Words on Wednesday - Take time

So true.
Pinned here.

Happy Wednesday!  Davinie

Mind the Gap! Studio Calico's July kit

Oh my.  In 1999 I spent my last term in college with a host family in London, England, for 10 weeks.  It's definitely one of the coolest things I've ever done and the July kit from Studio Calico brings back fond memories of my time there.

When you are in the tube station, there's a constant reminder of the loudspeaker to "Mind the gap.  Mind the gap, please"  as the trains pull in and out, as sometimes they don't quite hug the platform and there's a wee gap you must be sure to step over as you board the train.

One of the exclusive Main Kit papers includes an aerial map of London, which inspired the kit name, and because of that, all add-ons went British.

I bought myself a pair of Knickers and some Petrol this month.  :)

And this is what I came up with.  This first one uses mostly Knickers:

These are Instagram pics of my girls just before their Spring dance recitals.  Morgan was in Jazz, Payton in ballet.  They both did so well and I was extremely proud!  I told Payton not to be nervous and she said "Oh, I'm not nervous Mom.  I love dancing."

Morgan was a rockstar too.  A huge hurdle was crossed for her!  I dont' know if she'll sign up again next fall, but she really had a great time.

I stamped the chevron/zig zag stamp on my cloud and then used white zing.  Love. 

I added the 7Gypsies tape, which is my #1 pick for shop items this month. 

This next one is my two pager for the month!  A fun day out in our little fishing boat on the lake.  My girls LOVED the adventure: 

I used my new punch to add fun for thisone.  I punched smaller circles with a Fiskars squeeze punch to layer inside, and then stitched all over it.

That green is SC paper for this month.

The Sass alphas are in Petrol.  Can't get enough of Sassafras!  I swear!  I need a separate account just for these alphas.

I'm really digging the gray in this next layout ( and yes, that punch again!  heeeeee)



I really wanted to do something with the MME tag from the main kit, so put it on this layout with gray SASS alphas!  woot!  (This time they were for the Knickers add-on).

I've been asked about my sewing machine and stitching in circles.  Here's the deal:  I have a Kenmore from Sears that I use for scrapbooking.  I have had it a lOOONg time and haven't ever maintained it or anything.  It's still moving strong.  As far as stitchign in circles, I do not fret.  I just put the foot down, put my foot on the pedal, and keep it moving.  The cirlces aren't perfect, because sometimes the layout gets hung up against the machine, so the circle isn't smooth, but I just keep turning and stitching until I'm finished.  I also try to keep a lot of spacing, my machine is set about 3.5 on spacing.

This last layout was just for fun, just for the memories.  Morgan has a few words that she says "wrong".  Thinger for finger, Renember for remember, Oling instead of only, Aunt Tabean instead of Auntie Bean (my sister), naybe for maybe....  but she sounds so cute and now Payton does it which tells me she listens to her sister, so while I try to correct her sometimes, for the most part, I just let it go and know she'll eventually figure it out.  But I wanted to do a layout about it: 

I stamped the main kit stamp with JBS chewing gum and used a gray pen with my Sass letters and outlined those silly words.

Inspired by the main kit stamp, I used circle punches and made the pattern with paper.  it's a lot like the cathedral quilt pattern, which I did a tutorial on here. 

Let me know if you have any questions about my work this month!  If June had a few more days before reveal, I would have had more done, as I had grand plans, but with the end of school year commitments, it just got away from me.

Have a great night!  Davinie

P.S.

Add-ons.  Get some. 

Studio Calico's On the Gap July kit - presale starts now.

Good Morning!
The kids and I are about to dash to the second week of swimming lessons (they are turning into little fish!), but I wanted to share a couple of last sneaks before you check out the Presale and Shop items available this month.

As I mentioned, I purchased two add-ons this month, Knickers an Petrol, and they are divine.  Here's a couple more sneaks:

You can see a bit of the main kit stamp above with JBS Chewing Gum as well as a paper version of this image.  It's very cathedral quilt pattern to me, only a single row this time.  I love this pattern.

(And yes, it's that punch yet again.  I used it on 2 of my 4 layouts this month.  It's an addiction and I can't stop).

