Monday, March 19, 2012

Project Life Week {9}

I was hoping to have Week 9 posted last Monday but that didn't happen.  I finally got a chance (and some mojo) to work on one week.

Here they are.

Week 9


Left side details: Chic Crafts tag, Studio Calico Awesome/Epic stamps

 Dear Lizzy Roller Stamp - Saw this tutorial on Pinterest this week and gave it a try.
Right Side Details: More punches, Netflix envelope and Chic Crafts tag.



I got an idea to keep track of some of our favorite movies we rent from Netflix.  I use Google to find the movie poster and then print it with my weekly photos.  I did this in week 1 too.



The Stringery giveaway is still open.  Comments will close tomorrow night.  Make sure you leave a comment for a chance to win a prize pack.  5 chances to win!

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Responding to comments (giveaway at bottom)

I'll be on vacation for a few days next week so I'm saving my scrappy posts for then.

I know Blogger has the option to reply to comments but for some reason, my blog will not let me add that feature.

I read every comment and visit the blogs that stop by and I noticed a few comments over the past couple of weeks.  Just wanted to respond to them.
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Abbey said...
Those look perfect for December Daily. Oh, and have you seen Marcy Penner's badges?
Yep!  I own a few sets too but they are SO hard to get.  She ran out of them 3 times before I snagged some.  
Hester said...
Love the potty people, would love to see flair with kitchen stuff
Good thing she loves special requests!  I'm sure she would love to hear your suggestions.  I asked for potty people and she had them listed in less than 48 hours.
Karen said...
I wouldn't call it feeble! I like both layouts despite the fact that I don't particularly care for that paper line for whatever reason so- great job!! :)
You know, I didn't like those papers either BUT I bought the paper pack to make it easy on myself and I couldn't let these papers go.  They matched my sons outfit so I went with it.  Totally not my favorite.  I used all the good papers on my mini!  ;)
Busygirl said...
Wow, 7 generations of women? He must be the most spoiled grandson on the face of the planet! Woo hoo!

He's so cute and adorable. Seeing these pics bring a smile to my face. I have a baby boy too, and I often wonder what innate talents he has. So far he doesn't look very athletic, so we'll see haha!
Yes he is!  We are all guilty of it.  6 months ago my cousin had a boy so now there are two.  We like to think we're the pioneers of the family.  ;)  
scrappymo! said...
Lots of fun and interesting things on your desk this week. Love the look of the mini...I have one very similar and have never actually done a mini. What do you cover the chipboard with...is it paint?

Doesn't the paint make the paper fibers sort of swell from the moisture?

Boy, I sure have lots of questions this week!!! I guess you can tell that I would like to try one of my mini's but don't know where to start.
Here's a tip on these.  I took a class with Christine Middlecamp once and she loves details.  She said in the class that there are things she's willing to spend time on and things that just need to get done.  Painting the edges of mini albums makes for a cool look and more time to focus on the pages.
We used an odd shaped mini in her class and she had us paint the edges.  It was that or sit for hours and cut out the scallops around EACH page.  By doing that, we were able to just cut circles that fit inside (does that make sense).  Now I do this on every mini album.  
You have to use the right paints.  I've tried the regular acrylic from the craft store and it works.  But you have to put multiple coats on and I hate that.  And sometimes I can see the foam brush strokes.  I use the Claudine Helmuth paints.  They go on nice and thick in one coat and dry pretty quickly.  They are thick, not watered down so it does not warp the chipboard.  Then I just cut a shape to fit inside.  This time, I spent a little more time because the pages were going to be really simple and cut the artisan shape.   
Another tip I just read somewhere (wish I could find the blog again) is to lay out each piece of your mini and work on it one layer at a time.  Start with the base.  Paint it, cover it with paper - whatever.  Then add pictures.  Then embellishments.  Build up from the base.  I tried that with this mini and was very happy with the results.  I've always tried to start from the cover and work my way through each page.  By the time I get to the middle I'm ready to trash it.
Wow - that was long!  Sorry.
WOW!!!! Love all the details I see in your PL! Great color combo and I'm SO tempted to buy those Shabby Chic items-they are so darned cute!!! I'm supposed to be on a budget- yeah right!!! Great combination of patterns in your pages as well- really fun to look at all the details.
I really wanted to stick to a budget for this and not seek out new items.  I really wanted to use my collection of stuff but there were a few things I just had to have.  Veronica makes some amazingly fun tags and I love her shop!
Really great layouts!
And I hope you don't mind if I pin the top one on Pinterest!! :)
Pin away!  I'm flattered actually.  And that reminds me, I need to add the Pin It code to my blog.

