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Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Scrapbooking my Disney Trip...

Hello!

This summer we were lucky enough to take our first trip to Disney World! We had the best time and of course, I took hundreds of pictures! It will probably take me the rest of this year and some of next to scrap all of them- hee! I started printing pictures a day at a time so I won't get overwhelmed. When I'm done with the first day, I'll print the next one up! I've had so much fun so far but I'm still only on the first day- we spent it at Typhoon Lagoon! :) Here is one of the layouts I've made:



Goodies:

Patterned Papers: Bo Bunny
Letter Stickers: KI Memories (I stashed those years ago!); American Crafts
Scallop Border and Circle Punches: Stampin' Up!

This page is a pretty simple layout infused with lots of bright patterned papers. The only fancy thing I did was build the red and orange flower on the bottom right. I cut and pasted 1/2" strips to the back of the circle to create it. I also sanded the edges so it would blend nicely with the rest of the page.

I've been inspired to scrapbook rather then make cards lately so I hope you don't mind the change of scenery while I share. I think it's good for me to change it up every now and then- I don't want to get burnt out!

So, now you've been warned! Lots of Disney layouts will be coming- lol!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great day!

-tessa

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Fun and Funky Fall Cards

Cropping down at Scrapdoodles on Saturday had one thing going that I can't get stamping at home- shopping! Hee! I didn't buy too much but I was so inspired by the new Amy Tangerine Line by American Crafts- I had to get it! Here are a few cards I made using mostly products from this line as well as those great leaf stamps from Stampin' Up!:






Don't you love the funky color scheme? I added some feathers, created a fabric flower (with the fabric paper) and sanded around the edges of my stickers to add some texture to my cards. I wanted to keep the designs simple though. What a fun line of product to play with!

So, things have been a little weird around here this week. I live in Northern Virginia so we felt the earthquake pretty good- I'm from Seattle and spent a few years in California before moving to the east so I knew what was going on. It was just unexpected and weird! We didn't have any damage so that is good! And, I got to teach Zoey and Natalie a science lesson about what causes earthquakes. Zoey was convinced that it was a giant bunny rabbit coming to get us! LOL! I think she got that from a Strawberry Shortcake movie we have!

We had quite a large aftershock last night, too. It woke me up just after 1am and I couldn't get myself back to sleep for a couple hours... I'll be taking it easy around the house today and adding an extra cup of coffee to the menu! Even now every rumble I hear has me on alert.

To top the week off, we get to watch out for a hurricane, too! I'm thinking we'll get the rain but not the full force of the winds but still... what a week!

Sorry for the rambling today. I blame the lack of sleep! Thanks for stopping by and listening, hee!

-tessa

Monday, August 22, 2011

Vintage Watercolor Card

Hello There!

Well, It's another Monday morning! :) We still have 2 weeks of summer break here and I am making the most of it! Today we're heading to the girls' favorite... Chuck E. Cheese... yes. I have been saying no to going all summer so today I'm going to surprise them! I can't wait- well, yes I can... you know how Chuck E. Cheese is! lol!

I cropped at my favorite lss over the weekend and had so much fun! I still can't believe i got so many things finished, too! I'm a pretty slow crafter and when I'm chatting all day with everyone, I turn into an super slow crafter! I still got 5 cards and 2 pages done! That is really good for me! :) Thanks to everyone at Scrapdoodles for the great day!

Here is a card I made:



I paired the On the Grow set with some pretty Echo Park papers. I watercolored the image and added crystal effects to the vase so it looks like glass. It's a prettier card in real life- at least I think so!

Well, I hope you enjoy your day! Thanks for popping over to take a peek!

-tessa

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Everyday Gratitude Card

Good Morning!

I've got another quick post of a card I made yesterday using the Day of Gratitude set along with my new favorite, Spice Cake DSP:



Goodies:
All Products by Stampin' Up!

The layout was inspired by a card I saw thumbing through the new Cards magazine... cute, right? There are so many inspiring layouts in their newest issue!

I've distressed everything a little with my Crumb Cake ink and tattered my ribbon a little as well. I love the look of it like that!

Anyways, I've got my hands full today so I'm going to keep this short!

Hope you have a great day!

-tessa

Monday, August 15, 2011

Another Fall Card

Good morning!

Hope you had a great weekend! I relaxed but my girls were gone for 2 whole days and I didn't know what to do with myself! My hubby and I enjoyed our time together but home was entirely too quiet with out them here.

Here is a card I made using my favorite new goodies from the upcoming Holiday Mini:



All products by Stampin' Up!

What a great color scheme for fall! I just love the touch of Pool Party thrown in to it- so fresh!

The leaf stamps were inked up with color then spritzed very lightly with Smooch spritz to give a little sparkle. I stamped them down and then added the outline over top before I cut them out. They are great stamps!

Is anyone taking the free Big Idea Festival class with Big Picture? It starts today and I'm joining in with the fun. I've never taken a class with Big Picture Classes and wanted to get a feel for some of the teachers there. I figure the best way to become a great teacher is to watch others do it so I'm excited to see what they have to offer!

Well, hope you enjoy your day! Thanks for stopping by!

-tessa

Friday, August 12, 2011

Fall Inspiration

I know it's not fall yet- and I'm still fully in summer mode- but when I get new fall stamps and paper in the mail, I just can't help but play! These goodies are sneak peaks of whats inside the new Stampin' Up! holiday mini- take a look:



Goodies:
All products by Stampin' Up!

