My First Official Product Review is up!

I was surfing the web over a year ago, and on ELiving Media I crossed pathes with Dee, from What's The Buzz. I have always had an intrique for reviews and trying products/doing giveaways and honestly just critisizing everything... I applied for a position on her review team, and after a few months, there was an opening and see added myself and a few other gals to the review team.

Over at What's The Buzz, I am a writer/reviewer. I get to opportunity to receive products for review and possible promotions... My first review went live Monday Night regarding Natural Vines Licorice.

Go over and check it out here!

Karen Foster Cutie Pie Line

For my kit last week as a designer for Lila's Scrapbooking and More, I got to work with the Karen Foster 'Cutie Pie' line. It's a perfect line for anyone with a little girl in their life.




This first card, was a little bit of a stretch, since it didn't actually use the Karen Foster Paper; but the embellishments I got in the designer kit; I used a Paper Trey Ink patterned paper (polka dot parade) with the stick on ribbon and rub on for this card.





I LOVE how it turned out; and can't wait to send this out to someone who has recently had a baby... now; could someone get on that, so I can send a card?

The next card used the 'leftover' pieces from inside the layouts title. I did run them through my Xyron, and then dip them in clear embossing powder, so make them glassy. I used pop dots to pop them up and give the card some dimension, since it's a fairly flat card otherwise. I also used my Irock to add some bling.

I saw a card on the cover of my latest Papercrafts Magazine, using a cute patterned banner and wanted to do one also. I was going to use the patterned paper from the Cutie Pie line; but since I wanted that to be the focus, thought I'd stick with a glitter paper from DCWV for the banner. You can't tell much from the photo, but before I stuck the banner on, I adhered the hemp cord with glue, and then sort of shaped the banners to stick out at the bottom, so they look like they're floating. This also used a rub on from the designer kit. All of the items I've used can be purchased at Lila's Scrapbooking and More, in Everett WA.
This card was so simple, and turned out very cute, I acutally used two of the patterned papers, and a piece of thick crocheted type ribbon for it. That's all!

I had a good time working on it, and finally got some more of Zoe's photos from when she was little tiny scrapbooked. I love how the cards turned out as well and think for as simple as they were (because even when they're simple, it takes me a year to stop waffling and actually stick something on!) they will be great for baby cards.

This layout I got from a sketch I found online. I've been throwing together a 'sketch binder' so that I can quickly pick one I like, and make something instead of waffling (since I'm slightly indecisive) for an hour before I can get moving. I cut the 'baby' blocks from New Arrival, and as you can see used the inside to make a card, instead of throwing them away.



Soon, I'll post up the project currently sitting on my scrap table... the Karen Foster Party Animals Line.

Also, Lila's is looking for a few more design team members to help us get more out on the store floor for our customers. She is looking for 1-2 people who has a passion for scrapbooking, crafting and making items using the products designated. The people who make the team must be able to meet a deadline and be flexible with product pickup and type of products used. On the design team, designers recieve 35% off their kits for the what's new section and 25% off all other items. If this sounds like you, go and see this blog post on Lila's Scrapbooking Site.

I hope you have a wonderful week!



Dawn

Kid Friendly Father's Day Cards

Today a good friend and her daughter (also 3) came over to work on Father's Day cards for her daddy, papa, grandpa and great grandpa.



These are what she made! We gave her paper and crayons and had her draw some little pictures and basically framed them on the cards for her Grandpa and Dad.

Majority of the Stickers are from a K&Co 1.99 package of stickers; and the papers (patterened at least) are from a DCWV paperstack.

Enjoy!

Happy Father's Day!!

I've been waiting around on posting anything; and have gotten the chance to actually craft lately!!

I'm back on the Lila's Scrapbooking Design Team again; Elisa the coordinatoor called and invited me back to the team for a 2nd term about a month ago. You can see my most recent project over at the Lila's Scrapbooking Blog. I got to work with the TaDa Sizzlin' Summer line. I'll get a post on that soon too!

