital.  And it's all together.  I scrap both 8.5 x 11 and 12x12 and I keep them all in the same place.  I can't think of a better way to carry on with that style than these fun little page protectors for different tidbits, notes, thoughts. 

I'll share more about my album and other page protectors to use in that Project 12 post.  But I'm excited about my albums this year! 

3.  Let's see....  number 3.  Oh, I really want to know what the new release for Crate Paper is going to be.  4 lines!  Have you seen the wee sneak?  Looks delicious!  I'm going to be working with it for CHA but I haven't seen a peek of it yet.  It's torture, I tell ya.  But I'm excited. 
4.  I just had to share how we practiced Morgan's spelling words for the week.  Chocolate syrup on a cookie sheet entertained the kiddlets for a good 20 minutes (even though it was a bugger to get out of Payton's white.  shirt.  WHY mama?  Why?  Next time she needs to go topless).

And of course their faces became pretty itchy during the process, hence the puppy dog noses (imagine that  :) ).

5. Last thing, I couldn't leave ya without a Studio Calico sneak!  I had a LOT of fun with this layout.  Can't wait to share the whole thing.  (This one was made with Lollipop, #4). 

Happy Friday!  I'm going to be doing these more often!  Enjoy your weekend and stay warm and dry!

Davinie

Studio Calico Love - At the Parade

Did you do anything fun yesterday on 1/11/11?  I took photos of myself at 11:11 driving home from work, then a photo of my Payton at 1:11 making cookies (although my dad was quick to point out that it was actually 13:11, thanks Dad), but I was snug in my bed at 11:11pm so missed that photo op. heeeee.  I hope you did something fun!

The other day while at work a coworker was showing me some photos of her sweet little granddaughter.  Amidst the long blond curls I couldn't help but notice the cute little top she was wearing.  It was white with horizontal ruffles and had some stars on it. I was immediately inspired to break out some of my Studio Calico products and create a layout about the 4th of July, and turn that design into a flag of sorts.

I took apart the notions flowers, sprayed them with Mister Huey in Schoolhouse, and then added them to bazzill just the edge strips to create the stripes in my flag.  I broke out the red thread and then scrunched and stitched it all down. 
Then I took my veneer stars, misted them with Mister Huey in Atmosphere, and put them on the top of my flag.  The same Schoolhouse mist was used on my veneer alphas too.

Then it was just a matter of adding photos and journaling.  A really easy layout to put together.

Speaking of Studio Calico, have you checked out the blog?
In the last couple of days, the two lines being released at CHAW11 have been debuted.

Check out Countryside
and State Fair
and the new Fabrips (LOOOOVe this change) and notions here. 

Be sure to leave a comment for your chance to win the collection of your choice. 

Have a great day!  I'm back to my desk, slaving away with my wonderful Studio Calico kit, assignments for SCT's Spring issue, and some other tricks I have up my sleeves.

Davinie

Got goals?

I did a recap of 2010 projects, talked about my Resolutions, so it only makes sense to do a layout about it!  One Little Word is a popular thing in the crafting world, and now there's a class, but I'm terrible about keeping track of online classes so I'm not going to take it.  My thoughts on things I wanted to accomplish in 2011 did lead me to a word to sum it all up though:

FOCUS

Obviously, that says it all. 

I happen to be hosting the Studio Calico blog challenge this week and thought the timing would be a great opportunity to focus on that little "focus" word...   I upped the ante though, by adding a self portrait, something I do not do often enough.

I had Morgan take the picture and she was quite a clicker finger, so I was surprised anything remotely turned out:

Most of this layout is the Who's Who kit from Studio Calico.

I used Studio Calico wood veneer for the title, with a dash of Mister Huey in Classic Calico to darken the wood and bring out the grain.  I misted and then blotted with a paper towel. 

I also added some Maya Road chipboard windows from the On the Easel kit for some dimension, and sprayed them with Maya Road cream mist.

I hope you'll check out the challenge and play along! 

Have a great day!  Davinie

Project 12, 2011 (and December in January)

Hello my friends!

