Stuck On U Sketches ~Getting To Know Me~ Blog Hop

Stuck on U Sketches
"Get To Know Me"
Blog Hop!

 Well it feels like this hop has been in the planning forever so I am pretty thrilled the time has finally come! We have an incredible Design Team at Stuck on U Sketches and wanted everyone to have a chance to get to know us a little bit better and so, this hop was born! 

 First you will start at SOUS for the hop and you'll find all the info there but if you've come from Fern Riley's blog then you are doing good...you'll find my blog candy info at the end of this post...

 So, about those "getting to know me" questions...here I go...

1. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Why?
Yellow! That was easy, it's always been my favorite color (next to blue) and represents my happy, sun-shiny personality! LOL!

2. What would people be surprised to learn about you?
I don't drive. Never ever learned...I know, unbelievable in this day and age.

3. What 5 things are always on your crafting table?
Tombow Mono Multi Glue, my lefty scissors, Distress Inks, dimensional adhesive
and a glass mat.

4. Your go-to embellishment is ...
Stickles (I think that counts)

5. What is your all-time favorite crafting tool?
my Cricut Expression, followed closely by my Cuttlebug

6. Tell us about your family .. first in one word. Then in a sentence or two.
F U N K Y
I've been married for 9 years. Our first born was adopted locally, the second came soon after so they are a year and a half apart and then #3. So 3 kids in 5 years!
I am one of 6 kids and my parents are still married, my sisters are my best friends!
I am more in love now then ever and happier then I've ever been in my life!

7. What is your dream vacation?
Disney World set up in some far off tropical island with my whole family
and ALL my crafty friends from around the world! A scrap retreat
meets Disney! LOL!

8. Who is your favorite crafty company?
Echo Park

9. Tell us a bit about your crafty style.
I really don't feel like I have a style but I am drawn to vivid color and fun prints.
My pages are more "fun" then CAS or shabby chic or whatever... =)

10. Where do you live? 
I live in the San Francisco Bay Area (Nor Cal baby!)




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Never Say Never

 I looked through photos of myself and always have wanted to scrap this very pregnant iPhone picture of myself but it had an awful background (of a pizza place, LOL) so I used this beach picture I took and photoshopped them together! Go me! Anyways, my biggest life story is the story of my kids so that's the best place to start for "getting to know me". 

 "Never say never" comes from how I would go on and on and on about NEVER being a pregnant person. My story is a little different as I wanted to adopt my children instead of having them biologically. So that's what we did...until getting pregnant even with using birth control! I thought my world had been turned upside-down...it had, having kids no matter how they come to you, is an adjustment to say the least! So this is my story.

 I've used Simple Stories for the paper and stickers. Everyday Life is a stamp with a sticker added to it. The bee is chipboard from Sassafrass. The "flower" was meant to be a complete circle but I didn't measure correctly so went with the half flower thing! LOL! 

 The months and years my babies were born...and showing off the 4 layers of borders.

 And my journaling.... I knew I wanted to really write on this layout so started looking for ledger paper so that I'd have lines to write on...the rest was picking what paper to go with it!

 And lastly as promised a little treat to share...This may not look like much but there is probably around 100 separate die cut pieces here! Seriously! I've used my well loved Papertrey Ink stamp and coordinating dies to create a bunch of goodies! I'm sorry the photo may be lousy but I was trying not to post so many separate photos. I hope you like! I'd love for you to become a follower but don't believe in making it a must to win. Thanks and best of luck!

 Ok tried to keep it short as I could! Well...next the hop hop hop will be to....Lisa Norris!

Thanks for coming by! I'll announce the blog candy winner on Monday!

Happy Birthday Little Lady ~The Cutting Cafe~

Happy Birthday Little Lady

 Last week when my daughter turned 6, I really wanted her to have a special card just from me (and Daddy). And lucky me had the chance to work with Cute Critters from The Cutting Cafe. This set is beyond darling and was a perfect chose for me. I used my photo editing software to combine the 2 images and then stretch the sentiment to fit. Of course, this was way to big even to make an envelope to fit but that's ok! This measures at well over 7 inches, I think she liked the larger size! 

