Thankful For You Card

Good morning!  I'm starting my day off with a pumpkin spice latte delivered by my sweet hubby from Starbucks!  You can't get better than that! :)  Well, maybe if I had the day off to craft... hee hee!

I have a card to share today!  It features stamps from Waffle Flower Crafts:

As soon as I saw the cute jar stamp from the new Good Stuff Stamp Set I knew I had to pair it with the daisies from the A Bunch Stamp Set!  I decided to go with a cleaner look for this card and started with some bold patterned paper from Echo Park.  I stamped everything out and then die cut it all using the matching dies!  I am so happy for matching dies! :) The sentiment is from the Holiday Labels Give Thanks Stamp Set- isn't it nice?

This one was super quick- no coloring or cutting thanks to these fun stamps and dies!!  Thanks for stopping by today!

Family Forever Layout

Happy Friday!  It's been a great day here- finished up my Christmas shopping and got everything wrapped and under the tree!  The girls got home from school all sugared up and ready for vacation.  Luckily, we are having a warm streak- it was almost 70 out today!  I sent them outside to play! :)

Before we settle in for Christmas break, I thought I'd pop on and share my latest layout for Inspired Blueprints.  Number 115 went live today!  Here is my take on the sketch:

This was a great sketch!  I was able to use three 4x6 photos.  I stuck to the sketch, adding a few more tags and embellishments.  I ended up not journaling much- these were just silly selfies from our last hike before winter.  We do this all the time but it was fun to scrap these cause they were pretty funny!

The papers and embellishment stickers are from the Head Over Heels collection by Echo Park.  I also used a few stickers from My Mind's Eye's Cupids Arrow collection.  The colors in both lines are pretty close so they worked well together!

The Inspired Blueprint design team did a great job with this sketch!  Pop over to the IB blog to see what they did and to see the original sketch.

Well, hope you enjoy the rest of your day!

-tessa

A Merry Christmas Card

Hi There!  I'm home today with a sick little girl.  We're making the best of it, watching some fun movies and getting extra cuddle time.  Hopefully she'll be back to her normal self tomorrow.  That's probably the thing I like the least about this time of year- it's no fun when the bugs go around!  On the other hand, I love the holidays!

I made this card last night while watching a silly Christmas movie with my girls.  My friend JJ recently gifted me with these amazing stamps and dies from Avery Elle and I'm so glad she did!  They were so much fun to work with! Thanks again JJ!  Here is my card:

I combined papers from Echo Park and Little Yellow Bicycle for this one. I used one of the Echo Park journaling cards for my main panel, stamping 'Christmas' just above the snowflakes.  Next, I die-cut the 'Merry' and added a panel of gray snowflake paper to the back of it using foam dots.  the bells are die-cut out of the pretty silver paper by Stampin' Up!  I embellished them with some of my favorite linen thread.

I can't think of anything more fun than crafting with my girls while watching Christmas movies!  Maybe that's why I love this card so much!  It was made with lots of Christmas spirit in my heart! :)

I hope you're having a great day!  Thanks for stopping by!

-tessa

Good Fortune Birthday Card

Good Morning!  Hope your day is off to a good start!  We are busy today but I wanted to pop on this morning and share a card I made recently.  This one used the fun Good Fortune set by Lawn Fawn:

This set is so cute and I love making cards with it!  This time I created a patterned take-out box using some chevron paper from Pebbles, Inc.'s Seen & Noted line.  The background is a journaling box that was part of Echo Park's Snap! line.

I kept the design simple so that I could give it to a man- lol!  It was hard not to over embellish!  I always have a tendency to want bows or something!

Well, hope you have a great day!

-tessa

A Christmas Layout (just a little out of season!)

Hi There!  How many of you scrapbook out of season?  I definitely do!  Hee!  It usually takes about 6 months before I even fathom scrapping pictures.  That's why I'm just now getting around to these photos!  This layout features pictures of my family opening up gifts on Christmas this last year:

We didn't take too many photos and yes, they are not very good!  I blame that on the fact that my girls woke up at the butt crack of dawn to see what Santa brought them!  I swear it was before 6am!  They usually don't get up so early but as they get older, the idea that they can catch Santa in the act has them up at all hours!  I don't know that I'm ready for them to grow out of that yet though...

My sister picked out the cute Echo Park Dear Santa kit for me as part of my Christmas presents so of course I had to use it to scrapbook these photos!  I cut out the little owls and tree to use as my embellishments along with some kraft tags by Maya Road and teal twine from The Twinery.

These foam thickers look great over the red glitter paper, don't they?

