One Last Christmas Card

Fresh Squeezed Stamps is having a challenge using an adorable Christmas digi. I couldn't resist and, to be honest, I'm still in the Christmas spirit!

Images are a little tricky for me so this really was a challenge. I am not big on coloring - I LOVE when other people do it, I just am not usually happy with my results. So, I had to get a little creative. I did color the wreath and bird in with my Spectrum markers. However for the house I used my blending chalks. I added holly to the birdie's wreath with Stickles and some white glitter finished off the snow-capped roof. The printed paper is from last year's Christmas line by Bo Bunny.

You can check out the challenge by going to the Fresh Squeezed Stamps blog. And, if you like my card, you can vote for it by clicking the "Like" button.

Thanks for reading and I hope you're enjoying your holidays as much as I am!

XOXO,

My Dark Side Harry Potter Layout

It's the first week of the month meaning it's my turn over at Scrap it With a Song. This week the challenge is "Dark Side" by Kelly Clarkson. I have to be honest here. When I saw the challenge, I had to YouTube the song because I didn't recognize it. Once I listened to it I realized what a powerful song it is.

This song is all about having a dark side. The video has very touching images. Once I had the song down, I struggled with what to make with it. The first thing that came to mind was my struggles with my career. I know many teachers struggle with this these days. However, I wasn't sure if I was ready to scrap such a difficult issue.

One night it hit me - I have never scrapped any of my Harry Potter movie premiere pictures! Since the books and movies are about dark times, I thought it would work. So that is what I went with.

My friend Angela was lucky and received tickets to a special pre-screening of the last installment of the Harry Potter films. Since she knows what a Potter-Head I am, she invited me! It was an amazing experience!

I've had this Harry Potter paper sitting in my stash for a year now. I was thrilled to finally pull it out. Along with the paper, I had also purchased some matching stickers. They didn't really stand out so I glued them to some chipboard (actually just some old cardboard from a cereal box!) and smeared Glossy Accents on them. I hand cut the wand and made a small sunburst. I outlined the letters in the title with a black pen to make them pop. I added some washi tape as a finishing touch.

If you're interested in this challenge, please visit Scrap it With a Song. I also found this awesome sketch over at The Sampler Kit Club!

XOXO,

Witchy Wishes Halloween Card

This year I could not WAIT for October to finally get here. We have had an insanely hot few months here in Southern California and I was so ready for apple cider, cozy scarves and cooler weather. Well, even though it's October, it was 100 degrees yesterday. So much for cooler weather!

Despite our extended summer, I still decided to break out the Halloween supplies. I made this card to help me get into the spirit.

This new collection is by We R Memory Keepers. I did some heat embossing when I stamped "Witchy" and the spider. Then I did some dry embossing using my Cuttlebug.

I also found the sketch on The Sampler Kit Club blog. I recently discovered this blog and they have the best sketches!

Thanks for reading! Hope you are enjoying REAL fall weather, wherever you are. As for me, looks like it's flip flops and tank tops for another week!

I am also entering this card in these embossing challenges:











XOXO,

I Feel...WICKED!

Three years ago my husband took me to see the play Wicked. I saw it two more times after that because I loved it so much. I've had pictures from that first show I went to buried in my picture stash, waiting for me to decide how to use them. On the Shop Hop last year I came across the Wizard of Oz collection by Graphic 45 and then it sat there for a little while until I came up with this:

I still get choked up whenever I hear any of the songs from Wicked. My husband very patiently waited behind the Pantages Theater with me that night while I waited for the actors to come out and sign autographs. So I knew that I needed an extra special display for these pictures.

I used three acrylic transparencies and connected them with ribbon. I used paper from an old dictionary for the flowers. The title was printed on the computer and cut on my Cricut. This little display sits on my scrap desk and it still makes me smile!

I am linking this up to Scrap it With a Song, whose challenge just happens to be this exact song title! Thanks for looking!


XOXO,

Pages From the Heart Challenge: Paint or Mist

Pages from the Heart is up today with a brand-new challenge. The challenge is to incorporate paint or mist into a project. Usually paints and mists are not really a go-to product for me. I love how they look on other people's layouts, but am never quite happy with it on my own things. So instead of using paint on paper I used it on dryer sheets!

