Project #12 Hand crafted Valentines with the kids

My children love making their own Valentines and that desire does this crafty Mama's heart good! I love the whole process - finding the design, choosing the supplies, creating the Valentines, even signing their names.

This year we used a very cute printable from Skip To My Lou - found by my friend Karen - to create these adorable butterflies.

I let each of my children shop my cardstock stash to choose favorite colors. (Purple was popular for both!) We printed enough butterflies for each child, and then we took turns cutting them out. (My little guy needed some help, but he tried valiantly!) The kids chose to write the to and from on the back so that the front stayed prettier. My daughter wrote all of her own, but again, the little guy needed some help. Finally, we made two cuts (along the marked lines) and inserted the lollipops!

I love that Happy Valentine's Day was already printed around the butterfly's wings. I can't quite imagine either of my kids writing that! This was a simple, fun and inexpensive project!

Odds and Ends from January

Last month, it seems, I created many more layouts than I blogged. I'm here today to catch up on a couple of those layouts.

This first one was the one hour challenge at the January Crop N Time crop. The challenge was inspired by January in our neck of the woods:

• one photo - for the first month of the year
• the word “new” - for the year and the resolutions some of us make
• white - for the snow we often see
• something fuzzy - for the mittens and sweaters we wear

Here is my creation:

I have to confess. Since I write the challenges, I don't always time myself. This page was definitely a quick one, however. 


This next layout started with the title block. I had a piece with tag shapes cut out leftover from one of my workshops. I was inspired by the many ways I've seen people using negative space recently to create this: 

The four letter title worked perfectly for the page. 

 

Yellow is not one of my go-to colors, but I liked the way it balanced the blue hues on the page. I have lots of photos of my kids reading. (They like to do it, and I find it adorable that they do!) Rather than rehashing how I feel about them reading, again, I decided to use a quote about reading as the journaling:
      "Anyone who says they only have one life to live must not know how to read a book!"


There you have it. A bit of what I created in January. What have you created so far this year? Stop back next week for some more new creations!

Project #11 - A food project

Someone reminded me recently that I have completed a few more projects than I have counted, so I'm attempting to get caught up (although I'm still not sure I'll get to 36 in a timely fashion.)

Early last summer strawberries when strawberries were in season here, my hubby bought me a few (two flats!) and I made some jam. He joked that we had enough jam to survive an extended disaster, but I had a plan. In December, I got creative on the jars:

I used pinking shears on the fabric to add a festive touch. I stamped a label on CTMH's Bamboo cardstock, personalized the labels with my handwriting and then ran them through the Xyron to make them easy to adhere.

I've give jam as a gift before, but it has never looked so cute. The only bad part about this project is I ended up giving away every jar of strawberry jam. Maybe we'll have to get three flats this year!

Megan at 5 - A Rainbow Challenge for Crop N Time

I write a challenge column for my friends Karen and Rene at Crop N Time. Sometimes the biggest challenge for me is coming up with the challenges! This month, however, I am full of ideas. All of the new products that have come out - both from CTMH and at CHA - have inspired lots of people to create - thus inspiring me!

The February challenge is to use a rainbow in your page elements. Here is the layout I created:

I used washi tape and strips of paper to create the rainbow behind my darling daughter. Here is a detail of the stamped title:

Would you believe that it was a coincidence that the "5" on the washi tape ended up so close to the title? Since it did, I decided to capitalize on it!

I like this rainbow trend - especially when there is so much white outside right now. Thanks for the challenge to create a challenge, Karen and Rene.

If you're local, come check out the next Crop N Time event on  Saturday, April 27! Not in the area? Busy that day? I'd still love to see what you created!

Classic For Always

Have you seen the new For Always paper from CTMH? I am loving the black and white B&T paper. It makes it easy to create a classic layout.

On this one, I used two of the patterns of B&T paper, a zip strip border and cardstock. Check out the new embellishments - Slate Polka-dot Washi Tape and clear acrylic flowers.

Would you like a chance to win this layout? Stop by my new catalog open house on Tuesday, 2/5! If you would like more details, email me at: clmk523 (at) gmail (dot) com.
For those of you who aren't local, leave a comment here. I'll draw for a winner Thursday night!

If you like the For Always paper, make sure you check out the Paper Trail blog hop. Click here to start the hop! I hope to see you Tuesday!

For Always - Paper Trail Blog Hop and Project #10

Welcome to the Paper Trail Blog Hop! If you've arrived here from Betsy's blog, I'm glad you hopped along. If this is your first stop, I hope you'll continue around this circular hop to check out what each of us has created. This month we are sharing the For Always paper from the new Spring/Summer Idea book. This paper pack is unique because the color comes only in the cardstock and My Stickease - the B&T papers are all black and white! When I saw the black and white patterns next to the Lagoon stickers, I knew that I had to create a gift for a friend who is getting married this month. (One of her colors is Lagoon!)

I dug around in my stash and found an old 9X9 My Creations Memory Showcase. (You can't buy this size any more, but the 6X6 size is still available!) This fun project can sit closed like a book or be opened accordion style into a display piece.

I embellished with the For Always paper, My Stickease and the new  Blue Epoxy Bubbles.

I decided on a classic look for the front cover with a mat for a 5X7 photo.

This interior page has just B&T paper and the Stickease border. I save the dimensional embellishments for the covers so that the book will lie flat.










On this page, I stamped using the new In the Background stamp set on the left hand side in Lagoon. The black floral in the middle is B&T paper and the embellishments are all Stickease.

This is one way to display the showcase and see four pages at a time. Notice another new background stamp in black on Lagoon on the left hand side. The journaling strips on the Lagoon paper are the zip strip I cut off of one of the B&T papers!

For the back cover I decided on a more whimsical feel. I framed the photo mat with Stickease and again added a few of the Blue Epoxy Bubbles.

This project came together very quickly. I completed it in just two evenings - likely the same amount of time I would have spent shopping for a gift for the shower! I love checking off an errand and a project at the same time! (To see more about my Thirty-six Projects goal, check out the original post.)

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you've enjoyed your visit. Check back on Monday for another project created using For Always paper. Now, hop on along to Amy's blog to see what she has created! I'm sure you'll love it!

Crop tomorrow!

I'm excited! I get to crop with my friends Karen and Rene (and quite a few others) at Crop N Time tomorrow! I spent about 2 hours last night gathering supplies, organizing what I might work on. I have discovered stamps and papers that I had forgotten. I had to stop myself from starting a project last night when I was supposed to be packing.

I can't wait for my full day of creative time. I'm sure I'll have much to share next week.

What about you? Will you find some creative time this weekend? I hope so!