Circle Flip Up Book

When I go to my monthly scrapping "book club" we get to do a make and take while we are there - inspired by the book and provided by the store. Plus we get 2 kits to make from the book (I'll get to those kits after I finish making Valentines).

For this month's make and take, it was to create a circle flip up book. I was so excited because I had seen a tutorial on Splitcoaststampers last month but hadn't gotten around to making one yet. Instead of using the papers the store provided, I picked out Valentine's paper to make an album for my daughter.

This is the product. The book is closed here, tied with ribbon. Untie the ribbon and it unfolds to this-

Then you tie the ribbons again and the album stays open. Section 1-

Section 2-

Section 3-

Section 4-

Another pic of the last section. You can get the idea of how it looks completely open.

This is so cute in person. I had to "let go" (quite often) because I didn't want to waste time trying to find pictures that would fit perfectly into the wedges. And my biggest complaint is the cover - I wanted the title to be "Brooke's First Loves" with the S on the end. But there's no room for the "s" AND I've run out of them in the pack of stickers.

I've spent about a day and a half working on this - off and on when my daughter would allow! Luckily, she had a little friend to play with tonight for about 2 hours after dinner. I would say that's when most of this came together. I was very lucky that many of the supplies in my stash coordinated with the paper :)

The book really was quite easy to assemble - don't be intimidated! To see other samples, you can click here - some don't use photos or at least not as many as I did. I think they look nice that way too.

Valentine's Day Cards

I spent the day yesterday avoiding housework by making these-

I'll be mailing these to grandparents since I'm not sure they'll appreciate getting a card with a skull on it from their 3 year old granddaughter!

Both cards were inspired by Kristina. I don't think I ever used Kraft card stock before but I've loved what she's been doing with it! Making the heart was a challenge, mainly because I was limited with my buttons. I think a glass of wine would have made that experience a lot more fun!

And I'm thinking of adding glitter to the inside of the heart on the left - what do you think?

Color Inspiration #39

I was so disappointed to not participate in last week's challenge. But with the week I was having, it just wasn't possible...and the colors were so nice, too.

Here is this week's challenge. I don't think I ever would have thrown So Saffron in with these other colors - but they really did go together nicely!

The hardest part this week was getting a picture that would show the depth. The entire bird minus the legs are popped off of the card. And that wing is popped up off of the body, too. I went outside but then I had to fight the wind... This is the best I could get :( Maybe I'll try again later this afternoon.

Waiting during my glucose test yesterday, I was flipping through the latest issue of - I think Scrapbooks, Etc. I fell in love with this birdy! So that was my inspiration though I had to change it up since I needed to fit the color design. I can't wait to make the bird again on a scrapbook page :)

Thanks for looking!

Back on Etsy!

With how productive I've been lately, I decided I should list my most recent creations for sale in the shop. For V-day, I want to play to get a card to coordinate with a picture of my daughter (yes, it will probably have a skull!) so I have no need for the cards I've recently made.

The first 5 months of pregnancy really threw me for a loop... So I'm hoping I can keep up better with my Etsy shop - at least for the next few months!

There's a link to the shop in the sidebar to the left - thanks for stopping by!

I'm finally satisfied!

I finished the "Cousins" layout and I'm pretty happy with it! The perfectionist in me thinks I could always improve something... but I'd like to put this up and work on something else for a while! {Clicking on any picture will take you to Flickr...where I hope you can see it better}



There is a lot of detail in the title that just can't come across well in the picture. Glitter, stickles, rhinestones... The "C" actually does look much better in person, it shows up too dark here.

The great thing about taking so long to get this done is all of the embellishments I found going through my stuff. Instead of needing journaling, I used little strips that I already had! The green is a little off, but not too bad. The flower in the center is actually chipboard and I had to add rhinestones to balance with the skull on the other page ;)



You can see where the flash reflects that there is glitter on the white heart lace paper. That stands out more in person. The dimension to the skull and flowers also doesn't show on the photo. I promise, if the girl's shirts and bows weren't skulls I wouldn't have incorporated the skull...if you were looking around my blog you'd think I used it on everything! Have I mentioned that I *heart* rhinestones?!? LOL I may have gone overboard decorating that skull...



I made this layout using a kit from the Pinecone Press Bookclub. I did this club several years ago with a friend of mine but we both stopped due to pregnancies and time constraints. I never did many layouts back then because 1) I was working and had less time and 2) I didn't have my daughter to be my subject! I tried the club this month to see if I'd like it...and I'm LOVING it! I already used the other kit to make a gift for a birthday - it was a flip album. The main reason I decided to return was to get myself motivated to get more pages done - I would say it's working so far!

Thanks for looking! Comments are welcome but most things are permanently on the page now so try not to suggest major overhauls ;)

So much better!

I was completely happy with this one when I made it. I knew it was missing something but I was under a time crunch.... Then days later I realized I just needed to back the pink strip of card stock with white. Here's what I came up with! It's not my favorite card ever but I'm happier with it. Maybe if I'd backed it all on white I'd be happier still...

Color Challenge #37

But only #2 for me :)

This is the challenge we were given. I love how she finds inspiration in everyday items!

I did not have any Baja Breeze paper, but the buttons are Baja Breeze...So I chose the closest blue paper I had, the retired Bliss Blue. I really wanted to actually stitch the buttons for the extra little pop of white from the thread...but I couldn't find my white thread :(

All items are Stampin' Up! except for the white flower button. I'm totally excited (and probably the last to know) that I can make the scalloped edge using the slit punch!

Thanks for looking ;)

I need feedback!

I've spent too long on this layout already. I'm trying to get better about it not having to be perfect but oh my gosh...With these pictures I feel like the layout has to be spectacular!

I'm trying to not do too much on the page so that it doesn't distract from the photos. But this just seems too bare. I need to add journaling - will probably do strips of cardstock over the striped paper. I'm not in love with the skull but felt like the page needed something else. Using white for the skull instead of pink made it all fade into the heart paper too much. I'm thinking of wrapping some ribbon around the bottom part of the photo on the right.

So what do you think? Needs more or is good how it is? I need for Super T's mom to email me ideas she might include for journaling. I thought it would be neat to have both of us contribute :) If you come across this site, are in the Houston area and want great pictures like these, click here!

Color Challenge #36

Update:
I wasn't happy with the first and have added a little layering the middle strip....

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I found this blog recently that does color challenges...I didn't think I would ever want to participate but I loved the color combination this week! Here's my submission:


For this color challenge: