Dream a Little Dream for me :)

Well blogging buddies,, it is Christmas Eve, the stockings are hung, I am 
just about ready to bake the pie and the cake for tomorrow,
and then it is off to bed for me! We are having just a small 
dinner tomorrow - a few friends coming over and that is it.

I made this layout a couple of weeks ago when I went to retreat.
I just haven't got around to taking a photo of it and getting it posted.
I bought this fabulous paper from Creative Imaginations a few
months ago and I knew exactly what I was going to do with it,
and what photo I was going to use. It just took me
a little while to get around to it :)
My inspiration was the challenge at Quick Quotes which 
was hosted by Barb this month - use Vellum on your 
project. Pretty simple right? So I broke out my butterfly punch
and got to work.
 I have fussy cut and layered the paper several times over. The very top layer was covered in a thin layer of Ranger Crackle medium and sprinkled with a little bit of glitter. 
My butterflies were punched from vellum with my Jenni Bowlin punch, I inked the edges with Powder Puff ink in Pink Cheeks, dipped them in WOW embossing powder and heat set them. I used my Stampers Big Brush Pen from Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft in Warm Grey for the centers of the butterflies. 
Here you can see the crackle a little better, and one of the Prima hearts I scattered all around the page.
This blingy title I got at Michael's in the $$ bin, and the ribbon is Maya Road - I think!
I also used my Art Grip Aquarelle Watercolor Pencil  #126 to highlight my flowers on the layout. I added a little bit of stickles to everything - you can never have too much stickles!

There you have it! And, yes, it took forever to fussy cut that top page. 
But I think it was worth it!

Merry Christmas Everyone!
Anita

A fabulous giveaway - Blue Fern Studios

There is a wonderful new company coming
online and they are having a giveaway of their beautiful new products!
Go here to check it out and enter!

Blue Fern Studios is a US company that is creating laser cut chipboard
products - and the ones I have seen so far are simply to die for. 
I can't wait to get my hands on some!

They are having a DT Call as well, which I have sent
my application in for, so here is hoping they like me too :o) 
You can get up to three chances to win this great prize pack
See - I told you it was beautiful! 
I need that large frame on the left - I already have my layout planned for it. 

I hope you are having a great Christmas season so far. 
Thanks for stopping by today.
Anita

On the 10th Day of Christmas...


On the 10th day of Christmas,,,,,,, I really want you so show some love to 
BUTTONS!
My challenge is to use 10 buttons on your project/projects. For instance you could make one layout
or two cards or a few tags. Whatever you want to do - but use 10 buttons!
Here is my project, I am making a mini album for my Christmas 2007 pics, 
I have used a Maya Road mini and my paper is Pink Paislee.
I have used 37 buttons! The numbers are Thickers, everything surrounding the numbers are BUTTONS!
See it is easy to use a lot of buttons. 
I have some serious button issues. Check out the My Studio tab here on my blog  and you will see. 
So - there you have it! Use 10 buttons - you have until December 31st to link
 up at Frosted Designs Blog there is a linky in the sidebar. We are also
 having a Refer A Friend Contest and you BOTH could win a prize! What could be better???

I am linking up at the following:
Divas By Design - Use RED
Unique Crafters Challenge - Christmas

 Thanks for stopping by today!
Anita


Snapshots - Christmas 2009

Three blog posts in one day - surely the earth will stop spinning. :)
I am trying to catch up. With all the Holiday activities going on I am behind!

It is Tuesday so of course there is a new palette up at ColourQ and 
it is perfect for your Christmas projects.
I recently discovered that I had not made any layouts of Christmas photos.
I have made a few mini albums - no layouts. Mmmmmm,,,,,
 So I am playing catch-up there too.
   I am trying to make my pages a little less 3 dimensional - I realized that I could fit very few into my albums they were so thick! 
I have used Core'dinations, Bazzill, and I think the PP is from Paper Heart - but it so old I can't swear to it! Teresa Collins, Prima, Basic Grey, Melissa Francis, and MME embellishments.
I used Viva Decor Paper Pen for the pearl dots in the corners, and the paper doily is from the craft store. 
This was the last Christmas that my Grandmother was able to have Christmas at home - so it was very special to us. 

Here is the fabulous palette we are using this week
Super cute, yes?? Be sure to stop by the blog and check out the fabulous
projects the DT has on display. You have until Sunday noon to link up your project.

I am linking up at the following challenges:
The Pink elephant - Stitching, Large Title, Green

thank so much for stopping by!
Have a wonderful week
Anita

My fave chipboard projects :)

Who doesn't love chipboard?
I have it all over my studio. In file folders, in drawers, packages hanging
on hooks, alpha sets in Cropper Hopper holders. 
Man, I love chipboard. And I love to hoard it too. 
But I am getting over that tendency! I figure I might as well use it-
I can't take it with me after all!

Here are my fave projects using chipboard. Enjoy!
Love these little 'shrooms! I painted and heat embossed them with chunky powder for texture. You can see the details here. 

Joy Christmas Banner
I have been all about the banners this year! I put a LOT of detail into this one! And then my DD1 stole it for her office. Get all the details here.

A Love Beyond Measure
My DD2 and her kitty. I used multiple chipboard pieces with a variety of finishes - see 
the close-ups and details here.

You Are Such A Joy
I love this chipboard frame. I painted it and heat embossed it, then added pearls and glitter.
Check it out here. 

Creative Escape Memories
I had the absolute BEST time at Creative Escape! I got to see my good friend for a couple of days, laugh and catch up, and we got to meet some fabulous crafters and play with paper. What more would we ask for??? I wanted more than a layout in a book to remember it - so I made this to hang on the wall instead.

Shoe Manic
I bought this chippie frame YEARS ago,, and I hoarded because I couldn't bear to use it! I finally broke down and got it out for this layout. I gave it a base coat of paint, then used spray ink, and Pearlescent Liquid Acrylics. I used more chipboard for the title and the plaque it is on. Check it out here.

Memory
Love this layout. Love the colors, love the photo and the memories it brings back, love that I managed to leave some white space - no easy feat for me! Chipboard title and chipboard butterfly accent - see close-ups and more details here.

Snapshot
One of my top 10 layouts of all time. My DD2's college graduation - she was standing in the surf on Galveston Beach. She was so happy and carefree! The title chippie was painted, then misted, then splattered, see it here , I also used smaller pieces of chipboard around my layout to accent.
This was a 2-page layout (most of mine are, even though I may only show one page here) so here is the whole thing. 

Joy
Same camping trip as the Memory layout above - this cutie and the one above are the DDs of two of my oldest friends. I love the contrast of sparkly and matte chipboard on this layout.  See all the details here.

and last, but certainly not least, my very favorite one,,,

Cat Nap
I love this layout. I think I will get it out of the album and frame it. I love that using chipboard for my title gave it so much more presence than using alpha letters alone would have. Check it out here.

There you have it - my top 10 chipboard projects. 
I would love to hear your thoughts on these!
Anita



Really?? Bad Hair Decisions!

So,, I am pretty sure I posted this a while back, but I was looking for it
and couldn't find it. So maybe I didn't. Or maybe blogger ate it. 
Maybe it was kidnapped and is being held ransom by trolls. 
Who knows. In any event - here it is again!

So my DD2 sends me these pics from college one day.
My response? - REALLY?
Zebra hair?
Papers are Pink Paislee, ribbons are from my stash, flowers are from the craft store. 
I do not remember who made these chippies - Dusty Attic maybe? I painted them with Inka-Gold using multiple colors, then heat embossed with Enamelz from Shimmerz Paints. 
The journal cards were embossed with my CB, then I rubbed a little VersaMark on it and used more Enamelz on it.

thanks for stopping by today! 
Anita

Family Traditions - Christmas 2009

Good afternoon to all my blogging friends!
Is it really almost the middle of December? Are you ready?
I am not! I had my annual Christmas Brunch 
yesterday and that was so much fun - I love getting together with all my
friends. Spending the day catching up is the best present ever.

Today I have a layout from a couple of years ago. 
I have used Basic Grey Figgy Pudding for this layout. See,, I am determined to use up every bit of paper I have ever bought! 
Soooo,, this piece of chipboard,, I bought it like 6 years ago. I used the small snowflakes that popped out of it,, and I have been looking for a way to use the big piece ever since then. I never could find the right way to use it! It just fell into place on this layout however.
Can anyone name these trees?? They are older than dirt too! I fell in love with them, so of course that meant I could never use them. Do you "save" embellishments too? I am finally getting over that. What am I saving them for?  Anyway,, the chipboard piece was sprayed with Tattered Angels, and I used a thin black marker to doodle around the edge. 
I really like the way the pattern on the background paper shows through the negative on the chipboard piece.
This chipboard was from another set, and it got the same treatment - spray ink
 and accents with a black marker.
Here is a look at the double page layout. I am so loving the non-traditional Christmas colors this year. 
I have also used some Prima, MME, Simple Stories, Cosmo Cricket buttons, Recollections pearls and bling, my sewing machine and Tsukineko ink. 

I am linking up at the following challenges:
Paper Play Challenges - Christmas is Coming
The Paper Girls - Multi Photo

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Tomorrow is a new palette from ColourQ so check back for that.
Have you been by to check out the 12 Days of Christmas Challenges at Frosted Designs?
A month of challenges and prizes going on at the blog so be sure to check it out. 

Anita
Hi everyone, I am here with ideas on button storage. I have some serious button issues. I love some buttons. I collect them whenever I can get them. Craft fairs, flea markets, garage sales, estate sales, even in retail stores when they are on sale. I have even been known to buy clothes in resale shops just to cut the buttons off of them! Button issues.

This creates quite the problem with storage. I tried storing them by color, but there are too many color variations within each color, so I wasn't happy with that one. At the moment I have jars and jars of buttons, lined up in my drawer, some sorted by brand and some by theme. It is working for the moment, but I am hoping to come up with a better system. After hitting the web, I have come up with a few new ideas!


I really like this idea,, the jars are small enough to keep one package of buttons in, so that I can keep each one separate. I don't have anywhere to hang them under a cabinet, but I can put them on a shelf.


Little bins like this would fit in the drawer where I keep my buttons now and would make grabbing buttons easier. Just pull the drawer out and reach into the bin!


I bought a whole set of jars just like this at a garage sale earlier this year. They are sitting empty on my shelf just waiting to be used for something - buttons maybe??


This is in no way practical for my needs, but I just had to share it! Look how cut this is!! I remember one of these hanging in my grandmother's kitchen, and I bet your grandmother had one too. Why didn't we all take these off the wall and run with them??? What were we thinking???


This might be my favorite, even thought it looks kind of hodge podge. I have been saving all my glass kitchen jars of late, so I have a pretty good collection in the garage. I think if the lids were all painted the same color these would be super cute. (and isn't that a great button collection??)

There you have it. Lots of ideas for my buttons storage,, I just need to pick one and put it into action!!

I (heart) you always!

Thank goodness it is Friday! Yeah!! I am off to scrapbook retreat today!
I have had the longest week so I am ready to get the heck out of dodge!

Today there is a new sketch up at Sketchabilities - love the sketches Karen 
gives us to work with. Always a lot of fun!
Another layout with MME Be Merry papers. (I made this one before I made the CQC layout I posted earlier this week, so that one really WAS the last one!) I also added lots of Maya Road - the ribbon, chipboard words, and the hearts. 
I love this style of layered banner, which I saw on Pinterest here
I love the texture on this chipboard heart! WOW embossing powder and Quick Quotes Powder Puff inks are the secret. I use WOW embossing powders all the time, but it is the Powder Puff inks that make it turn into this fabulous texture when heat is applied. Love it!
These are not the best photos, but the are among my favorite. My beloved Gussie, who left us two years ago. She loved these two girls- "My babies" she called the. I am so thankful that my girls were able to have so many years with the Great-Grandmother. Christmas isn't the same without her. 

Here is the new sketch we have this week,

Be sure to stop by the blog to see the fabulous projects the DT has made.
This is my last project on the DT with Sketchabilities. I have had a great time working
with all the talented ladies! 

Thanks so much for stopping by today.
Have a great weekend.
Anita

HoHoHo Banner - Frosted Designs

Happy Friday blogging friends!
It is that time of year to break out the Christmas decorations. 
Today I have another Christmas banner to share. Maybe I can
hang on to this one and keep my DD from stealing it.

Since it is Friday we have a new Fabulous Friday Challenge 
going on at Frosted Designs and this week it is: BUTTONS - 
use 5 or more buttons on your project.

Our projects this week are sponsored by
Creative Cuts and More and I picked the fabulous banner base to 
use for my project.


Not the best photo I have ever taken, I know. Having some issues with the DSLR. Just got it out of the shop, and it may have to go back :o( 
I used the always fabulous Graphic 45 for my base papers, added some lace
 doilies which were inked, then chipboard letters.  
Here are my buttons, I used them to make one of my "O"s. 

Make sure you stop by the Frosted Designs Blog and check out the 
fabulous projects the rest of the DT has made. You have until 
Thursday noon next week to link up your project - what are you 
waiting for??? Time to get started!

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a 
fabulous weekend!!!
Anita

Last big Christmas - ColourQ #165

Happy Tuesday blogging friends! 
We are having our normal fall here in Texas,, 80 degrees one day
and 35 the next. I wish it would get cool so I could get in the mood to
put my Christmas decorations up!

I am so excited to announce that I was picked to be on the Guest Design Team
for Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft®  for the spring 2013 term!
If you have not ever used their products - you are missing out!
My favorite would have to be the Gelatos®, but I love them all!

Since it is Tuesday there is a new beautiful palette up at ColourQ and
I am so happy that everyone is using these fun colors for Christmas
this year. I love red and green as much as the next person,, but I love the 
blues and pinks too!

This was the last big Christmas at our house,, the kids were upper years in high school and
they were moving into the years of smaller, more expensive presents! 
So,,, this is the last layout with the MME Be Merry papers I have been hoarding all these years! I managed to get 4 layouts out of them!! I have a couple of pieces left, so maybe some cards?? 

This snowflake is a left over from a Maya Road coaster album that I used here. For this page I started with Jenni Bowling paint, then added a layer of random gesso. When that was almost dry I added WOW embossing powder here and there and heat set it. The last step was to highlight a few places with Blueberry Gelatos® and rub it in with my finger. I added Karen Foster's Scrappers Floss all around. 
The white medallion is from Melissa Francis and I have highlighted the flowers with Red Cherry Gelatos® again using my finger. Flowers are from Prima. 

Here is the fabulous palette that we have this week
 
I am linking up at the following challenges:
Use Your Stuff - patterned papers
Just Us Girls - Photo inspiration - I used red on my floral wreath
Word Art Wednesday - anything goes!

Thanks for stopping by today!
Anita

JOY Christmas Banner

How was your weekend blogging friends???
Did you get any great bargains while you were out
shopping? Or did you avoid the crowds all together and stay home?
 I went out to one store and picked up a couple of things I wanted at
a great price. My sweet hubby is giving them to me for
Christmas :o)

Today I have a great Christmas banner I made for the house,
but my DD1 stole it for her office! I used a Maya Road coaster
album as the base and added lots of other stuff,,,
Sorry this photo is a little out of focus,, my DSLR was in the shop and I had to use my point and shoot for these photos :(   The close ups are much better!
So,, I used the Snowflake Coaster album from Maya Road. For this piece I made a ruffle from vintage sheet music for behind the chipboard, and added a stack of flowers.
This one has a rosette made with a Tim Holtz die, pearls, twine and a jewelry charm.
Lots of glitter, another jewelry charm, acrylic snowflake and 
chipboard heart adorn this center snowflake.
Another rosette, pearls, twine, and lace for this one. 
The last one is a pretty close cousin of the first one. 
I added LOTS of ribbons to finish it off. 

This project was made for a DT call,,(which I am super happy to say I was picked for!!), and
 I will have a tutorial on all the details soon. 

I am linking up to the following challenges:
City Crafter Challenges Blog - I'll Be Home For Christmas
Diva's By Design - use two patterned papers 

 Thanks for stopping by - I hope you have a great Thanksgiving
and have a wonderful weekend!
Anita