If we are talking embellishments, I'd dash straight to the 7Gypsies victoria paper tape (the Lille tape looks very cool too!  I don't think this was an option for me when I placed my order.  I really like the red and the words.  hmmmm).  The 7Gyp tape is wonderful.  It is not like masking tape where it's stuck to the back of the print.  It has adhesive backing which makes it....  repositional.  woot!  I just tore of strips and moved them around until I was happy, and then peeled off the backing and stuck it down.  Love.

More sneaks here.

Have a great day!  I'll see you back here tonight.

Davinie

The Scrapbook and Cards Today summer issue..... it's live!

Good Morning!  The first Friday of summer is here, and the Summer issue of Scrapbook and Cards Today is Live.  Check out the cover:

Isn't it gorgeous!?

I'm really proud of my projects in this issue, one of them being a summer recap mini album using Fancy Pants Designs products, including their Brag Book (which was perfect, by the way, and would work great with SMASH stuff (Two Peas / Studio Calico).  Here's a nibble at one of the inside pages:

That photo was taken at the Silverwood Theme Park in Idaho.

And here's a peek at a layout I created for this issue:

I told you I was obsessed with that Fiskars punch, didn't I?

Be sure to check out the Summer issue here.  Spread the word!

Have a great day!  Davinie

Words on Wednesday: Today I will......

Pinned

Have a beautiful Wednesday!  It's supposed to be in the mid '80's here for the first time this summer, and the Otterpops are at the ready!

Davinie

crafTuesday - Patriotic rockets, or lanterns, as the case may be.

Summer is here which means Mom is on full entertainment alert.  That means craft time. 
With the 4th of July coming in a few short weeks, I was on the hunt for a patriotic, summer craft to do with the girls, and when I came across this, I knew I had my answer:

Pin- Factory Direct Crafts

I don't know about you, but we hoard our toilet paper rolls for craft purposes, so after going on a hunt around the house, it was easy to come up with the supplies to do this craft at home.



Crepe paper, ribbon, a star craft punch, red, white, and blue jewels, glitter...... and paint. You'll notice I used acrylic paint here, but post craft I gotta tell you, GO BUY SOME POSTER PAINT. Small children and acrylic paint don't mix, lol.

I went with paint because kids love paint.  I went with glitter because my girls are obsessed with glitter.  I went with jewels, because, for pete's sake....  they are obsessed.  And it all started easily enough:

They got three rolls each and started by painting and embellishing all of the rolls before putting it together.  Everything was fine until Morgan started doing this:

And it seemed like there was more glitter than paint.

And then this one got her hands on the giant glitter shaker, and some Elmer's glue:

And she ended up looking like this:

Oh my.  Glitter.

Did you know that the glitter in the jumbo glitter shaker from Walmart has a static quality to it?  And that the flakes are huge?  I do believe I shall be carrying glitter on my person for at least the next month and a half.

This project?  We were at this project for about an hour and a half, so even though I'm going to be carrying glitter on my person for the next month and a half, it was well worth it, because my girls had a great time, and even though our rockets more look more like patriotic lanterns, we had a lot of fun with the process.  The girls did anyway.  I'm still sweeping.  ;)

Give it a try, at your own peril.  Ha!  Davinie

The weekend collective.....and some Studio Calico sneaks.

Happy Father's Day Steve! The sun is out today and I hope you enjoy your special day.  You know we think you are the best and are lucky to have you.

(the night before Elk Season, November 2010)




School is finally out, and if the weather would just turn summer-like, it would feel like summer vacation had begun.  We have already made our first summer visit to the library to pack up on books (Morgan's first choice was a Junie B Jones, Payton was on the hunt for anything with a horse for the subject).  We've also already started getting our hands dirty with summer craft projects, so be on the lookout for CrafTuesday's from here on out.  I have been lax in posting the crafty (well, posting at all, really), but I have a lot on my list to share.

I went to my last board meeting for the preschool this week, and a board retreat to pass the wand to the next Registrar, and of course, I bawled my eyes out.  I adore the teachers we've been so fortunate to have for our girls so much, and will miss this special set of preschool families as our kids branch off to different elementary schools in the area (I know we will keep in touch, and I'll eventually make it to Knit Night!)  But I also know that the tears were mostly for the end of MY preschool experience.  No more babies. We are all the elementary school level now.  bah.