 I printed both ladybugs again and then hand cut the prints to add, the popping of the printed paper and heart spots was a great added detail!

 The card started as just a circle but I knew I wanted more color then just the pink and the ladybugs so I punched a bunch of 1 in. circles from the same prints. I ran adhesive along the back and that made placing each circle pretty easy! A few flowers, punches leaves, buttons and dew drops and this made for one happy little girl! =0)

 Glad you came by today! I am hoping to post a bit more often so I hope you make it back to visit soon!

Scrapbook Expo Haul

What will $200 get you?

 Not much, or a ton, depending on where you shop! LOL! But this is my haul from going to the Scrapbook Expo at the Pleasanton County Fair. I hadn't gone in years, not really since I started crafting and when I went before, I think I was just all together too overcome to even know where to start. This time...much easier! I will say...save up because I WILL be bringing more cash next time! =o)

And as if shopping isn't good enough, right? I got to go with my wonderful friend Donna! Love ya girlie!

 A booth had My Minds Eye papers for a quarter each...I got some brad packs and chipboard pieces, all for about $20 something, which was killer since I got 80 or so sheets of paper! Woot Woot! I would have gotten more because some are that good! Got a few "firsts" as well...some label stickers from October Afternoon (spent all my money so couldn't get the collection packs! boo hoo!) and bakers twine (yeah, another first). We also came across Rubberneckers Stamps...LOVE! And the prices were GREAT so I got this extra large chicken wire background stamp for about $8!

 A booth had a deal for American Crafts paper...another first! So I got 4 packs there. Also about 20 sheets of bling for a dollar a piece! That's the most I've ever seen for $1! I got 3 Echo Park collection packs (because at $13 they were the best prices for collection packs that I saw). And then lastly some Nesties that were half off! Yay!

 I think I did pretty good! And now the real kicker....I think I am going to try and hold off until next Christmas before I buy anything else (okay, maybe not "anything" but you know....) I want to USE what I have and I think I've got enough to work with! Ya know?

 Glad I got to share! Thanks for checking it out....

Celebrate Easter ~SOUS Die Cut Challenge~

Celebrate Easter

 I love Friday's! Normally my hubby has the day off, not always and not today but I love knowing the weekend is here. No walking to school, no homework and hopefully something fun and always uninterrupted family time for us! But also...it's reveal challenge day for Stuck on U Sketches and today is a Die Cut Challenge day and we've got...BUNNIES! Cute! 

 I welded 2 of these bunnies together from Easter 2010 in my Gypsy to create this tiny tag card. Perfect to add onto a gift or gift bag! I cut the card then another piece to pop on the front, also added a bow from the same cart. Really so sweet in person!

 And a matching tag! I thought this would be cute on a Easter goody, a box of chocolates or something like that! I had all these scraps and was able to put this together in just minutes because everything was ready to go! Just chose this cut from Storybook, put the 2 printed papers together on the cutting mat so that they actually cut like this, with the seam hidden with the yarn. Celebrate is an Imagine cut.

 You all will be thrilled with the projects put together from our team this week so do stop in and visit SOUS! Has me very ready for Spring!

 Have you guys watched Touch yet? The new Kiefer Sutherland show on Fox? It's 2 for 2 and it's brought me to tears each time..."we live in a world where everything is possible"...all about a little boy that doesn't speak but can content the dots, so to speak. I wish we lived in a world where we did go out of our way to help someone else...let them know you care. Who can you reach out to today? Something to think about...

Ok thank you so much for coming by, have a wonderful weekend! Hugs!

My Baby Girl's Birthday Invites...Princess Party!

You're Invited

 As you know my little girl had her birthday party today actually, but her birthday was yesterday...I wanted to share with you the invites I made and I'll be back with LOTS of other birthday projects and photos! 

