Hiatus

On a blogging hiatus right now. Well, obviously not right at the moment I'm typing this blog entry. But shortly after I publish this post, I'll be returning to my blogging hiatus.

Just don't have time to photograph and post all the things I've been working on right now. So much going on in real life. Maybe I'll pick it back up later. We will see.

CAS-ual Fridays Challenge CFC3

Hello there! Time again for another CASual Fridays Challenge. The assignment was to use bling in some form.

Behold, my entry:

Bad Crafter! Bad Blogger!

I know it has been a while, but I've been busy finishing up some awesome scrapbook pages.

And I have a new rule for myself...I refuse to post any more photos of layouts taken in horrifying lighting.

See, I finish them at night so I have to wait for an un-busy time during daylight hours the next day to photograph for blogland.

Ugh. The crosses we crafting bloggers must bear.

On the brighter side of crafting, Cricut fans are now put on notice!! There is a new blog, aptly and unmysteriously named, www.cricutblog.com.. You should check it out because they are giving away $100 store credit to Cricut.com every day for the next 5 days.

See ya there!

CAS-ual Fridays Challenge CFC1

Yippeeee! I found a challenge that is right up my alley as far as card making is concerned.

If you aren't sure what CAS is...it is a design style called 'Clean And Simple.' I adore it because I work full time and have a little one so quick cards are a MUST in my world.

And I'm very excited to play along in the very first challenge hosted by CAS-ual Fridays.



The challenge was to use text in some form, besides the normal sentiment, as the focal point. I stamped a text background stamp over a Creative Memeories die cut, adhered it with foam tape, stamped my senty in white ink and did the "Nichole Heady" line frame thing around my card.

All this while the little bean slept. Ahhhhh, gotta love me some CAS.

We begin & end with Family

I did not come up with this title for the layout. I saw it on another blog (can't remember where) and thought it was perfect for this layout.



Edited to add:

CAN SOMEONE PLEEEEEEEEEEEEZE give me the how-to on photographing your layouts? All of mine have been miserable failures.


Edited AGAIN to add:

Holla! I found this amazing process for photographing layouts.
http://suealthouse.blogspot.com/2011/04/shooting-layout.html

Watching You Play - 2 page layout

This went together SO easily. I found a designer on Two Peas (Jana Eubank) and mimicked one of her layouts.

First Haircut 2-Page Layout

Pardon the terrible photographs. Taking pictures of scrapbook pages has always been outside the limit of my photography ability. Smaller items...no probs.

The space on the right page is left vacant for the little baggie of her hair snippets. In case anyone is losing sleep at night from curiosity. (Ha!)



I didn't have enough room to display the certificate she got for having her first haircut, so I made a folder that the certificate can slide into and put the photos on top of it.

Total Shocker and Massive Happy Dance!!

Okay, I wrote about submitting (4) cards for the new Cricut Cards Magazine back in February. I had hoped the editors would pick one but I didn't pin too much hope on it. There are a ton of talented peeps in this world! Plus, I've read that sometimes it takes a few dozen submissions before an artist is selected for publishing.

Well, Friday I about had a heart attack as I read an email from the magazine requesting one of my cards. Holy moley! Is my work *actually* going to be in a magazine for the world to see? Yup!

And you can only imagine my surprise as I got three more emails requesting the rest of the items I submitted. Are you KIDDING ME???!!! My very first time submitting work and I get all 4 pieces selected?? I'm still in shock. Pinch me. For realz.

Now lets hope I can remember the steps used to create each card.

*fingers crossed!*

Home Decor Challenge in the Moxie Fab World

As much as I love making cards and scrapbook pages, I am a firm believer that your creativity shouldn't be limited to albums and artwork that you give away. We hang our kids' artwork on the fridge...why not decorate your home with some of your own pieces? Let it make the statement "Yes, I live here. Know it!"

I made this for my youngest sister to hang in her home. I love her so much and when the idea sparked (from this picture) I couldn't wait to get busy.



The buttons were made by punching circles, covering with glitter glue, then a thick coat of glossy accents for the raised shiny finish.

Click the image twice for a better view of the dimension of the piece.

First Ever Baby Layouts!

Yes, my daughter is 20 months old and I've JUST completed the very first ever scrapbook pages with some of her recent pictures. Shameful. How dare I call myself a scrapbooker!

Anyway, check em':



Used my trusty Cricut machine for the title. Love that thing!!