The leaves are 2step stamps that give the impression of being watercolored. I love that! I spritzed mine with Shimmer spritz so that the ink would run a little, too. What do you think of that new DSP? It might be a new favorite for me! The colors are just perfect!

Well, I hope you are enjoying your day! Thanks for stopping by!

-tessa

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

A Bright Page and Card to Match!

Good morning!

I can't believe it's already Wednesday! This week is going fast and it's probably because we've been having so much fun! Today we're heading in to town to visit the National Zoo... one of my favorite places in Washington, DC. I can't wait! We're going to spend some time watching the meerkats play today- my girls have been addicted to watching Meerkat Manor on netflix this summer!

I've been crafting a little this week, too! I made this page and card out of some fun new goodies I got at the LSS I work at. Yes, I work at a scrapbook store- and I love it! I couldn't pass these cute papers by Echo Park up:

My Page:


A Closer Look:


A Card:

I think I bought every collection they've made this year! And that is saying something- I don't usually by collections of anything, just bits and pieces here and there. I seriously have a crush on this company! lol!

The layout was inspired by one from Kelly Purkey's Sketchbook3 class I took in the springtime- isn't it great!

The card uses the Array of Sunshine hostess set and boy does it have some pretty images! This was my first time using it and I can't wait to break it out again! I stamped the flower images with Versamark and embossed them with clear embossing powder. They look so nice and shiny!

Did you see this post on the Moxie Fab World blog yesterday? :) I was a trigger target! Yahoo! Pretty exciting for me!

Alright! Off to make a yummy picnic lunch for later. Hope you have a great day and thanks for stopping by to take a peek!

-tessa

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

A Tall Challenge Card

Well, I spent some time today crafting with my little girls- we practiced our watercoloring, a technique that my oldest daughter has been asking me to teach her! Hee! She's gonna be able to teach her own classes, soon! :) While they were busy painting their Sock Monkeys (yes, they like him, too!) I found time to play along with a fun challenge at the CAS-ual Fridays blog. The challenge was to create a 4x9 card with a CAS feel to it... well, I don't know if my card ended up being too clean or simple but the challenge still inspired me to try a different size! Hee! Here is what I made:



Goodies:
All products by Stampin' Up!

Stamps: Simply Soft, Tiny Tags, En Francais
Ink: Wisteria Wonder, Pear Pizazz, Crumb Cake classic inks
Paper: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede cardstock; Wisteria Wonder, Pear Pizazz textured cardstock, watercolor paper, First Edition DSP
Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, Linen Thread, Jewelry Tag punch, Dazzling Diamonds, Aqua Painter, Color Spritzer

See? I think it's too distressed to be CAS... oh well! I love how it looks anyways and I don't think I would have attempted a card this size with out the challenge so thank you CAS-ual Fridays!



Want to see my cute girls in stampin' action? Here are a couple of pictures from our craft time together:




Awe! I love that they like to stamp as much as I do!

Thanks for stopping by today!

-tessa

Pretty Banner Card

Hello!

Hope your day is off to a great start! I'm planning a crafting day with my two little girls- they LOVE to stamp and my oldest who is 6 has been asking me to teach her a few new techniques- lol! She'll be mastering all my favorites before the day is over, I'm sure!

I thought I'd pop on and share a pretty card I made featuring my favorite punch- the banner!


I love that this card is vintage and distressed but still nice and bright! I think you need four tools to create the perfect distressed look- a sanding block- I've used it to sand the edges of my DSP here; a poofer (or spritzer) to use to speckle your marker ink all artsy like; the Decor Elements applicator tool- I think it works even better then the tonic distressing tool; and your hands- just wad your paper up, roll it around and voila! Instant distress!

Thanks for stopping by today!

-tessa

Monday, August 1, 2011

Inspired by the Moxie Fab World

Hi There! I'm posting a little late tonight- we had a busy day playing at the waterpark, eating ice cream, and shopping at Toys'R'Us with my sister and her little ones. You just can't beat that! :) I'm finally winding down and finding some time to play on the computer for a little while.

I created a bunch of cards over the weekend and thought I'd pop on and share one with you real quick. It was inspired by last week's Tuesday Trigger at the Moxie Fab World Blog. Thanks to Cath and this great image, I found my mojo again! I think I lost it after that last round of Paper Crafts Magazine Gallery Idol Contest. It was a doozie and unfortunately, I didn't make it through to the finals. Thanks for all your votes though! Your support means so much to me!

Here is my card:



Goodies:
All products by Stampin' Up!

Stamps: Delicate Doilies, Thank You Kindly
Ink: Wild Wisteria, Pear Pizazz, Pink Pirouette, Pool Party, and Basic Black classic inks
Paper: Pool Party, Whisper White, Basic Black cardstock; Basic Grey textured cardstock; 2011-2013 In Color patterns DSP, 2010-2012 In Color patterns DSP
Accessories: Subtles Buttons, Whisper White Baker's Twine, 1" Circle Punch, Scallop Edge Punch

The focal point is made with squares of my DSP. I rounded to corners on each square and built a sort of modern flower out of them. I used pop dots to pop the top layers up a little and curled the edges using my bone folder.

Anyways, bedtime is calling so I better keep this short and sweet! Thanks for taking a peek!

-tessa