I moved from preschool to elementary, so am now on the PTC as the Family Fun Night Coordinator, so have a lot of fun things up my sleeves including a big crop for National Scrapbook Day in May.  Oh boy.  I hope I can pull that off!  When I first approached the board, the female principal didn't know what the word crop meant.  I've got my work cut out for me.  That said, I'm excited to do what I can to kids the "extras" that they need, and want, to make the most of their elementary school experience.


Summer means keeping organized and having things to do for the kids but also keeping away the lazies.  I don't want my girls to spend all summer in a hammock with a popsicle or in front of the cartoons.  I was pinning (have I mentioned I'm obsessed with Pinterest????), and came across this really great To Do list you can download.  I have already been working on chore lists for my kids to keep their rooms cleaned and offer a little incentive for extra chores for cash this summer.

Aren't they great!?  I just add the chores in Photoshop and then print it out.  I have just started playing with it, but I might also consider laminating a blank chart and just filling it in so that the kids can mark it off with a dry erase marker and we can start over again the next day.  I haven't decided yet.  I don't want it to get messy, but I don't want to waste paper and ink either.

You can get the download and the other chore charts here.

::sigh::  I love Pinterest.  I'm on it every day with my Iphone.  ::sigh::  I love my Iphone too.  Totally worth the investment.  I'm not a huge fan of tweeting though.  Tweeting on my Iphone or Tweeting off the desktop.  Seems to me all my tweeting peeps are East Coast so I'm always 3 hours behind, lol.

I also love Words with Friends AND Hanging with Friends, but alas, am more focused on making words than getting points, so if you are looking to cream someone, look me up.  I am either Davinie or JustDav.  For a good time call.....   lol.

Anyway, I've been crafting too.  I got my July kit from Studio Calico and have been rolling around in paper bits for a few days now.

Here's a couple of sneaks:

I've rearranged a couple of things from this first one post the Sneak show, but this photo here is from add-on 1 product, Knickers, and I think you need to put it on your list for July.  Hello Chevron stamp.  Hello Crate Paper.  Hello blue and gray alphas.  LOOOOOVE this add-on so much.

After creating for the Sneak slide, I throw all of my July purchases together, so this next sneak is a bit of this and a bit of that:

This one is a bit of a tease because it also includes a couple of things that will be in the shop, namely the tape, and it also uses my new favorite circle punch.

The green and the yellow papers are the two SC exclusive papers from this kit.

I will be back soon with more sneaks, as well as more crafty, and a bit of family too.  :)

Have a great day!  Davinie


P.S.  I've seen Studio Calico's summer CHA release.  You are going to LOVE it.

Words on Wednesday: Never changing...

One of my favorite Pinterest boards I've called "Words".   I seem to find inspiration, support, and a lot of laughs as I wade through the www looking to feast the eyes for home decor ideas and craft inspiration.

I thought I'd start sharing some of my favorites.  A lot of blogs do Wordless Wednesdays, but I am going to go with Words instead.

Source.

Love that.  So true. 

Have a great Wednesday!

Davinie

As promised: Elmers Craft and Tell Blog hop

Today's the day!  I hope your little commenting fingers are at the ready, as Elmer's and X-acto have gone above and beyond to provide prizes galore to celebrate crafting and want to share their products with blog readers and papercrafters on the WWW.


I was sent a box of goodies to craft with, and this is what I came up with for the hop:

With the 4th of July just around the corner, I decided to use bits from my June Studio Calico kit, Paper Moon, and some of my stash, and make a flag canvas.

I started with the foam core 9x12 bifold, used my X-acto blade, and trimmed it to the desired shape.  After that I mounted it to cardboard for displaying.  Then it was a matter of adhering photos and bits.

Elmers, X-acto products used:


9x12 bifold foam
X-acto Stainless Steel Scissors
X-acto knife
Elmer's Craft Bond tape runner
Elmer's Craft Bond Fabric and Paper Glue
Elmer's Craft Bond Memory book Glue Pen

The fabric glue has a permanent home in my stash.  I did stitch down the center of my fabric first and then ruffled it, but adhered it to the paper with this glue, and you can't tell.  It didn't bleed through and turn hard.  It's a thick white paste as opposed to a clear glue.  LOVE.

