Hexagon Card

Hexagons are a popular trend in the scrapbooking world right now and Practical Scrappers challenged me to use them on a project this week.  

I chose to make a flower out of hexagons that I cut with my Cricut Expression and Accent Essentials cartridge.  The hexagons are actually cut with 5 hexagons inside one another but I only used two of the five pieces to create these flower petals.

I also used a hexagon embossing folder and my Cuttlebug to emboss the craft background.  I then added stitching to the design to make it stand out.

Thanks for looking!  I hope I have inspired you to use hexagons somewhere in one or two of your projects!

Frugal Finds - J*O*Y

This card was fun to make.  I had a Frugal Finds assignment on Practical Scrappers to find a way to use Christmas decor in a different way.

At first I was thinking of using an ornament, or maybe garland on a layout. However, this seemed to obvious to me.  For some reason I kept going back to wanting to do something with ornament hooks.  

This is what I came up with...

I used gold ornament hooks, which I bent, and then hooked them together to form a chain.

These were not the easiest things to adhere to the card stock.  I tried a couple of different glues that ended up making my fingers sticky but did not keep the hangers on the paper.  So, I finally settled on sewing them on.  Each hook has a stitch of gold thread holding it in place.

The green circles are card stock that I punched into circles, embossed with my Cuttlebug, and then distressed with green ink from Close to My Heart.

JOY 

is made from preprinted chipboard letters from K&Company and finished off with a baker's twine bow.

Altered Photo Mailer

Hi all!  I am on Practical Scrappers today with a fun and frugal Christmas decoration.

 I started this project with a blank photo mailer for which I paid $4.99 , a $.97 package of patterned paper, and cardstock.  

My first step was to cover each of the 5x7 sections with patterned paper.  I then attached a ribbon along the entire top edge of the mailer.  

My next step was to choose a word.  I knew I wanted something different, not the usual "Winter" or "Peace".  After brainstorming with a friend of mine, I settled on "Wonder".  

I knew I would have an extra section and thought it would be fun to make something more 3 dimensional and finally chose a rolled paper Christmas tree.

The tree was made with paper I had in my stash.  I first cut the paper into 2 inch strips and then cut each strip into sections starting with 1 inch for the top and then adding a 1/4 inch to each piece until I ended with a 4 inch piece.  I took each piece and rolled it length wise around a pencil and secured the curled paper with a few drops of clear glue. They were then adhered to the patterned paper using the same glue. Presents were added using cardstock scraps and bakers twine.

I cut the letters out with my Cricut Expression Machine and then used a makeup applicator to lightly ink the letters in green.  I then used the Cricut Machine to cut the letters again but this time with the shadow feature to make a matted layer for each letter. Each shadowed layer was distressed on the edges with blue ink again using a makeup applicator to get into all of the little angles.

I wanted each section to be different but look like the belong together.  As you can see the W, N, and E were all accented with an aqua colored paper that I embossed with my Cuttlebug and and sanded the edges.  The O, D, and R were highlighted with a lime green paper that I tore.

I also added gems here and there on all of the sections for a little extra glam.

I am quite happy with the final product and already have it on a shelf in my living room.  I plan to make a few more of these with different color combinations to give as inexpensive gifts this Christmas this year too.

Miss Sassy Pants

This layout was done for Practical Scrappers.  The challenge for the week was using brads.

I cut the frame using my Cricut Expression and the Stretch Your Imagination cartridge.  I cut the letters using the All Mixed Up cartridge.  I then used purple ribbon to make the words stand out. 

I used orange and copper brads around the inside of the picture frame.

I also used the ribbon and a brad to add a little flare to the corner.

Cousins

Micaiah and Baylee

This tree was cut using the Serenade Cartridge.  The circles were cut with the Plantin Schoolbook Cartridge and then run through my Cuttlebug using the Swiss Dots folder.

I also cut this "frame" using the parenthesis key on the Plantin Schoolbook Cartridge and finished it off with a little sparkle via Stickles.

2010 Calendar

I make a calendar for my Mother In Law every year for her birthday which is in January.  I buy a blank calendar so that I can start it in February and end it in January.  I don't always love the pages because my MIL thinks that the more pictures the better and I tend to be more of a minimalist.  I am hoping to finish it today, but here are a few of the pages so far.

FEBRUARY

APRIL

MAY

Buttons

Alyson around 6 months old.  I finally used my new Cuttlebug today to create this layout for the Practical Scrapper's button challenge.  I love this picture!

Christmas Is Coming!

Christmas is coming and I thought I would work on getting some old Christmas pictures onto layouts, to get me in the mood. These are of Micaiah the year she turned 3. The tree was cut using the Cricut Christmas Solutions cartridge, and the letters were done using All Mixed Up.