 Jordyn is in kindergarten now and eating school up! She loves school and everything that comes with it and I couldn't be anymore happy! So with her super love of school, I thought a party with her friends would be perfect...and she, like many young ladies loves anything girly and all things princess! So this is the invite I created...

 Cinderella is her most favorite princess so this silhouette was an easy choice, that and the frame are both from Happily Ever After. There is lots of shine to these cards. The gold frame, the glitter text print in the background, adding the Perfect Pearls to Cinderella (mist) and then I added the Perfect Pearls to the stamped banner, banner and sentiment.

 Here's a peek at the inside...

 And the whole lot...

  Can I tell you how cute the Mom's were, those that opened these in front of me...warmed me up to pieces! You and I may be used to stuff like this but not everyone see's projects every day, so it was really cool! As much a treat for me as it was for them! Makes me excited for the other projects I have in store to do...

Egg ~The Cutting Cafe~

Happy Birthday Jordyn!

Today is my little girl's 6th birthday and I can't believe it's here already,

or Spring for that matter! Tomorrow I am throwing my first "kids" party with 

every girl from her class! I'm so excited, she's so excited! LOL!

I can't wait to share photos and all the projects I had made for the day! So please

be on the look out for that! And onto my Cutting Cafe post for this week...

Egg

 Oh my gosh, I love Easter time! Spring time! It's such an incredible time of year! And I'm very excited to share this fun little shaped card from The Cutting Cafe. You can find that card here at the store! This is so perfectly Spring to me, even if not something so "Easter" but still seasonal. 

 The file offers the shaped card, a layer which I cut and embossed and sanded. Then each individual egg which I printed on patterned paper and hand cut out (as I did the entire card). Pastel prints are by K&Company (including banner pieces).

 I had some raw chipboard pieces that I painted with Distress Crackle paint in Antique Linen. I added the inked banner pieces and to make those feel more connected, I added very small bows. A few tiny Prima's, gems and punched leaves and I ADORE this card! I've had it sitting out since I created it! LOL!

 Visit back soon...I still have SO much to share! I am hoping next year that I will be blogging more often once my daughter starts 1st grade and I'm not going to school 3 times a day! LOL! 

 Not sure if you've noticed but I post just a couple days before the whole Cutting Cafe post goes up so please do check back into the Cafe Thursday to enjoy the entire team post! =o) 

 Wish me luck for tomorrow...I'm going to need it! 

Lakeside Love ~SOUS sketch March 16~

Lakeside Love

 I'll warn you that there's a fair amount of photos so I'll try really hard to keep the text short! But today we have a sketch reveal at Stuck on U Sketches and it's a cool one by Sandi! Plus the DT projects for this are really amazing! So exciting! 

 I wish I could tell you the paper line. My hubby bought my The Cinch for Christmas and also bought a random pack of designer papers and the 2 main prints came from that but I don't recall the makers now. The print from the circles and the distressed solids are Basic Grey. 

 You can see the Chevron stripe stamp that I did over the printed paper in Pumice Stone. The little boat comes from New Arrival. I love how it looks in these prints! I've also added a stamped circle for a bit of journaling. I used a wave border punch under the boat and a flower and leaf border punch in kraft paper, as well as 2 other border punches! =)

 I am really enjoying adding the lines around the edges of the whole 12x12 paper. It's a neat look and defines the edges. I liked the clouds so much like this that I did them again for another page I'll be sharing soon, cut from Create a Critter! The butterflies and waves above have Distressed Stickles on them.

 A better photo of the borders and also some text stamping on the cirlces as well. The stamping was subtle on this page but still wanted to share that part...

 And the title. The photo isn't the best but wanted to show the Distressed Stickles and the title. Lakeside is Opposites Attract and LOVE are stickers from the BG Hopscotch line.