I really love how this page turned out, even with the not-so-perfect photos.  The owls are so us and I'm sure the girls will love to look at this in the future!

Well, hope you have a great day!

-tessa

Welcome Baby Card

Hi!

Happy Friday!  I know I'm looking forward to the weekend! :)  I thought I'd pop on this morning and share a card that was published in the March/April Paper Crafts Magazine:

It's a simple one but I love it!  The images are from the Lawn Fawn Critter's Down Under set.  I used watercolor pencils to color them in and then added a little ink and Copic markers to it, too.  The patterned paper is from the Everyday Eclectic collection from Echo Park.

It was fun seeing this one in the magazine! :)

Hope you enjoy your weekend!

-tessa

Growing Our Roots Page

Hello there!

I am in the middle of a great afternoon of hanging out with three cute kiddos!  They had a half day at school and came home in great moods!  Right now, we are taking a break from the fun for homework... even on half days we can't skip that! :)

I thought I'd pop on while everyone is quite and busy and share a quick page I made recently:

It really was quick to put together, too!  I used the Everyday Eclectic collection by Echo Park again for this one- the soft colors and trendy patterns went perfectly with this Instagram photo of my sister and brother-in-law.  They bought a house over the summer and lucky for me it is pretty close to where I live!

This page was made by cutting rectangles of patterned papers out and layering them onto my background cardstock.  I added the photo, title block, my hand journaling and lastly, a few denim covered brads for embellishment.  It didn't take a whole lot of time and the the photo stands out.

Well, looks like homework didn't take very long! :)  Off to do a little bike riding before the winter cold comes back to our neighborhood... we are having another unseasonably warm day and I love it!

-tessa

Fun in the Sun

Hello!
Today is a snow day for us!  We only got an inch and a half of snow but it was enough to close the schools and let us play!  It has been so refreshing!  I love having my girls home with me! :)

I'm sharing a layout today!  And of course, since there is snow on the ground, I was thinking about summer! lol!  I scrapbooked some Instagrams from our 2012 summer vacation...

My nephew's spent part of the summer with us.  They were a little surprised by the heat here- they are from the Seattle area and summer isn't quite as hot there! :) We really did try nearly all the pools and waterparks in our area out while they were here!  It was so much fun!

During Summer CHA, I won these great stencil cards from Fancy Pants Designs.  I cut them into banner shapes, added some paint to the edges and patterned paper behind them.  They are lots of fun to use!  The patterned papers are all from the Everyday Eclectic line by Echo Park.  I gesso'd the hexagon print close to the pictures so the pictures would be what your eye went to first.  I really love how it turned out!

And, because I took a few pictures this morning, here are my girls and their little buddy Quincy ready to play in the snow!  They lasted about an hour before they got too cold and came in!  It's amazing to me what kind of magic a little bit of snow brings to children!

Well, I hope you are having a great day today!  Thanks for stopping by to see what I made!

-tessa

Thankful Owl Card

Hello!
I made a card today for another new-to-me challenge, the Lawnscaping Challenge!  Lawn Fawn stamps are one of my favorite companies and one that I can find locally which makes them even better!  I love supporting the few smaller stores in my area!

Anyways, here is the card I made for their winter wonderland challenge:

This little owl is such a fun stamp!  I colored him using Copic markers and then added some black ink around the outside edges. 

The paper pieced scarf and background panel are from the Sn@p line by Echo Park.  These 6x4 project life fillers are perfect for card fronts, aren't they?  

This week has been going by fast!  I guess they usually do after a three day weekend.  I am looking forward to a crop with my scrappy friends on Friday so I'm OK with that!  

Well, I hope you are having a good evening!

-tessa

**Edited to add**

Thank you for all your comments!  I am so excited to be one of the top mow it alls this time around!!

A Jar Full of Love Card

I am in such a good mood this morning!  The kids are back to school and my hubby is back at work and I finally have a little quiet time!  Hee!  I love having them home but the first day back is always sooo nice! :)  I hit the gym first thing to get it out of the way and now I'm just trying to figure out how to spend the rest of the day.  I am thinking of either heading to the movies to see Les Miserables or doing a little shopping at Target and Joannes... hmmm...  I could also go downstairs and catch up on last season's Downton Abbey and stamp!  :)  I think the last one might win!

Today I thought I'd share this Valentine's Day card I made recently featuring the Perfectly Preserved stamp set from Stampin' Up!:

Stamps: Perfectly Preserved set, Create a Cupcake set (heart), Tiny Tags set by Stampin' Up!; Calico Borders by Hero Arts/ Studio Calico
Ink: Pool Party, Sahara Sand, Raspberry Ripple, Pink Pirouette, Crumb Cake inks by Stampin' Up!; Versafine Onyx Black ink
Paper: Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Pool Party cardstock by Stampin' Up!; patterns from Everyday Eclectic line by Echo Park
Accessories: Sentiment rub on by Karen Foster Designs; Linen Thread, Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine, Jewelry Tag punch, and Dotted Scallop Ribbon punch by Stampin' Up!

