A little Sparkle and Shine

Sparkle and Shine - I love this paper pack! I'm sad it's only available through the end of this month (12/31 that is!) I am not ready to say goodbye to Christmas yet, and I have more Christmas photos to scrapbook. I may have to order another pack in the next two days.
This is the layout my club created in December.

Did you notice the fun ornaments on the page? I used the Trim the Tree stamp set and also the Sparkle Holiday Shapes  also from the holiday gift guide. I love the way the Cricut cut ornaments get added pop from the sparkle.


Remember, all of the products from the holiday gift guide are only available through December 31. Shop my site or contact me to get your own before then!

I've had some creative time...

One of the things I love about my day job is that I have vacations every so often. Last week was one such vacation. We didn't take any major trips, didn't plan any big events. This time we simply stayed around town and enjoyed a more flexible schedule. For me, that meant a good deal of creative time. I think I have completed 14 pages this month.

Here are a couple of pages from the last week or two. I've found some summer photos from a last year. It is a nice change from the weather we are having here right now.

Although these photos aren't obviously from July 4th, I decided to take my cue for the color scheme and journaling from the holiday I know we were celebrating. (Our most patriotic tradition is watching fireworks, and I haven't yet tried photographing them.)

 I used mostly cardstock on this page. (Only the base page is patterned paper.) I did stamp a background on the red (Ruby) paper and some details on the kraft.

When I was almost done with the layout, there was an unplanned change. Can you see where I dropped my ink pad directly on the kraft cardstock? I ended up distressing more than I had intended, but I'm okay with it.

The journaling I did doesn't focus specifically on this day or on our July 4th traditions. I've already created that layout. Instead, I wrote a bit about my feelings for my country and my hopes for my kiddos in that regard. I don't think I've ever journaled about that before.

The next page was totally photo driven. One day last summer I decided to get artsy with the camera at dinner time. I have been sorting out some old supplies recently. All three of these papers came from my "old supply" stash. Two of them are older than my three-year-old!









Flexible time, fun summer photos and supplies I forgot I had. For me last week, this was the recipe for creativity!

What has been inspiring your creativity lately?

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!