Cricut Card - Gypsy Wanderings

This is the 3rd card I submitted to Cricut Cards Magazine.

I used Gypsy Wanderings for the butterfly and Elegant Cakes for the scalloped edges. Sorry but I cannot remember right now which cartridge I used for the layered background shapes.



Here's a little secret...the scalloped edges are actually the negative of this border cut.



Don't just trash your scraps, especially when using beautiful glitter paper. They come in super handy when punching small shapes or if you need just a tidbit of paper for your cricut cuts.

Quick Card

This one was made using my new set from Close To My Heart. I love cutting out stars. The straight angles make it so quick!

Cricut Card - New Arrival

Second card submitted to the Cricut Cards Magazine.



So how long do you keep cards that you've submitted for publication? I sure would like to give this one to a sweet friend.

I'm guessing if I haven't heard from them by now, the card is free to move around the country.

A Cricut Card - Cindy Loo

I created (4) cards and submitted them for entry into the new Cricut Cards magazine.

While I haven't heard whether or not they will use any of my work, it is unlikely that they would use this particular card since it is very similar to one made by another artist and published in last month's Cricut Magazine. Mind you, a total coincedence. I'm chalking it up to great minds thinking alike.

Please to enjoy:

Colors Of Life Challenge

I was cruising around etsy and stumbled upon this fab photo (courtesy of DotStitch's etsy shop):



More than being an awesome ring, I saw a delicious color combo that would translate extremely well on a card.



I'm going to start challenging myself to create cards inspired by color combos found while living life. There is so much inspiration to draw on. I guess this is how a new card challenge begins. Want to join me?

Post a comment with a link to your project. As soon as I figure out how to have the links all display at the bottom of this post, I'll do it.

How To Make A Diaper Cake

If you've never seen a diaper cake before, you are not alone. This is the second one I've done for a baby shower and about half the guests had never even heard of such a thing.

So today at the shower I got lots of questions regarding the construction of a diaper cake. I thought I'd write a tutorial. Bear in mind, I did not invent this...I saw one about 10 years ago and if you search Google images you'll find many many examples.

I'm sharing with you the easiest way I've seen so far:

What You'll Need

Diapers - Um, duh. I bought a 120 count box of Size 1's and a 84 count box of Size N's Huggies.

Center Pieces - this is what you will put in the very middle of the cake and won't actually be seen but acts as an anchor to hold all the layers together and is a nice surprise for the recipient. I used two packs of baby wipes and a set of receiving blankets. You could also use a large bottle of lotion, tub of diaper cream or any other tall slender item.

Small Toys - These will decorate the outside of the cake. I used a rattle and some teething rings. You could also get a small book, a picture frame for a wallet sized photo, some rolled up bibs or any other small fun object.

Topper - Just like in a real wedding cake, you need something to decorate the top of your diaper cake. I used 3 plushie rattles tied together with ribbon. You could also use one medium sized stuffed animal, or a big puffy bow made of ribbon.

String - This will hold the diapers together forming each 'layer'. You can also use ribbon or yarn or twine.

Ribbon - This will be wrapped around the cake to help decorate each layer and cover any string that was used for support. You could also use tulle or fabric or any other prettiness that you can wrap around each layer. I used a 10 yard roll of 2" fabric ribbon and had about 18 inches left.

Cardboard Cake Plate - I got mine for $4 at a bakery. There are no pictures but I slid it under my cake and this made it so easy to transport. You could cut your own from a cardboard box or use a real cake stand that is 18" wide.

Now let's put this thing together! My tutorial might seem long but you could finish one in 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

1. Step One - Assemble the center for the first layer. I stood a pack of wipes up on one end and wrapped a set of receiving blankets around it, then tied with ribbon. See below.
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Step Two - Fan a good amount of diapers all around the center with the folded side facing out. I used 60 size 1 diapers in my first layer. The diapers should be standing up on their side and will most likely NOT stand up on their own (I don't have a pic of my first layer.) An extra pair of hands might be really helpful at this point.
   
   If you don't have an assistant, do your best to wrangle the diapers enough to wrap string around the outside of the diaper circle. Pull the string super tight and tie a knot. This is where the layer really takes shape. The diapers may look all jumbled and sloppy but you can easily adjust them to make them evenly spaced.
   
   
   
   
3. Step Three - Fan more diapers around the center for layer #2. I used 39 size 1 diapers for this layer.
   
   
   
   Cinch this layer together with more string pulled tightly.
   