Today, I've got a Father's Day card for my pops. He is a great man, and being the man who literally; has everything- I can't ever find a gift that suits him or he doesn't have. He just bought a new house out in the sticks here in Washington and has about 5 acres on a creek with lots of work to do around the whole place. He could use a nice place to relax, and I was thinking a hammock this year, but Super Sleuth Zoe asked him for me; actually it went more like this:

'Papa, You like Hammocks just fine?' and he told her that he didn't like them so much. meh.

So, if we take what he told the three year old; it isn't worth the $100 for this sweet hammock at LL Bean! No Hammock for you, Papa Don. :-(

Instead, we (Z and I) spent the evening making cards for Adam and my Dad for Father's Day. My dad is thinking a BBq for Father's Day is in order so I'll have to hand over something... even if it's only a card. I LOVE how the card for my dad turned out!

Most of the paper is all from various Scraproom Stash... but I did grab a piece of Tim Holtz Distress Core'dinations Paper in Frayed Burlap today at Joanne's for a more manly card base.

The tiny airplane is from New Arrival, and the plane paper is Cosmo Cricket. I have no idea where the red polka dot paper is from! But, the letters are from Scenic Route Paper Co. Of course, I also used my white pen for some detailing on the plane.

I'm thinking I'll get the card Zoe designed (and I just pieced together) for Adam up tomorrow. You'll be very proud of what the three year old did! I sure am!

Have a good evening!

Zhena's Gypsy Tea- Peach Ginger Black Tea

I just want to say... Yum! Being in the PNW, I'm proud to say we are the home of Starbucks and many other fine coffee companies.

While in Forks, WA with my best friend a few weekends ago, I saw this tea and thought it sounded delicious. Other than Starbucks Passion Tea in the summer and Peppermint Tea at night to help me fall asleep or relax I don't drink an overwhelming amount of tea.

I am now officially hooked on another beverage than coffee!

With the comforting taste of black tea, but the undernotes of the peach and ginger it has a 'sweet tangyness' I can't help but LOVE!

I was not paid, nor given any product to review in this post and actually am writing this without any encouragement; so it must be good!!

I bought my tin (of 22 tea bags) for $3.00 on clearance at Forks Outfitters Coffee Shop, but I've found it on Amazon as well in 6 tin packs for about $4.75 a tin.

Enjoy!
Dawn

Mason Jar Art with a 'Paper' Tree

I was surfing around online today, and through Amanda (from KevinandAmanda.com) I saw a link to this site. How much am I loving it you ask...? Enough that I can't stop thinking about all the awesome projects she does and start making some too!!! There really isn't enough time in a day to make all the things that she thinks she has too much time for! :-) I've never come across it before, and man; I've been missing out!!! I saw her project for the glass jar projects (which I linked you to above) and decided to go with this jar (an old mason jar I had around). To put inside the jar, I decided to make rolled paper flowers and adorn some branches, which I glued together and then stuffed into the jar.

This is a close up of the rolled flowers, and I rolled a few of them but using burlap instead for a primitive look.

This is where it's sitting right now, on the mantle; but really it would look great on a table.

I was even thinking I could make some easter eggs and hang those as well.

No one around here needs a new headboard; but I'm thinking... that in my dad's new house he is going to have extra bedrooms and my step-mom is also very into repurposing things and THIS headboard is amazing!

Have a good night!

Dawn

A Few of my Essential Tools...

I thought I would do a generic post today, with some of the items I use in almost every project I make.

From Cards to Layouts, Birdhouses to Bind-it-All books, I find myself consistantly reaching for the same products.

Cutting Fiskars 12" Rotary Trimmer --- I used to use the Provo Craft Paper Trimmer, and it was okay; I went through a lot of blades since it wasn't a rotary cutter and almost always seemed to have some sort of 'fuzz' along my cut before I splurged and bought this. I used a 40% off coupon at Michaels to help cut the cost a little!