The Glue pen also worked wonderfully.  I adhered the buttons just before standing up the piece for photography, and they held well.  So did the paper, which was adhered with the permanent tape runner.

In short, I'm a fan.

In my first post I shared a glimpse at some of the things you can win by participating in this hop, but our generous sponsors have added more to the mix:


GRAND PRIZES (x2)

Two lucky hoppers will receive this incredible prize bundle exclusively from Elmer's + X-ACTO! Take a look!

Products included in EACH of the (2) GRAND PRIZE bundles include:
3  X-ACTO Retract-a-Blade knives
3  CraftBond Extra Strength Glue Sticks
3  CraftBond Tape Runners 
3 Mini Bi-fold 9x12 Foam Board packs 
1 Painters Markers pack
1 X-ACTO Decorative Edge Scissors pack  
1 Circle Cutter 
1 X-ACTO Self-Healing Mat 
1 Glue Dots pack
2 Photo Corners packs (various colors) 
1 Gel Pens pack
1 Tacky Glue bottle.................................$140/retail 

AND
Here's a look at what I will be giving away in addition to the Elmer's packages! 

Prize Pack #1
1- XACTO Cutting Mat
1- XACTO Gripster
1- XACTO Circle Cutter
1- Elmer's Foam Board Pack
2- Elmer's Photo Corners 
1- Elmer's Glue Spots
4 Gel Pens.................................Approx. $50/retail (US)

Prize Pack# 21- XACTO RotaryTrimmer- 
1- XACTO Scissors
2- XACTO Decorative Scissors 
1- Elmer's Glue Spots
1- Elmer's Craft Bond
5 Gel Pens.................................Approx. $50/retail (US)


It comes down to this.  If you leave a comment on each blog, you will be entered to win a great big prize from Elmer's and X-acto.  


If you want an additional chance at a prize, leave a comment on the Facebook page, or tweet using the hash tags #CraftandTell as well as#CraftandTellBlogHop and naming @Elmers in your tweet.  


So, make sure you "Like" Elmer's and Xacto on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.  

Facebook

Elmer's : http://www.facebook.com/Elmers

X-Acto : http://www.facebook.com/XACTO

Twitter

Elmer's : http://twitter.com/#!/elmers

If you started at the beginning, I am near the end of the hopping list, and the next person is Deanna.  But if you landed here first, no worries.  Leave a comment here and head to Amy's blog and check out the list to get on your way if you want to win a prize.  The comments will be open until 11:30pm Sunday the 12th.  Let me know if you have ever used Elmer's or X-acto products in your papercrafting, and if so, what?

Enjoy the hop and have a great weekend!  Morgan and Payton both have recitals today, and if all is well, I will be gushing with pride and sharing youtube video's asap!  They just had rehearsals last night and are so excited!  If Morgan can do it this will be her very first finished performance on stage and with her fun personality, I just know she can do it!

Davinie

Crate love: a wedding event

Because it's that time of year, and because in my opinion, Crate Paper designed a wedding collection so perfect it makes me want to go back to the year 2000 and change my color scheme, it seemed only appropriate that we celebrate the wedding season with a Wedding event.

We started yesterday with invitations, and today's post included wedding table decor and decorations.  These ladies are so talented and the projects that have been shared so far are extremely inspiring! 

There are projects to share all week so I hope you'll keep tabs on the Crate Paper blog to see what we've done.  I've created a project for this event too, and it's something that could be used as decor in many types of situations, so I'm excited to share it!

Have a great Tuesday!  Davinie

a little something fun: Elmer's Craft and Tell blog hop, coming soon!

I was recently contacted by Miss Amy Heller to participate in a fun event being sponsored by Elmers.  I was honored to be asked, and of course I jumped at the chance to incorporate Elmer's products in my crafting projects.

For fun, Elmer's has provided a couple of really fun giveaways and a blog hop event scheduled for June 11-12 to share different ways of including Elmer's + X-ACTO's specially designed adhesives and cutting tools products into your papercrafting.  Check out the goodies:

Giveaway 1:

Giveaway 2:

I'm one of ten crafters creating projects for this event, so I hope you'll mark your calendars and check us out on June 11-12 to see what we came up with and enter for a chance to win a prize.  So far, the list of crafty contributors includes:

Amy Heller
Amy Parker
Deana Boston
and me.....