Yes, dryer sheets.

I made this layout using a sketch by Allison Davis. The pictures are from last summer when my friends and I had tea at the Huntington Memorial Library. The fun, bright colors of Doodlebug's Colorwheel collection were perfect for matching a girl's day out.

Supply List: Doodlebug Colorwheel Paper - Fancy Florals and Cute Cuts, Doodlebug Petite Prints Paper - Lilac Dot-Grid, Bumblebee Dot-Grid, Doodlebug Colorwheel Stickers, Doodlebug Jack & Jill Bubblegum Alphabet Stickers, Doodlebug Jack & Jill Bubblegum Alphabet Rub-Ons, My Little Shoebox Mini Alphabet Stickers in Lilac, Black and White Cardstock

Epiphany Crafts Round 25 Punch and Epoxies , Lollipop Flower: Sprinklers Color Mist in All Aboard, Used Fabric Softener Dryer Sheet

For the mist challenge I used the Sprinklers Color Mist in All Aboard that I purchased at Pages From the Heart. I started with a used fabric softener dryer sheet that I painted with the color mist. Once it had dried (I used a heat gun to help it along) I cut three circles, making sure that each was a little smaller that the previous one. I stapled the three together and then stapled it onto my paper (glue dots will work but a staple is sturdier). To add some shine, I outlined each circle with Stickles. I finished my flower by adding an Epiphany Crafts epoxy to the center to cover up the staple. 

Read the details on the challenge and how to enter over at Pages From the Heart. If you live near Pasadena, CA and you have not been in to the store, you must! It's a beautiful place in the center of downtown Monrovia.  


Can I just say that I can not get enough of this Doodlebug collection! You have not seen the last of it either!


XOXO,

End of the Line: A Zippy Layout

When Ben and I traveled to Costa Rica last fall we knew that the one tour we really wanted to do was a ziplining tour. We used Ecotrans (awesome tour company if you stay near Playa Flamingo!) for the Congo Trail Canopy Tour.

I am terrified of heights so I was very nervous entering our first line. But once I got going, I had a blast! I didn't try any crazy tricks  like going upside down or flying like Superman, but of course Ben went for it. He was a total professional!

The jungle was really beautiful. While flying down the ziplines, we also enjoyed iguanas, howler monkeys, and exotic plants. It was hands-down the most adventurous thing I have ever done!

So for my first layout from our Costa Rica Trip, I went with a ziplining layout!

End of the Line layout journaling reads: While in Costa Rica we went to the Congo Trail Canopy where we traveled down eleven lines and crossed several suspension bridges. We were even joined by howler monkeys! It was scary at first but we quickly got the hang of it. After all this means no fear"

Supplies: Bo Bunny Zoology Collection paper, Authentique and Thickers alphabet stickers, brads, memory thread

I saw the challenge over at Scrap it With a Song was REM's "It's the End of the World as we Know It" and thought I could play with the title and make it "End of the Line." There is also a line in the song that says, "After all this means no fear." That was the perfect sentiment for this layout! I used a sketch that I found on Sketch Support to make this layout. I made the banner in the sketch into a mini zipline by adding a tree.

Thanks for reading and happy weekend!

XOXO,

Organization - What's That? Organizing my Small Scrapbook Space

Time for another Pages From the Heart Challenge! This month the topic is organization.

I will be completely honest here. When I saw that the upcoming challenge had to do with organization, I kind of panicked. My husband even laughed a little (he quickly covered it up) when I told him I had to give examples of how to organize the chaos that is my craft area. After a few weeks of, "What on Earth am I going to do?" I finally pulled it together. The most difficult part for me about organization is that I have a very small space to work with and SOOOOO much stuff to cram into it! Before I became too overwhelmed, I decided to tackle some of my biggest problem areas for this challenge: ribbon, punches, and small embellishments.

My work space and pretty table with pink legs!

The small embellishments and ribbons came together over a few evenings. A friend of mine was getting rid of some small fixtures and I asked if I could take a couple. I had purchased a package of small plastic bottles and the shelves were the perfect size for them. My best friend happened to be over as I was working on this and since she loves to organize, she got involved too. She brought me some baby food jars and I spray painted all of the lids silver. Then we got to sorting ALL of my small embellishments. I had no idea how much space all of that packaging was taking up! Then a different friend gave me some quart sized mason jars which were perfect for the ribbon!