   

 Ok, let me end this party! =(

 Thanks so so much for coming by! I've got a busy weekend! The Scrapbook Expo is today, Dr appts for the kids, church meeting this weekend and a family get together to celebrate birthdays! Wow! Fun stuff! Talk soon...have a good weekend all!

Lavender and Lace

 Wow, mid March...which means that the first of Spring is just around the corner! Can you believe that? Well if any of you live in or have visited California recently, you may well believe that Spring has been here for awhile...and it does feel that way! So I thought the challenge for ABC Challenges was pretty perfect...L for lavender and lace!

 Now I'll admit even the words freaked me out, I don't really do purple and lace is almost scarce in my scrappy stash, why? Guess it's just not something I've come across to purchase? I did however come across some lovely laser cut lace border stickers from Mrs Grossman's and thought those would be perfect and a neat variation of the challenge. The other Mrs Grossman product was the scallop fabric stickers along the paper edges, I should have shown more though then I did...

This was my first time using these stamp sets from Papertrey Ink, Rosie Posie (and the dies) and Basic Labels. Everything got a good amount of shine added to them. Purple Distress Stickles to the label, green to the leaves, clear to the butterfly and then lots of Perfect Pearl mist to the flower die cut.

 And then the lace part of the challenge...this also shows a bit more of the pretty embossed leaves...

 I chose not to add a sentiment to the card in case something came up and then I'd add one then...

 Well I think that does it...I was pretty happy with this, lots of texture and layers...prettiness! 

 Have a good one....

Milk Carton House ~The Cutting Cafe~

Milk Carton House

 So at The Cutting Cafe we had the opportunity to work with a new set of milk carton files. There is a great number of them there so the options are wonderful, I chose the egg shaped one (which also comes with a bunny window as well as some sentiments).  I do not have a cutting system for these but this was easy enough to do by hand. I've used a few different border punches to trim the edges and really like how that turned out! Otherwise, I kept this a pretty simple project... 

 I knew I wanted to do something special inside and though I was a wee short on time to go the extra mile with the vision I had for this, I did make a soft little nest for these eggies to sit! I punched a circle punch and wound soft yarn in a swirl around it, that worked perfectly though the tape didn't adhere well to the yarn. Glossy Accents insured the eggs to stay put!

 I know I want to make this again when I can fully put all my efforts into this. For now, it's cute and simple and bright and happy! I think I'll give this as a gift to one of the Mom's at school that freaked out about the birthday invites I made...she was so cute I knew right away I wanted to make her something!

 Thanks for coming by! 

Snips & Snails ~SOUS Die Cut Challenge~

Snips & Snails

 Well I am very excited today to share a layout that I've done for the newest Die Cut challenge at Stuck On U Sketches, my girl Sandi chose a really cool challenge which is Cameo/Silouette. I think there's about a million ideas for this one and of course you'll see some brilliant ideas at the SOUS blog, so do check them out!

 So having little guys I always look for a way to turn whatever the challenge is into something "boy" and was excited to not only use the silhouette's from A Child's Year but also actually cut them! I love the cart but have barely even scratched the surface of it! Until now...

 Talking papers real quick...I've used DCWV All About Boys stack, the newer one. A fun blue camo print and the dinosaur background, and also I used a kraft sheet from the Playground Stack. The rest of the kraft sheets are from my stash.

 I don't know what you see when you look at this page but let me tell you...this silhouette section took me FOREVER! The moving, the resizing, welding...inching it this way, accidentally moving everything that way...OMGosh, it was ridiculous! But in the end, and even though I still didn't get the shadow perfectly, LOL, it was well worth the struggles.
(I added small number stickers to the bottom of the page which also shows the ages of the boys...)

 Not that you can tell but I stamped and inked the edges of these photo mats... =0)  Added a few more Echo Park stickers (can't get enough of those! seriously!)

 This super fun title comes from Boys Will Be Boys! A fav cart for me, and I'm sure many others...

