Groomed

Popping in to share a post I had on the Paper Issues blog earlier this week.

Have you seen the new Office Suite Collection by Fancy Pants Designs?  It was the perfect Spring collection.  Pastels and muted tones with fun and funk designs.

Who says those patterns are only good for girlie photos?  This photo of our family poodle Wilson was just far too cute to not use on this layout.

The coordinating package of patterned alphabets & numbers is great for titling your pages, here I saved myself a little space by using 3D adhesive to pop every second letter up off the page, allowing me to tuck the edges of the letter on each side under just a bit.  

I added a little more definition to my letters by hand tracing them with a black sharpie.  Easy peasy!

 If you know me at all, you know I am a sucker for a cute piece of flair and this set of flair buttons from the collection is awesome, and comes in 6 coordinating designs.

The package of labels from the collection is jam packed with all sorts of bits and pieces to tuck and layer to your heart's content.

You can see I like to layer mine in clusters.  I love that there are so many shapes and sizes included in one package.

I have also been playing with the Flutter Collection, the second CHA Winter release.  It is full of rich, but bright tones, like pinks, and yellows, and cream, and navy.

You can see all of the Fancy Pants in-stock goodies right here in the Paper Issues Store.

Note: That long arrow clip I used to hold the 2 journal cards together is by Freckled Fawn, and you can still get an assortment package of them here in the store.

I have a 30% off code for you, should you be in a shopping kind of mood.  Use code: SHERRI at check out, and save off everything in your cart.

Thanks for stopping by today friends, happy crafting!

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Pint Size Gift Bags

Ever have to give just a little something as a gift?  A birthday for a co-working, or a thank you for a babysitter, or that friend who went out of their way to give you a hand?  When I'm in that situation I often opt for a gift card or a handful of personally chosen Lindt chocolates from the Lindt store down the street.  The thing I'm always left wondering is how to give such a little gift, but yet still make it feel special.  A regular envelope is fine, but boring and store bought gift bags are often too small and/or too pricy.  Enter the handmade gift bag.

I use to make bags and envelopes by hand by using a pre-bought one as a template.  Now that I have a Silhouette Cameo, however the process is much easier.  I know there are other tools on the market that are great for homemade packaging too.  I used the Office Suite Collection to create this pint size bag duo to have on hand for the next little thank you I will have to give.

The coordinating tag and pinwheel add just an extra special handmade touch.  The tag I backed with coordinating cardstock to make it easier to read.  My plan is to make a few different sentiments to have on hand, with a few different patterned bags, so my girls with have them ready to use when needed also, female and male themed.

I know pinwheels may no longer be the hottest trend, but there is just something about them that spell Summer, and fun, two things most of us can't get enough of, and both of which go perfectly with the Office Suite Collection.

Here are the file numbers of these cuts so you can find them in the Silhouette store, should you decided to try your hand at these pint size bags.

Bag ID: 53920
Tag ID:17073
Pinwheel ID: 2007

Thanks for stopping by today friends, happy Crafting!


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We Are Fans

My hubby and I are huge NHL fans, especially when it comes to our home team, the Winnipeg Jets.  This year marks the first year since their return to the city 4 years ago that they made the playoffs.  Needless to say it was a big deal for the city.  We were lucky enough to secure tickets to the 2nd home playoff game, so of course the event called for some staged photos and a layout.

The Paper Camellia May Add On kit if full of the fun and playful Amy Tangerine & Elle's Studio papers and embellishments, I decided that I wanted to mix as many elements together as possible to create a quick and eye catching layout.

 I hand cut some of the Amy Tangerine clear stickers and backed them with some smooth white cardstock to help them stand out from the fabulous woodgrain background.

 I then took the fun Fancy Pants Designs alphabets, and chalked up the edges a bit with some Tim Holtz ink, and a blending tool, then popped a couple of them off the page using 3D foam adhesive.  I like a big bold title, from time to time.

And those tear strips from the bottom of some 12x12 sheets are fantastic to use as embellishments.  I rarely throw mine away, and try hard to incorporate them into my projects.  I think of it as getting 2 for 1.

How have you been using your May kit?  Would love to see your creations in the Paper Camellia Gallery.

You can see all this Add On kit, and all the May kits still available here in the Paper Camellia store.  And don't forget about the May sketch.  Play along for your chance to win a gift certificate to the store.

Thanks for stopping by today friends!

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Happy Mother's Day

This time of year is one of those that always causes me mild sadness, as my own mother left this world 14 years ago.  We didn't have the closest relationship when I was growing up, but we were headed down a new path with the birth of my firstborn 15 years ago.  My mom, was a wonderful grandmother to our baby girl.  She was so proud, so full of joy, and I think so happy to have a second chance so to speak with this new little person; her baby's baby.  There are still moments when I miss her.  Still times when I wish she could have been around to see my other 2 babies come into this world, especially since my last born is so very much like her.

