Gettin' By

A very special Saturday Giveaway!

Since we're kicking off the first official weekend of summer, I though it would be appropriate to do a fabulous giveaway to celebrate warmer weather, cooler drinks, and of course, all things crafty. Creative Memories recently released a brand new Stamper System with interchangeable acrylic stamps and ink pads (You can check out a quick video demo here.)

This is such a nifty, innovative tool and I had a ball creating some projects with it!

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On this page, I used the For Him and Be Young stamp sets with the Aqua & Cactus ink cartridge. It was a quick and easy way to make cute embellishment circles for my page.

I also made a set of tags (the Creative Memories Tag Maker is one of my very favorite punches!) using the Birthday Wishes and For Her stamp sets with the Honey & Berry ink cartridge. These would be perfect for gift tags or a simple card embellishment.

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So now the good part! I'm giving away a complete Creative Memories Stamper System, which includes the base system, all four stamp sets I've used in my projects here and four ink cartridges (Black, Brown, Aqua & Cactus, Honey & Berry). 

If you'd like to be entered to win, just leave me a comment below. ** Comments will stay open until Wednesday, May 30 when I'll randomly draw a winner. And I apologize to my international readers, but this giveaway is open only to US residents.

Enjoy your long weekend, my friends!

**Please be sure to leave a contact email in your comment if you are not signed in to Typepad.  Comments will remain open until the morning of May 30 (whenever I've consumed enough caffeine to function) and the winner will be randomly drawn from the comments, announced at the bottom of this post, and contacted via email (if possible). Winners must be US residents and provide a shipping address for the prize within the United States.  And that concludes the fine print. Yahoo!

UPDATED WITH WINNER: Congrats to Linda, who wins the complete Creative Memories Stamper System!

Project Life: Week 11 (The post where I make lots of excuses for not blogging.)

Yes, I am still plugging away at Project Life. And I had good intentions to post this latest spread over the weekend. But all these other activities like a hot air balloon launch, 12-mile run, town fair, and backyard barbeque popped up and they sounded like more fun than blogging Project Life so I opted to do those instead. Though I guess I should clarify that the 12-mile run was not really fun at all. In fact, it kinda sucked.

But now it's Wednesday and I'm back. Don't ask me what happened to Monday and Tuesday. Because when it's the last week of school, and you're trying to make teacher gifts, attend end-of-year festivities, pack your kids (and dog!) for a trip to Nana's, pack yourself for a Memorial Day weekend wedding trip, and your husband is out of town...well, days tend to disappear rapidly. Along with much of your sanity.

But enough about me and my (lack of) sanity! On with PROJECT LIFE! Here's what I've got for Week 11. And let's just try to ignore the elephant in the room marching around carrying a sign that says  "YOU ARE NOW ONLY 10 WEEKS BEHIND!" Stupid elephant.

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Most of the supplies were leftovers from my JBS Mercantile kits, and I used a lot of the Echo Park goodies that were in the Project Kit this month. I like using kit scraps for these spreads, because everything is already coordinated and I spend less time searching my stash for matching items. The less thinking I have to do, the better!

This week included Mike's birthday, so I added an 8.5 x 11 insert with photos from that celebration and included part of a birthday card in the center square:

I also included an insert to hold additional birthday cards and memorabilia. I cut an 8.5 x 11 page protector in half and decorated the top edge with border stickers. I added a stamped circle tag and camera sticker and it nicely holds things that didn't fit on the other pages:

And now I'm off to finish those teacher gifts! Look for a post on these later this week (if I don't get distracted, of course!)

Whip-Up-A-Page Wednesday

Today I've got a page from the mid-month JBS Mercantile gallery for ya, featuring my sweet boy!

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The base of this design was established by grouping together several of the journaling cards from the Echo Park "This & That" line. I stamped the silhouette on one and used two more as photo mattes. I also included a manila tag, stamped with a JBS exclusive chevron stamp (look for it on sale in July). Some of the This & That stickers, popped up on foam squares finish the look, along with a die-cut title. (I used a calligraphy brush in Illustrator to create it.)

Hope you have a AMAZING Wednesday!

Whip-Up-A-Page Wednesday

It's time for another installment of Whip-Up-A-Page! As I was looking through the humungous and dangerously tall pile of layouts on my desk trying to determine which one to feature today, I came to the realization that I SUCK AT PUTTING LAYOUTS INTO ALBUMS.  Rather, I let them collect on my desk until they resemble the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and then I transfer them to our dining room table, where they will remain until Thanksgiving, the one time of year we actually use that table for dining purposes.

But enough about my inadequate organizational skills. I don't think I've featured this page on the blog yet (and if I have, well tough cookies! I'm OLD and I don't remember!) and it's one of my favorite recent creations.  The color combo + large chevrons just make me happy:

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I used papers from Lily Bee's new Buttercup line, with a dose of aqua and gray cardstock thrown in. That aqua color is one of my very favorites shades of Bazzill - Kachina. I buy it in bulk!