Embellishment Jars

Next were the punches. I had an old, over the door shoe rack that I wasn't using so I hung it over the back of a door close to my desk and put all of my punches in the slots. I had also been saving spaghetti sauce jars (poor husband didn't realize why we had been eating so much spaghetti lately) which were perfect, after I spray painted the lids, for holding flowers.  I had originally wanted the jars for ribbon but the opening was too small.

Although it took a lot of work, I am so happy that my craft area is beginning to look somewhat organized. I'm hoping that if my stash is easily accessible and in sight that I will actually begin to use some of it. So thank you for making me get to work!

If you'd like to take part in this challenge or just check out more ideas from the other design team members, go to the Pages blog today. If you decide to enter the challenge, you have the chance to win a great prize pack.

Pages is also having a design team crop on Saturday!

And, if you want to meet the Design Team, please join us at the first ever Design Team Crop taking place January 21 from 1-9!  We'll have snacks, dinner and a great make-n-take for everyone that participates!  We can't wait to meet everyone!  Please call the store to make your reservation!

Hope to see you there and hope your 2012 is an organized one!

XOXO,

Technically Inclined...or Challenged?

My husband is addicted to his phone. Like as in I have had to confiscate it a time or two at the dinner table. Most of the time it is work-related so I have learned to accept it. And, of course, scrap it.

I won the Robotz collection by Best Creation a few months ago and it worked perfectly for a technology layout. My husband's co-workers like taking these "paparazzi" pictures of each other and these two in particular are some of my favorites. They remind me of the hard work he does and how much he has accomplished. I am so proud of him!

Journaling: "Whether in a busy airport or in the tunnel before a big game, your phone is your #1 companion!"

The first picture is of Ben at the Colorado airport on his way to the Olympic trials. In the second picture he is in the tunnel waiting to go onto the field for a WPS game (that's Marta in the background who is considered to be one of the world's best soccer players to have ever played).

I am entering this in ScrapFIT's Workout #56: Technically Inclined. In case you haven't figured it out, my husband is the "inclined" and I am the "challenged." :)

XOXO,

November Monthy Challenge over at Pages From the Heart!

Pages From the Heart is having a new monthly challenge!

Since it's November and so close to Thanksgiving and Christmas, I was thinking of a good color combo that could be for both Holidays and so our November Challenge is a Color Challenge!  Please create a project - any project - that has maroon, green and gold in it!  Take a look at what our Design Team created with this color combo!
 

Here is the sample that I created using maroon, green, and gold:

I created this layout using a sketch from one of my sketch books. I used paper from the We R Memory Keepers Peppermint Twist Collection. This paper has a lot of evergreen and maroon in it so I added highlights of bronze with ribbon, eyelets, and a brad. I used my round 14 Epiphany punch to add some small ornaments and cut the large ornaments with my Cricut. I finished the layout with some journaling strips and I also just happened to have some evergreen letter stickers! The title perfectly describes my friends and I. We make a point to go to Disneyland together at least a few times a year and this particular trip last winter was to celebrate my friend's birthday. There's nothing like Christmas at the Magic Kingdom!

Supplies:

We R Memory Keepers – Peppermint Twist Collection

Assorted Cardstock

Epiphany Crafts Round 14 Punch and Epoxies

Letter Stickers

Bronze Brads and Eyelets

Ribbon

Christmas Cheer Cricut Cartridge (Ornaments)

Mickey Font Cricut Cartridge (Title)

You can see more samples by the other fabulous team members and directions on how to enter the challenge on the Pages blog. There is a goody bag for the winner of this challenge!

XOXO,

Mellow Yellow

Have you ever had a project that was so daunting that you put it off...and put it off again? That is how I have felt about my wedding scrapbook. I am obviously an avid scrapbooker so people assume I would have finished months ago but I am just so intimated by it that for the last ten months all I had done was buy the paper! I mean how do you go about picking pictures when you have over 800 images and you love 110% of them! So a few weeks ago, with the help of my friend Michelle, I FINALLY got started on a layout. I started with a sketch by Becky Fleck and some beautiful paper I bought by the ton by Pebbles.