   
   
   
4. Step Four - Stack another pack of wipes upright in the center.
   
   
   
   Fan more diapers around the center for layer #3. I used 42 size N diapers in this layer. Repeat for the final top layer. I used 21 size 1 diapers.
   
   
   
   
5. Step Five - Use ribbon to tie small toys to each layer in random spots.
   
   
   
   
   
   
6. Step Six - Put your topper on the cake. When my layers were assembled, I had a small space inside the top layer that was the perfect place to put my plushie rattles.
   
   
   
   Here is what mine looked like thus far.
   
   
   
   
7. Step Seven - Tie ribbon around each cake layer into a pretty bow in front. If you aren't great at tying bows, feel free to wrap ribbon around without the bow.
   
   
   
   
8. Step Eight - Stand back and marvel at your creation! Celebrate the awesome job you just did with a well deserved glass of wine.
   
   

Baby Card

Papertrey's February Blog Hop Challenge

Yay! My first Papertrey challenge!! This month the challenge is to use scallops. I happen to love scallops anyway...so here we go, using PTI cardstock (of course!)



BTW, Papertrey paper is truly the only paper I like to use any more. It is so sturdy...a great companion to use in my Cricut machine.

Just sayin'.

Card for my sweetie

I know this is late in posting, but here is the card I made for John for Valentine's Day.



Stamps: Close To My Heart, Stampin' Up
Ink: Stampin' Up
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink, Stampin' Up

By the way...Stampin' Up ink works FABULOUSLY on CTMH stamps!!

Thank You card

Usually I have to base my card design off of something else I've seen....but this card is ALL ME.

Please to enjoy:

Having fun with Stickles

Scrap Lifting

Do you ever see a card in a magazine and think "I'm going to make one like that one day?" only to find that day never comes? Well I do it all the time. And so my inspiration pile grows without having any cards to show for it.

My friends, times are a changin'.

I saw a super simple card by Maille Belles in the CARDS Magazine and immediately made one. Yay me for overcoming my procrastination tendencies!!

What I did differently: Where her instructions say to trim the card front back a 1/4" and back it with black paper, I glued a strip of black paper right onto the card front.

Valentine's Day Project: Cards for Teachers

Now you can't drop your kid off at daycare with gift ladden arms and not having something for the teachers, right? After all, they deserve some recognition for taking such good care of my little Sweet Pea. These cards will accompany some very delicious gourmet choco covered pretzels bought from a local shop. I had to buy extra containers of pretzels because I ate some and didn't have enough for the teachers. *oopsies*

Valentine's Day Project: Snack Bags

These are also for the kids in Brooklyn's Toddler Class at daycare. They are packages of Teddy Grahams. I know toddlers don't give a rip about the packaging, but I just had to make them look more festive.





Thank God there are only 5 kids in the toddler room. I think as she progresses to the next classroom where there are 8 or more kids I may have to simplify. Or quit my full time job to make crafts. Darn....what a horrible idea. LOLOLOL!

Valentine's Day Project: Heart Bean Bags

I found this idea at Make and Takes. What a cute little site with lots of fun project ideas! Anyway, I made 5 of them...one for each of the kids in the Toddler Room at Brooklyn's daycare. I will ask the teachers to play hide-n-seek with the kids tomorrow using these bean bags as the toy to seek.

Here are the things I did differently:

1) I sewed my pieces together rather than using glue.
2) I used rice rather than beans, but 'rice bags' don't sound as fun.
3) I used fleece rather than felt.

Man Card

It's not that I hate making cards for my men friends, it's just that I never know 1) if men think hand made cards are stupid and 2) how to decorate something without ribbons, glitter, flowers and non-manly things.

Alas, I have a friend who's birthday is coming up and this is my attempt at a man card.

Warm Wishes

Stamp: Hero Arts
Cardstock: Stampin Up
Ink: Versamark
Border Punch: Fiskars
Ribbon, Button, Twine: Craft Supply

Friend Card

I know I'm way late to the 'gray is the new hot color' party. My card was inspired by this card made by a great artist I stumbled upon several months ago and have followed ever since. Laurie is a sweet person and has such a clean quick style that is perfect for me, a working mom with precious little time to craft. Thanks for the inspiration, Laurie!

Stamp: Stampin Up
Ink: Tsukineko
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink
Dies: Spellbinders
Embossing folder: Cuttlebug
Ribbon: recycled from a gift I received