Good Scissors (Full Size)-- I use the Corporate Express Brand, and they are from one of the office supply stores, and scissors you do decide to designate for paper only, I recommend you write that on them, and make it clear throughout the household; it's amazing how quickly a pair of $20 scissors can become useless (not like I'd know....)

Better Scissors (Small, for detail)-- Cutterbees; I swear by these little scissors. They can cut everything (big or small) and always stay sharp. I clean them every so often (like few months) and they have never failed me. Be careful though, these seem to attract my three year old like a bee to honey (must be the pink color... and sharp blades).

X-acto Knife-- Mine is pink, but even if it wasn't; these are very inexpensive and so helpful! I've used it for peeling stuff off my Cricut Mat, or quickly trimming spots that didn't cut. Overall, very useful for the price.

Scoring-

Martha Stewart Scoring Board- Again; a great investment. I'd never had a scoring board before I bought this one with a coupon from the Oprah Show to try a Martha Product at a discount, and I can't believe I lived without it, for cardmaking, envelopes or boxes. It's nice to make the little medallion type circle things also!

Inks--

Stamping-- Staz On; any color. This stuff ROCKS! Seriously, it works on everything and creates clear, crisp images from even the cheapest clear acrylic stamps that dye inks don't work well on. LOVE this stuff!!

Tim Holtz Distress Inks- I have 9-10 colors, but love them all equally. They are all amazing.

Inkssentials Ink Blending Tool & Foams-- I use this tool everytime I use my Distress Inks.

Adhesives:

ATG 700 Gun w/ 1/4" Adaptor- I bought this before the Pink 1/4" gun came out, and paid a hefty sum for it; but even after that... I did a little breakdown/review of the costs... it can be found HERE and it still is less expensive than using Snails for the rest of my life.

Liquid- Scotch Quick Dry Adhesives-- seriously, don't put this on if you aren't sure you want paper to stick; it's gonna stick and FAST. Great for small cricut cuts.

Stapler- There is a company that makes colored staples, and I'm addicted to those too, so this gets used often also!

Feel free to ask any questions; I'd be happy to answer!!

Wedding Card & Bee Happy Card

Here are a couple cards from recently! I know I haven't been posting often and I've been busy back at work, so it's made cropping time decrease a bunch.

The card above I made for a wedding this summer; the colors are Dark Blue and Silver; so I thought this would be gorgeous.

The lower card is intended to send to my Mother-In-Law who loves bees! I thought it would make her smile... now, all I have to do is get it in the mail!
Have a good one!

Dawn

Updated Scraproom Stills

I thought I'd hop on here, and show some updated photos of my scraproom. It's nothing fancy, at all; just an extra bedroom that I've added a desk and storage (and not even fancy or pretty storage!) to, and made work for me.

I made a coloring and play area for Zoe, since she ends up in there with me. She always wants to help, but by making a coloring area, she at least is distracted!Everything I use consistantly is right within reach. All my paper, adhesives, ribbons, cutting tools and even embossing tools I can reach from my seat.

This is what the drawers look like; the very bottom is adhesives; and cards I am keeping. Next drawer up; it my paper pads that are 8X8 and smaller.

The middle drawer is all inks, and blocks. And the top is bink-it-all owires, etc.

I also attached a photo of how I store my clear stamps. I used a 3-ring binder, with We R Memory Keepers Photo Sleeves. Baseball Card holders would work too!

It closes right up, stores flat and makes it much easier to find what I want quickly; instead of digging through a pile.

Reminisce Superheroes Line

For my last project as a Designer on Lila's Scrapbooking Design Team,

I worked with the Reminisce Superheroes Line.

I love the cute little charactors, and how they are zipping around!

This little pig was my favorite!

Followed, not far behind with the little Superhero panda!

Cute, right? I have some other things to post shortly, so hopefully you'll be entertained some this week!!

Cheers!

Dawn

BasicGrey Bind-It-All Book

Seems like theres a 'B' theme going on here, huh? lol.