 And a little close up of that, more inking, more stamping...more fun! I've used Distress Stickles here and there around the page for added texture and subtle shine. Love that stuff! Better then adding flowers to boy pages. LOL!

  Kinda long, kinda photo heavy...so let me just head out now! Thanks for coming by...see you soon!

Lucky ~The Cutting Cafe~

I Am So Lucky To Have You As My Teacher

 So at The Cutting Cafe, Regina has come out with a super fun St Patty's Day file which has some different uses to it...I thought of this rather quickly, however....I made it on Valentines Day and as I am finishing up the project to give to the teachers the next day I say to myself...Whoa- WRONG holiday! LOL! So, the teachers did not get something special on Valentines Day, but they will on this rather lucky day...LOL! 

 This set is called Lucky Me, check it out! And here is the fun project I made...

 I did a plaid like background stamp on the green textured card stock and inked all the paper edges with pink. I wanted to make this not so overly "Patricks Day" and by adding some other bright colors it brought in the colors from the Lucky Charms cereal.

  Easy and really cute, I think! I am sure this will brighten their day! 

 Have a good one friends...

Travel Together ~SOUS March 2 Sketch Challenge~`

Travel Together

 I am so excited the weekend is finally here and even more so that my hubby has the whole weekend off! Yay! And no plans really so even better! I love having nothing to do (well, normally!) So today I am excited to share this layout I've created for our sketch day at Stuck on U Sketches. Fellow leader Sandi created a sketch for us and the DT delivered as usual. 

 Here is what I created...

 Don't you just love this photo...a special brother to brother moment shared over the excitement of playing a video game...well, cute if you don't include the video game (I am so not of that gamer generation). But super darling pic either way! I really love multi-matting my photos and choosing these colors was a fun way to do it, you can also see where I used a craft knife to cut the gloss clouds out and tuck the photo under them.

This travel stack from DCWV is so up my alley and perfect for my airplane loving boys! I hand cut an extra large cloud shape, added my journaling in red and layered some Echo Park goodies.

I've clustered all the embellishments together in the center of the page, along with the page title. Travel was cut from the paper stack and a metal "together" was added. Along with the blue sticker scallop, sticker airplane (which was cut in half to fit), circle for more journaling, and chipboard stars covered with coordinating papers and clear sticker hearts.

 Oh my, I love loved putting this page together. Though I took some serious time arranging and rearranging the center title pieces with lots of different pieces, I am happy with how it turned out! I was also happy to be able to mix different paper lines together, leaving me with much more options!

 So enough from me for today...thanks for coming by and see ya soon!

Happy Birthday ~ABC Challenges~

Happy Birthday

 When I found out what the challenge was going to be for this time around at ABC Challenges...I think I was overly excited! And I'm pretty sure I won't be the only one. We are at K for Kraft. Kraft card stock is a basic of all paper crafters and something that can easily go with everything. The only issue with this challenge is..where do you even begin? 

 I started with looking at my kraft section of my paper supply and it came together quickly when I found this My Minds Eye print, I saw the small part of text and and pulled out my yet to be used clockwork embossing folder from TH and there was my start!

 Really? I ought to have did a video on this part! However it took forever with more then a few mishaps. I used a Nestie to cut the clock out of the embossed piece. I took a small scrap of a woodgrain kraft and punched another circle, stamped on white with brown ink with the Happy Birthday stamp from PTI. Punched that and added it behind the woodgrain pattern. And also made the printed frame. 4 layers there. Yikes! But I'll say...all that alone, without the added embellishment was a great card. hehehe!

I embossed and cut out another clock from the embossing folder. Distressed with blue and brown ink and added Crack Accents. I've added Basic Grey buttons and twine. Sizzix flourishes and hemp.

I just wanted to show how neat this looks embossed, inked and then for fun...LOL...added a text stamp on top of all that! Cause there's always one more detail you can add...RIGHT LADIES! =)

So hurry, hurry and see the other krafty designs from my fellow DT sista's over at ABC! Later ladies!