Each day leading up to the event another face will be added to the list.  Some talented ladies here!

So, make sure you "Like" Elmer's and Xacto on Facebook and follow them on Twitter to see Amy's Elmer updates:

Facebook

Elmer's : http://www.facebook.com/Elmers

X-Acto : http://www.facebook.com/XACTO

Twitter

Elmer's : http://twitter.com/#!/elmers

And have a great weekend!  I'll see you back here for the blog hop on the 11th! 

Here's a little hint at my project....  it involves paper, fabric glue, foam board, an Xacto knife, and the cutting mat.  Curious?  Sneaks soon! 

Davinie

Project 12 May in June

I was doing some reflecting on how busy my life has become these days, which has made me even more grateful that I stop and document my world with Project 12 each and every month. Sometimes it’s a chore and I’m putting together my layout at the last minute to make it in time for the 1st post, but the fact I have made it a priority, on top of jazz and ballet and gardening and renovating and camping and barbecuing and volunteering and mothering, really does fill me with pride. My scrapbooks are such a treasure to me, and nothing makes me happier than to see my girls flipping through the pages to see their lives mapped out with patterned paper lovingly cut into bits.

In April our house was busy with Spring Teas at school, an early camping trip to the hills, a new trampoline, and our annual Easter weekend bash. I had a lot of fun things to document, and the April sketch was perfect for it.

As a reminder, here’s the April sketch:



And this is what I came up with this month:

 

I used my current Studio Calico kit again this month.  It was handy because I still had it out!  I had to also use my new favorite Fiskars punches, the everywhere punch set, to add some depth to my layout. 
This sketch was filled with horizontal photos, but as I went through my files, I realized I am more of a portrait girl, so had to alter the sketch a bit to get my photos in. Note to self: take more of both, so I’ll always have choices.

As always, I wanted to highlight a couple of submissions this month, and first I wanted to start with Sonya:

I was really drawn to her color palette. I wouldn’t have normally been drawn to using the Crate floral background with that black houndstooth, but it looks FABulous on this layout. I really really like the two together. I also really like the use of the birds and butterflies for the embellishments on this one. It really speaks Spring to me. (I hope you have had Spring at your house, Sonya!!!! It SNOWED last week here). I also like the touches of red because it really draws that color out of the photos she used. Really nice layout.

The next one I wanted to share is from Jennifer. Jennifer and I go way back on this challenge and it’s always an honor and a pleasure to see her playing along.

The first thing that made me smile on this layout was the banners. SO cute. The next thing that caught my eye were the mushrooms and other corrugated shapes. You don’t often get a chance to use mushrooms on a layout, but it works perfectly for this layout and this challenge! I love the title card and how she changed the sketch to fit her photos too. I like that number paper too. I need some of that.

Lastly, is one from Ruby.

Project 12 is about celebrating your life and getting it down on a 12x12, (or two of them, or an 8.5 x 11, etc). Sometimes that means documenting all the little things, and sometimes that means documenting the big things. April is a month to celebrate Spring, but it is also a month to celebrate Easter, which is what Ruby did with her layout.

I love the color combo here. It’s so soft and feminine and I love all those pretty photo corners. The dimensional butterflies and use of trims here is really nice too.

Thank you so much for playing along!

Now that June is here and May is over, it’s about time for Spring before Summer gets here (at least at my house, the kids are chomping at the bit to utilize sprinklers under the trampoline). It’s also time for another challenge.

As a reminder, this is the May sketch we are going to be utilizing this month:

I really like this one. I love those flowers. I may have to dig in my stash to see if I can find some SEI Dill Blossom. I loved that line.

Remember, though, that you can use whatever sketch works for you. You don’t even need to utilize a sketch, if what Becky came up with doesn’t work with your photos. Just document your life and leave a comment here for a chance to win a prize.  Link your sketch at Scrapbook and Cards to have another chance to win. 

As always, you have until the 28th to leave a comment linking your layout to the appropriate blog post.  See the Project 12 page at the top or email me if you have any questions. 
I’ll see you back here July 1! Davinie