Today, my little project is with the same adorable BasicGrey Pyrus Line of papers, I bought at Lila's Scrapbooking but I've used my Zutter Bind-It-All with a 3/4" o-wire to make this adorable notebook. It's roughly 6.5"X4.5".

I've tied various olive green, brown and orange ribbon to the owire also.

Enjoy!

BasicGrey Birdhouses

Hi! I know I've been off in my own world lately. Zoe was in the ER last weekend with a ruptured ear drum and ear infection; and today we had to head to the Walkin Clinic because she's got Croup. So, after dealing with a sick baby for more than a week; you can bet that I took some time for myself last night!







I made a cute little project, with some Basic Grey Paper I picked up while I was at Lila's Scrapbooking dropping off my Design Team Packet (I'm hoping for another round on the DT!)...

I have those photos too, but don't want to post em until the design team is announced, I'm not sure if they will be showing the projects turned in or not; so I'm not going to spoil the fun for anyone. :-)


All the paper I used is from Basic Grey, their line called Pyrus. You bet that I LOVE these papers and actually am going to stop in a pick up some more in the next day or two. I'm working on a sketch book with my Zutter and these papers also.

This is close ups of the actual birdhouses. I used this paper for the trims, 'walls' and roof of the birdhouses.

The birdhouses are from the Local Craft Store, but all the papers are from Lila's.

Enjoy!

Dawn

Valentine's Mailbox Project

For Valentine's Day I decided to decorate a Target mailbox (from the $1 bin) for Zoe and her little friend Riley.

I used the Paper from 3 bugs in a rug for all the coverings and the little cards.

Right now, they have the cards, and some little trinket type toys in them, but you bet your buttons we're stopping to stuff them with candy too!

We don't have any big plans for the night, just staying home (maybe a Heart Shaped Pizza is on order?)

Valentine's Card for the hubbs

Hi Everyone!

In the past few days I've picked up the sewing machine I've been thinking about getting. Last night alone I made a 'comforter' (aka crappy little quilt) for Zoe's Zhu Zhu Pets and a pillow for them. That was fun, and today I've used it on Adam's Valentines card (because I left that last one out for him to see... opps, but turns out he never said anything so I don't think he really liked it anyways. This one though, is sure to wow him. :-)


I used a big, clear sentiment sticker, on graph paper, cut to size and adhered to a patterned cardstock from Bo Bunny's Easter Line in 2009 I believe.

The heart is punched with my sizzix original and a heart die. The burlap is actually from an old sack I've had in my trunk that I got to plant potatoes in... :-) Haven't gotten around to that yet, lol.

Hope you like!

Dawn

Valentine's Day Inspiration and Copy Cat Cards

Last night, I was flipping through my January/February Paper Crafts Magazine and they have a lot of beautiful cards for Valentines Day.

This one was that caught my eye, for the sheer fact that I was pretty sure I had about everything to re-create a similar version. I needed to make a card for someone still (that I LOVE to kiss... heehee, my husband of course! There isnt' really any threat of him finding this card out until Valentine's Day; because I'm not kidding anyone here: there is about a 1% chance of him checking my blog to see what I'm up to!)

This is a shot of page 45 of the Paper Crafts January/February 2011 issue.

(blow the horns here...) Here is my similar version. I know it's not totally the same, but close enough!

Hope you like it! :-)

^^^Look Up^^ We've got some changes...

Have you seen the newest page on the upper link here?

I've got a Stash Bash, personal sale page going!

All sorts of things for sale, check them out.

Stamp Lots, Purple Cow Freestyle Mouse, Stickers, Gift Boxes, and lots more!

Scrappy Mom's Terrific Tuesday Challenge!

Hi Everyone!!

I know I haven't been too present here, I've started working part time again at Doodlebug Sportz, and with my two days at Horse Head Quarters I've been busy. busy. busy. with minimal time for crafting!!

Anywhoo, it's been a while... a L-O-N-G while since I did any challenges... but here is one I saw today while I was browsing over at Lauren's Creative, where she is a design team member for Scrappy Moms Stamps. Her project is adorable, and I'm really loving the baker's twine. I found some on Etsy for only $3.25 for 100 yards, which I'm not sure if that is a good deal, but it sure sounds like it (without looking into it any further).