I really like this paper because the black and white is so elegant and the yellow just gives it the right pop of color. And a special thank you to Michelle for letting me raid her letter stickers and giving me the idea for making a "ring!"

Now let's hope it doesn't take me another 10 months to make a second layout! I'm entering this in a contest over at Scrap It With a Song which is a really fun blog that posts challenges that are inspired by songs. This week's challenge is to create a project inspired by Coldplay's "Yellow." I'm also entering it over at ScrapFIT's Salt and Pepper Workout!

I'm off to finish the last book in The Hunger Games trilogy. I can't put it down!

XOXO,

Be our guest! Be our guest!

A few weeks ago I shared that I had won my very first scrapbooking contest that was held on the Pages From the Heart blog. As if that wasn't cool enough, a few days later I was asked if I would consider being a guest designer for their blog for the month of July.

Oh. My. Goodness.

To say I was ecstatic would be a major understatement. I had a permanent smile on my face for a week afterwards. I promptly picked up my kit and got started! I will be doing three assignments for the team and the first was revealed today.

The Pages blog is having another challenge and I needed to create a sample for it. The challenge is to create a card, layout, or project using a grid design.

Creating a grid takes some thinking and measuring. Using a sketch can make the job considerably easier. I used one of Becky Fleck's Pagemaps from November 2010 to help me with some of the measurements. I think my favorite part of this layout are the kitty face epoxies! I made these using my Epiphany Crafts Punch. These pictures were taken while I was working on a wedding project (that never came to fruition) and Normandy was being nosy until he finally fell asleep in the craft bag!

You can read the Page's post about the contest and my sample here.

I never quite knew where this scrapbooking road would take me but so far it's been a great ride. Teaching classes lets me use my teaching skills while sharing something I love. Now with these design assignments I truly get to explore my creative side while definitely challenging myself. I feel so incredibly blessed and am thankful for every one's support.

Have a safe and Happy 4th of July!

XOXO,

Giving Myself a Self-Five, Stinston Style!

About a week ago I entered an online scrapbook challenge from a local scrapbook store, Pages From the Heart. The challenge was to create a layout, card, or project using kraft, yellow, and grey.

So I created this layout...

...and I won!

Yay me! My first contest! I couldn't believe it when I opened up their blog and saw my layout.

I scrapped this picture of Ben from our wedding day. I used metal embellishments to create the flourishes/stems and paper from a dictionary to make the flowers. I also used my awesome new Epiphany Crafts punch to make the center of the flowers. I can't get enough of this thing!

It's so exciting and rewarding to be recognized for your work. You can check out the Pages post here. Thanks for reading! I'm off to give myself a cookie.

XOXO,

Best Creation Birthday Card Challenge

I've been SUPER busy working on some new challenges and classes so I will have lots to share in the next few weeks.

The latest challenge I decided to try was by Best Creation. The challenge was to create a birthday card using any of their paper. When I saw their new birthday line I decided to pick some up because I liked how bright and colorful it was. Luckily my best friend's birthday is coming up (so if you are reading BFF act surprised ok?) so this birthday card challenge was perfect!

Made this tonight while watching American Idol with the hubby (Stefano all the way!).

Happy Friday everyone!

XOXO,

Bo Bunny's Layout Challenge - "Before and After"

I am participating in my first scrapbooking challenge! I decided to try out Bo Bunny's latest challenge which was "Before and After." As soon as I read it I knew exactly what I was going to scrapbook - the mister and I!

Ben and I met in high school and we got married in November of last year after ten years together. I dug around for our prom portrait (thank goodness Grandma saved a copy!) to show "Before" and chose one of my favorite shots from our wedding for the "After."

I used papers from Bo Bunny's ADORABLE new Crazy Love collection along with some from the Dot line.

I found this pretty lace at a fabric store. What do you think? Do we look the same? =)

I used some Diamond Glaze on the title and added pretty jeweled brads.

Supplies Used: Bo Bunny's Crazy Love Collection, Blush Dot and Passion Fruit Dot
Other Supplies: Lace, Bo Bunny Staples, jewels, glitter, and Diamond Glaze

So that's my first contest entry! I had a lot of fun making this page and I look forward to many more challenges! Thanks for checking this out! Next week I'll be posting some pictures of my next couple of classes.

XOXO,