I stamped the jar first and then masked around the outside of it before I stamped the hearts inside.  I like how it turned out and will be reaching for this set again soon!  The sentiment is a rub on I've had for many years.  I found them recently and figure I should start using them!

Well, I'm off to do a little stamping and enjoy my quiet time at home today!  I'll leave the shopping for tomorrow and just relax! :)  Hope you are having a great day, too!

-tessa

A Bright Chevron Card

Hello!

I though since there was nothing on TV tonight I'd pop on and blog another card I made last weekend at my crop. This one is full of color! I was inspired by a store customer who was trying to figure out how to create a chevron pattern in a simple way. I've seen it done a number of ways and explained it to her but of course, showing someone is always easier then explaining... lol! So I made a card. Here it is:

Goodies:

Stamps: Friendly Phrases- Stampin' Up!
Ink: Onyx Black Versafine
Paper: Very Vanilla cardstock- Stampin' Up!; patterns by Echo Park and Cosmo Cricket
Accessories: black thread- DMC

I think I'll add this card to my April Card Class line up down at Scrapdoodles. It was fun to make and a great way to use those scraps!

Did everyone enjoy the first day of spring? I spent the day with my littlest Natalie and enjoyed a free ice from Rita's, riding bikes up and down our street, and having bologna sandwiches for lunch. It was fun! I would really like to catch the cherry blossoms up in DC this week but with school and babysitting responsibilities, I'm afraid I am going to miss the beautiful trees this year. Their peak went by so fast this year! Not that I'm complaining about the weather... I'm loving all the sun! I guess it's an OK trade off, as long as the sun keeps shining!

Alright! Thanks for stopping by my blog today! Hope you have a great start to spring!

-tessa

Country Girl Page

Hi there!

I was going through my picture files and found this page I shared on the Scrapdoodles blog but I don't think I shared here...

Goodies:

paper: Country Drive line by Echo Park
wooden frames: Lil' Davis Designs (boy did I stash those a long time!)
letter stickers: Making Memories, Echo Park
cardstock stickers: Echo Park
pearls: Stampin' Up!

The picture is of Zoey when she was two... boy time goes fast! We were visiting my Dad's house in Snoqualmie, WA where I grew up. She loved that we could play outside for hours there. At the time, that was a luxury because we were living in a small apartment in the city.

We are having a great long weekend here! Today we're making plans for December and decorating our house with Christmas lights! We also caught the shopping bug and shopped till we dropped for 3 days straight! I caught lots of deals and saved over $500 by shopping the black Friday sales though- and I'm almost done with my Christmas lists! Yahoo!

Hope you are enjoying the last of your weekend! Thanks for stopping by to take a peek, too!

-tessa

Haunted Houses

Hello!

I finished up a fun project over the weekend that I am so excited to share! They turned out really cute:

Fun, right? I don't usually do too much Halloween decorating but I've been wanting to make these houses since summer time. They were inspired by a set of houses the Stampin' Up! convention attendees had a chance to make and I saw them online. I loved them and knew I had to make a Halloween set and hopefully a Christmas set, too! Here are some more detailed pictures:

I used a mix of My Minds Eye's Mischievous line and Echo Park's Apothecary line for the most part with some other bits and bobs thrown it, too. I stained the wood with Ranger's Distress Stains- don't they look cool? I love it!

These were really fun to work on and I decided to teach a class on it down at Scrapdoodles on October 8th. If you are interested in the details, please check out their blog for more information.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek at my houses today!

-tessa

From our Disney Vacation...

Good morning!

My day is not starting out as I had planned- I've got both girls home from school (one sick and one for speech screening) and I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by the house full! I don't think anything on my to do list is going to be done today... I guess there is always tomorrow, right?

Today I am posting another page from our first day at Disney World. We went to Typhoon Lagoon and we loved it! They had a fun area just for little kids and these pictures were taken there on a cute little waterslide they had. The girls would go down and then run back up to the top to go again! Serious fun for these girls! Here is my page:

I used Echo Park's Splash line on this page. I sanded the edges and added a sprinkle of my white Mr. Huey spray just for fun. I also popped up some of my stickers. I know... very simple! I like how it turned out though.

OK! Gonna keep it short so I can go take care of these kiddos!

-tessa

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

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