1.  Trim several strips of cardstock and patterned paper 1.5" wide. Arrange on background of page at an angle. Trim ends of each strip to line up (mine are cut at about a 120˚angle and I marked each strip with a pencil line before cutting).

2. Cut various circles sizes from patterned paper.  Layer with doilies, buttons, and stickers in the upper left side and lower right side of page.

3. Print three photos (mine are 3 x 3, 2.5 x 2.25 and 1.75 x 1.75) and adhere on top of circles.

4.  Add chipboard letters and journaling strips. Embellish buttons with twine.

And there you have it! Have fun and enjoy your Wednesday. (And keep your fingers crossed I'm not mortally injured by falling layout piles, ok?!)

Give-It-Away Thursday: JBS Mercantile!

Well hello Thursday! Looks like a perfect day to share some Jenni Bowlin kit goodness with y'all...and if you stick around, there's a giveaway, too!

Here's three of my pages from the May Mercantile kits, which contain all the bright colors and vibrant hues of spring. You can see the entire team's gallery right here, complete with detail shots and commentary.

My first page was created from just the Papercrafting Kit, and I had a hard time deciding which of the gorgeous papers to use. So I used them all, in the form of punched tags:

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Next I put my Silhouette to work cutting a grid of circles and then backed some of them with papers and embellies from the Papercrafting & Artisan Kits:

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And lastly I've got a page about my girly. Lately her favorite phrase is "Do you know how much I  love you?" so I wanted to do a page about just how much I love her!  The journaling is hidden on the back of the tag, which was cut from a vintage registration card in the Papercrafting Kit.

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Did you know that JBS Mercantile is now offering a mini-album kit each month? Each kit is designed by a member of the design team, and this month's offering was compiled by the fabulous Shimelle! If you're a mini-lover, be sure and check it out. Quantities are limited and they will go fast!

{Mini-Album Kit for May JBS Mercantile by Shimelle Laine }

And speaking of mini-album kits, I've got one to give away.  It's the travel-themed kit I designed for JBS in April, and it's one of only two still available. Packed with lots of new Studio Calico, Jillibean Soup, and Jenni Bowlin, you can use it create a mini like this one:

If you'd like to be entered to win, just leave me a comment below.** Comments will stay open until Monday morning when I'll randomly draw a winner. Drawing is opening to everyone - internationals included!

Happy Thursday!

**Please be sure to leave a contact email in your comment if you are not signed in to Typepad.  Comments will remain open until the morning of  May 7 (whenever I drag my butt out of bed, make coffee, and log on to Typepad) and the winner will be randomly drawn from the comments and posted here. And that should keep the lawyers happy. Now go enter to win! And stop reading this drivel!

UPDATED WITH WINNER:  Congrats to Denise C, who's lucky #55 and the random winner of the mini kit! Denise, shoot me an email and I'll get your kit out to you! 

Give-It-Away Thursday: Scrapbooks, Etc.

My week has been filled with lots of things: doctor's appointments, overseeing various school projects, lots of homework (for the kids), laundry, volleyball, a tuxedo rental (for Mike), trips to the tailor, and a random grocery run when I discovered that dry cat food and tomato soup do not a suitable family meal make. None of which left me much time to draft any witty blog posts. And even if I'd had the time, it's doubtful there would have been anything worth reading being typed over here.  Apparently the part of my brain that used to be capable of stringing together a semi-entertaining tale has high-tailed it out of town with an open-ended airline ticket to Vegas, where's it gambling away my retirement fund and taking in a show or two. (At least that's what I like to imagine has happened. Because just saying I have writer's block is so, you know, mundane.)  

Luckily, not all my creative mojo has gone AWOL. I am currently in the midst of a scrapping fury with the May JBS Mercantile kit, which is an absolutely perfect combination of colors, textures, and brand-spankin' new products that I've been dying to get my hot little hands on. Of course, being that my writing skills are so hampered of late, I don't really have any clever commentary to add to these sneak photos. So will you settle for "Lookie here!  Pretty scrap stuff!" ?!?

At any rate, believe me when I say this kit is GOOD. Even if I did have the mental capacity to string together an effective description, words simply couldn't do it justice. Suffice it to say I'd be marking my calendar for the May 1st sale if I were you. (Don't say I never gave you any good advice!)

And finally, in an effort to make up for my missing writing mojo, I thought I better offer up a little giveaway to those of you still reading. I've got two new issues of Scrapbooks, Etc. (April 2012 and Febrary 2012) to send out to someone.  I promise the contents will be more inspiring than this blog of late. If you'd be interested in them, just leave me a comment below!** I'll draw a name on Monday and send the winner a little happy mail.

And if you happen to see that missing part of my brain at the roulette tables, tell it get home soon (for all our sakes'!)

**Please be sure to leave a contact email in your comment if you are not signed in to Typepad.  Comments will remain open until the morning of April 27 (whenever I drag my butt out of bed, make coffee, and log on to Typepad) and the winner will be randomly drawn from the comments, announced at the bottom of this post, and contacted via email (if possible). Internationals are welcome to enter, but you'll have to pay postage on the shipment. And that concludes the fine print. Yahoo!