::Onto the Challenge::

The challenge is to use Sweethearts Cricut Cartridge, or something similar... I don't have Sweethearts, but I do have Wedding Solutions; so I've used it.

The base of the card textured yellow cardstock from the Mi Casa Stack by DCWV. Size is 10X5.5, scored at 3"& 7" and folded inwards.

The Just Married Car is cut at 2.65" from the Wedding Solutions Cartridge. The shadow is the same yellow as the base, with a white blackout layer and a black top layer. I used a metallic silver for the cans.

I've used my new Imagine to print the gingham background from Imagine More. I printed it as a full page and cut it to what I needed for lining the fronts and inside of this card.

The stamp on the inside is from Studio G, from Michael's in the $1 bin.

I've used a black, felt tip marker for the dotting around the card.

So, shhhhhhhh because I know of a couple getting married in the next few months, and vintage cute is totally her style, and even if the colors are off completely, this card will probably go to them.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Cheers!

Dawn

Imagine Time!

First off, I needed to share this adorable photo of Zoe, being cute. :-) I hope it makes you smile!

Onto the real topic!


Being at work 5-7 hours a day is really a big change for me. I've been staying home for the last 2 years or so (just short of it) and a few months ago was offered a job by my Dad, who was always the best boss I've ever had. He offered me basically as many hours as I could get (up to official part time) bringing Zoe with me and selling his Harley Davidson stuff online. He is quite the entreprenuer; this is his second business! So, he started his ebay business and had me running it.

Then, he needed some help with the accounting department at Doodlebug Sportz; his labor of love. So, I started helping there. I've transitioned to being the Office Manager for his company with a side of Harley Davidson. :-) It's a nice thing to have; and I'm greatful that I get to bring Z with me everyday. Today though, was a long one for me. I got there about 11, with plans of staying until 6:40pm or so to head to my Mothers and More meeting. I am the membership coordinator for our chapter; and we had a board meeting at 7pm.

Well come about 5, I made the decision that my mental state was too important for me to have so much going on today, and I got rolling with what I was doing; and was home by 6:45 or 7 to find out that my Imagine had shown up!

I don't want to make it seem like my Expressions has gotten bumped down on the food chain just yet; because obviously I'm still learning my Imagine, but here is the Provo Craft Lineup in my house:

Cheers!

Dawn

Reminders of a Warmer Time

Today, I left work early because there was supposed to be a 'major storm' hitting at 4pm. I was home about 3:40 to make sure I didn't have another 2 hour communte (normally 15 minutes).

It just started snowing outside here; and I'm hoping that it sticks so I can make this delicious ice cream recipe from Blooming on Bainbridge (which happens to be just down the road from my house!) which she posted back in November, during another snowy time here.

With that said; it's C.O.L.D-- colder than I prefer here now. Here is a brief glimpse into our summer.....

the dog spent plenty of time under the big shady Rhody in the front yard, and Zoe and I joined her during the summer to cool off! It got so hot here this summer, I had to set up an easy-up (pop up) to put the pool under so she could actually cool off, since the shade and water was about the only way that was happening (other than an ice bath).

Anyways, here's to it staying cold long enough for ice cream, but not long enough it keeps me home! :-)

Ladybug Book

Do you have any idea what this could be? It's an 11.5" Ladybug... It is going to be at Riley's 3rd Ladybug Birthday Party (probably, as long as Mommy Steph okay's it :-) .

It's a BOOK!

A guestbook or small scrapbook or something like that. I added some pages with white cardstock, googly eyes and a prima flower with a brad to make it open/close and be a girl ladybug (because no doubt there are boy-ladybugs too, somewhere)

I started with the cover, cut at 32" (using the fit to page feature on my expressions) and then my gypsy to make the pages 32", since the expressions only goes to 24.5" on the dial.

Hope you like it!

Dawn