January 1 marks the 3rd year in the Project 12 challenge.  Woot!  I am so excited about the longevity of this challenge, the participation, and sketches from Becky Fleck.  Hooray!
The great news is that this challenge will carry on, and Becky has created a whole new set of sketches that will stretch your creative brain this year.  So much FUN ahead!

If you are new to the challenge, I have added a tab at the top of my blog that will give out all the details on participating, and where to post if you want to enter for a monthly prize.  My Project 12 button will also link to that tab page, where I will keep links updated so you will know where to link your projects at the appropriate time.  Clear as mud?

Take this challenge to your local scrapbook store.  Make it a monthly crop!  At the many events that Scrapbook and Cards Today magazine has attended, there has continuously been buzz about local scrapbook stores taking this challenge and creating a way to bring customers together in their stores.  I am a huge fan of this idea!  So go forth, and craft!  hahaha.

For those who have been participating in 2010, our year is not over.  This is the post where I will highlight some favorite layouts and ideas submitted since the last challenge, and share the next sketch.  Right now, we are talking about layouts created in December that highlight the month of November.  Does that make sense?  You can't talk about your life until you have actually lived it.  And then I've given 20 days to create a layout about it.

A big change for 2011 is an extension of the deadline, from the 20th to the 28th.  This was made to make it easier for SCT and their blog posting the prizes too.  More time to procraftinate, I say!  :)

With all this said, first, some favorite layouts:

Shelly J

::sigh::  someday I hope to be as good as Shelly with the two page layouts.  LOVE.  Two things to note here.  That title work.  I'm going to be more creative with my titles in 2011 and not stick to one idea, and I'm absolutely using this title idea for one of my layouts.  Love it to bits.

Another thing about Shelly's work that has always inspired me is that in 2010, she has been documenting 2008, I think.  This is a great way to go back in time and summarize things before the memories are lost.  2006 was that year for me.  It's really hard to get anything done when you have little bitty babies, and I had Morgan, 2, and new Payton.  I need to go back to that year. 

LOVE the use of the Restoration line from Crate on this one from Stephanie: 

I love love love the way the doilies were used on this one in the white space.  I am doing this myself.  Such pretty detail.

JENNIFER: 

Okay, this one is full of details I am currently obsessing over.  I get excited when Jennifer participates because I adore every little thing she does to her layouts.  The zig zag stitching around the perimeter is divinte.  Those leaves that are stitched on there... heavenly.  And Lily Bee!  Now I know what to do with those 12x12 rubons sheets from Lily Bee.  It looks so great here!  I love the punch of color with the orange on the right with the dark and textured green ribbon on the left.  I also love her use of extra photos on this one.  I had to include it!

The last one I wanted to share is Jen's: 

She called it "rushed" and "simple" but those tickets, hearts, and clouds have my heart.  Such a simple and easy detail that just pop off the page and are perfect along her journaling column in the right side where you have the least amount of photos.  I Love this!

I hope you are inspired by the the little details I shared today.

You should know that I read every comment and go to every link that is posted on my challenge post.  If you don't see a comment from me, that means I wasn't able to leave one.  Linking from a gallery at another site is totally fine, but if I don't have membership, I can't leave a comment.  But one of the goals for myself in hosting this challenge is to take a peek at everything I've been linked to, and I hope to keep doing that.

For those who are still working on 2010, here is the sketch that Becky created for December, if you'd like to use it:

Lots of photos on this one.  Looks like fun!

If you are just starting the challenge, here's a peek at the January sketch for 2011 (which will be made in February and linked to my February blog post by February 28)  Take a peek at this sketch and if you'd like to use it, think about it as you take photos of your life this month:

There are some fun details here!  I'm digging the idea of border punches on one side.  I definitely like that part the best.

I have seen all the sketches for 2011 and think we are going to have a lot of fun this year!  I hope you will make time to play along! 

As always, link your layouts to this thread.  This time, by the 28th.  On the first of the month I'll post the next challenge, and there will be a link on my Project 12 tab for SCT and the prize winners.  There is always a winner chosen from participants on my blog, so be sure to check out the SCT blog posts to see if it's you.