UPDATED WITH WINNER:  Congrats to Lori, who was the randomly selected winner of the magazines. Shoot me an email Lori, and I'll mail them out to you asap! :)

Quotables.

It's inevitable that when you have the smartest, wittiest kids on the planet (not that I'm biased or anything), you are going to hear some classic quips from their mouths. Which is why I keep a notebook handy for recording those always-hilarious snippets from our daily conversations. The contents never fail to make me smile, like these two recent entries:

"These teachers are totally infringing upon my First Amendment rights!"
-Hayden, relating how he was admonished for talking during class (and not coincidentally, during a lesson on the Constitution.)

Riely: I can type my last name really fast!
Me: Have you been practicing a lot in computer lab?
Riely: No, I was just born talented.

See what I mean? And speaking of those two, I've got a page to share featuring the entertaining duo.  It's part of a Sketch Challenge that's going on over at the Lily Bee blog (which you should totally check out!)

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Wishing you a Wednesday is filled with quotable moments!

Give-It-Away Thursday: Online Card Classes

CLASS DETAILS:  Are you a die cutting expert or do you consider yourself a novice? Do you prefer a traditional die cutting machine or would you rather use your computer to design what you’ll be cutting? Or maybe you’re just not sure! Never fear, we’re here to help! Join Kristina Werner, Jennifer McGuire, guest instructor Nichol Magouirk and many great guests (including me!) for A Cut Above, as they show you the ins and outs and everything you need to know about the various die cutting systems.

You’ll leave class with the knowledge of numerous tips and creative techniques for using the Big Shot, Vagabond, Cuttlebug and Grand Calibur with various types of dies and embossing folders, as well as the Silhouette Cameo. The first half of class will be devoted to traditional die cutting methods and the second half will be focused on the increasingly popular Silhouette (Cameo, SD, and original Silhouette). Simple to complex, beginning to advanced – we’ll cover it all!

This three-week interactive class includes free downloads (including some from guest artist Ali Edwards), BIG prizes, galleries, a Q&A forum and lifetime access! Class runs April 16 to May 7, but content will be available for a lifetime.

GIVEAWAY DETAILS: I'm giving away spots in the A Cut Above online class to three lucky blog readers.  If you'd like to be entered to win , just leave me a comment below, and be sure you are signed in to Typepad or leave me an email where you can be reached. Comments will stay open until Sunday morning, April 15, when I've had enough coffee to wake up, at which point I'll post the lucky winners here.  Giveaway is open to everyone - internationals included!

UPDATED WITH WINNERS:  Congrats to the three winners! I've emailed you :)

Whip-Up-A-Page Wednesday

Whew - I made it to Wednesday! And if you had witnessed the first two days of my week, you'd know that's a reason to celebrate.  So let's toast to Wednesday being the day that signifies the-weekend-is-two-days-away-HURRAY!  (okay??)

Thought I'd revive the ol' Whip Up A Page today with a layout I did for Lily Bee a few weeks back. I had been pondering all the possibilties for whiling away the moments of the extra day that Leap Year provides. The photo collage (which features a whopping seven Instagram photos) highlights those ideas.

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The whole design sits atop a striped background that I created by alternating the Lemonade and Linen polka dot papers from Lily Bee's Handmade line.

I tucked in an index card from the Buttercup line for a little pop of yellow:

And the title is a combo of Thickers and a die cut from the Silhouette:

And that's about all I can whip up for today! Wishing you all the best as we slide into the weekend! (Can I get a HELL, YEAH!?)

Oh The Places You'll Go

Well hello there Monday. I'm back after a week of absolute spring break perfection in the Bahamas with the family and quite honestly, I'm not so sure I'm ready to back. But that's probably the best indication of an excellent vacation, right?

If you're also coming back from spring break travels (or even if you're headed out on vacation this week!) you might want to check out my travel-themed project kit over at JBS Mercantile this month. It's a mini-album kit packed with brand new Studio Calico, Jillibean Soup, Hambly, and of course, Jenni Bowlin Studio goodies. There's also some fantastic chipboard and tags from Bananafish Studio. All of which you can use to compile a cute little album documenting your adventures. Here's what I did with mine:

While the contents are loosely travel-themed, you can certainly use the kit for a variety of other topics, too. I chose to highlight some of my favorite quotes about life, adventure, and inspiration paired with pictures of my kiddos. You can purchase the entire kit, complete with supplies and instructions for assembly, over at Jenni Bowlin Mercantile.

And with that, I'm off to gulp down my coffee and tackle this Monday, despite the fact that no sandy beaches, tropical drinks, or dolphin interactions are on the agenda. Sigh...welcome back to reality, Mrs. Dickinson.

P.S.  Today is also the last day you register for Ella Publishing's Spring Training at a discounted rate of $39.99.  And you can totally use the money you save toward a stylin' new pair of legwarmers for the event. So go get signed up and I'll see you at our first Design Workout!