This is where my mother-in-law comes in.  She has enough love to fill the empty spaces for both me and my babies.  She has a heart as big as the ocean, and loves me and my babies as though I were the daughter, and not just the daughter-in-law.  Her tastes are not expensive, and her needs are few, so when it comes to finding the right mother's day gift for her, it is often a struggle to find something that says "thank you for filling the empty space in my heart".  Somehow anything purchased with cash, just doesn't seem convey my heartfelt appreciation.

This year I decided to make her a gift.  Instead of the usual handmade card (that accompanies her gift of time as we enjoy a big brunch together), I have created more of a keepsake this year using the brand spanking new Summer Sun Collection by Fancy Pants Designs.

There are not many photos of her around, but I managed to gather a handful to create little mini canvases sharing a little bit of my heart for this woman I call Mom.

Just a handful of memories and moments of love captured "on film" for those of us lucky enough to have her in our lives.

Not sure Mom is gonna know what to do with this, but I hope she appreciates the love that went into it.  And if you're reading this mom, just know I love you lots and lots!

Happy Mother's Day to all my fellow moms out there, biological or otherwise.

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Vintage Find to Wall Art

We were challenged on the Pink Paislee blog to turn our Flea Market finds into something Chic.  If you know anything about me by now, it's that I'm not really much of a Flea Market girl.  I just love the way some can take vintage and make it look so spectacularly perfect in their home.  My friend Shelley Haganman is one of the best at this.

Everyday I drive by a huge Salvation Army store on my way home from work, not only does it hold many vintage finds, but it's even located in a vintage part of the city, where many of the old structures are considered landmarks.  It was here that I discovered a couple of vintage embroidery hoops.

I gathered a handful of items from the new Pink Paislee Atlas collection, and set to work creating some wall art for my front entrance.

Keeping with the theme I chose to create a memory of our most recent trip to Universal Studios this past February.

The vellum sheet worked nicely to cover the hoop.  And then I just layered away to my heart's content.

With the smaller of the two hoops I created somewhat of a "title" piece to my frames. Notice the perfect condition the hoop is in.  They tighten like a charm.

And voilà, my little strip of wall has never looked so good.  Amazing what $0.50 a piece can get you.

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Beautiful Banff

The May Kits are live and selling fast in the Paper Camellia store.

This month is full of fun, bright colours: pops of bright pink, and yellow are just what my eyes need after this long dreary winter here in the center of Canada.  Needles to say my first layout uses a few more of the softer tones, as I have been hanging onto this photo for about 2.5 years.  We have friends who live close to Banff, Alberta, home of the Rockie.  The captured this shot a couple of Springs ago, and were kind enough to give me a copy to scrap.  The beauty of nature: God's handiwork never, ever gets old.  It is our dream to one day live near the mountains.  Waking up and seeing the mountains out my window, would make my heart sing each and every morning.

Here is the May Main kit with all it's goodness.  

You can see the Add On kits, and the Everyday Life kit here in the store.

Ready to jump on board and subscribe?  You can get all the info you need on that here.

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This Is Why I Scrap

Happy National Scrapbook Weekend friends!

The Pink Paislee team wants to wish you a fun and creative weekend!  Whether you are at home or at a crop this weekend, we would like to share some inspiration with you along with what this holiday means to us!  Start at Pink Paislee's blog and let's get this party started!

If you've already hopped through the team and find yourself back here let me share my layout with you.

As long as I've been enjoying this hobby, I don't think I've ever really done a page about why I scrapbook.  This hop offered a great opportunity to finally do so.  I debated about whether or not to use a photo, and decided that we have so few family photos (the fact that I used this one on two projects in the same month is evidence) this was a nice opportunity to include one among my scrapbooks.  I also know myself well enough to know that I would probably tend to blabber on and on with more space available on the page.

I've summarized my story on the back of a portion of one of the 6x6 sheets in the Atlas Collection paper pad.

Journaling reads:
"The hobby called scrapbooking has greatly helped me to record the story of our family.  I am so sorry that my own mother never did anything like that for me & Delyle.  There was so much we didn't know about her when she died.  Did she like her file?  Did she like being a parent?  What did she think her life would look like at 40?  So many questions ... I am determined to leave a record for my kids.  I want them to know more about me.  I want them to know more about them, as babies, about their lives as competitive dancers, and all the little things that make them the people they are.  Somewhere to keep the stuff, the awards, the photos, and all the rest of it.  These books will serve as a reminder of how we lived and the things we did and loved.  I hope their kids, and even their kids will enjoy them.  May our stories live on for years to come."

There is more I could write, but my hope is that as my kids look through our albums they will be able to put the narrative of our story together as they see snapshots of our life together over the years.

Thank you for stopping by on our hop.  I hope you've been encouraged to document your reason for memory keeping sometime soon.

Don't forget to enter our National Scrapbook Weekend Facebook Giveaway.

The entire Citrus Bliss collection will be making it's way to the mailbox for one random lucky winner.

Next up Anna, has some inspiration waiting for you.  Thanks so much for joining us today, enjoy the rest of the hop, and Happy National Scrapbook Day friends! Pin It