Thank you for the comments.  I enjoy reading each one and checking out your blogs.  

Also, I have the giveaway from yesterday.  You still have a few days to leave a comment.  Click here for details and to leave a comment for a chance to win a prize pack from The Stringery.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Winner announced - and another giveaway!

The winner of the Flair is......



Jennifer Smith-Sloane said...







How cute is all of your flair! I totally would have a hard time not hoarding it myself.



Jennifer, please email me at ohmy17(at)yahoo.com with your mailing address and I'll mail your flair out to you!







Glad you guys like flair as much as I do!  The shops I listed are my favorites and they are readily available. I know there are more flair shops out there but its hard to find it in stock.

I've got a few layouts coming up with more flair on them so keep an eye out!

Good news!
I have another giveaway today.

This time its STRING!  I adore the look of Bakers Twine and Burlap String on my projects.



At The Stringery, we love all things string.  Bakers Twine, Burlap String and ribbon!

Come check out the shop and pick up some of our adorable wooden spools full of twine OR our brand new addition - CHEVRON ribbon.

Want to know when the shop has been updated or if we have a sale?  Become a fan on Facebook for current updates, more giveaways and ideas on how to use your string!

Link to Facebook

Now its time for a giveaway and a mini blog hop.

Check out the blogs for giveaways on each one!  4 chances to win!



Erica <----- You're here!


And we'll have another giveaway on Facebook!  Leave us a comment over there for a chance to win.  

We're giving away prize packs from the shop!  Each prize pack will have a sample of products.

Remember you have 5 chances to win (4 on the blogs and one on Facebook.)  Leave a comment on each blog for more chances to win!

Deadline to leave comments is 3/20.  We'll pick winners on 3/21.

In case you can't wait to see if you've won, you can shop now.  All of us have special coupon codes that will save you 20% off your order.  Enter ERICA20 to save!


Here are some of my most recent things using string:







Thursday, March 15, 2012

Baby Mini Album Progress

I'm plugging away at this mini {still} but here's a couple of sneaks.

I'm using an old Basic Grey chipboard mini album and the Simple Stories Baby Steps line.










Don't forget the giveaway that ends tomorrow.  You can see the details and leave a comment on this post.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Layouts

*Don't forget the giveaway that ends Friday.  Details HERE.*

I don't have a picture of my desk today but I do have some layouts that I finished recently.  I spent last Friday at a local store scrapping.  Suzanne Sergi was the crop host and she was fun to hang out with.

Here are just a couple that I got done.
 Using some new My Minds Eye papers.

 Can you see the transparency on that picture?  It was part of the same line and I thought it was a neat look.
 The journaling along the bottom.   I spent one night doing the stitching while watching a movie with my husband.  I've been trying to get the basics done on layouts and then save a technique like this for later.
And this one too.  Both of these are my latest favorites.




I've been seeing these long banners on layouts all over the WWW so I thought I'd try one.  More My Minds Eye papers and embellishments.  I used my Epiphany Crafts star tool again.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

An affair with {flair}

This is almost embarrassing.

I think I need a 12 step program.

I have a new addiction and it keeps growing.

Flair.  I've always been kind of weird about 3 dimensional items on my layouts.  When American Crafts first came out with their flair I thought it was cute but I couldn't see them on my pages.

Then I got some in a kit.

My love affair began.  They're just so cute!

I bought some from Evalicious.

From American Crafts.

From Chic Tags.

And now....Shelley.  Oh man, I've posted here about Shelley before.  I fell in love with her work at the Maya Road booth a while back when I saw this album:


Her flair rocks!
I've been a fan of her work ever since I saw this album.  And now she's making her own flair.  She even takes requests.  I request potty people and she delivered!

I found this really cute tray on clearance at Target to hold my ever growing flair collection.

Its about 14 inches across and about 2 inches high.




 Potty people!
And just to lighten my load a little, I'm giving away this flair set from Ormolu.

Leave me a comment with things you'd like to see on flair or what you would do with flair.  Comments will remain open until Friday 3/16.  I'll pick one winner from the comments and send this pack of flair to you.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Shimelle's Challenge

I saw this challenge on Shimelle's blog and decided to go for it.

Here's my feeble attempt.




And then I threw this one together with scraps.


I was using this paper line to make a baby mini album this week and I made both layout using scraps.