Gone Bonkers For Burlap!

I've always loved fall for its beautiful colors and cooler temperatures, but this year I love it just a little more because of all the wonderful, colorful burlap that is available.  I am just amazed at all the things you can do with burlap; scrapbooks and cards and frames and home decor and on and on and on.  Plus, it is so easy to work with!  It gives dimension without bulking up projects, and it doesn't have to be symmetrical to look awesome.

I would be remiss, too, if I didn't mention the other great fabric that's showing up in crafting this fall - canvas!  It has just as many colors and it just as versatile.  In fact, when you use them together it's a great combination.

Here are a couple projects I've created using burlap and canvas.  Hope you enjoy them!

 

Cruisin' Right Along

There's nothing like looking through the last vacation scrapbook to remind you how much you need another vacation!  I can smell the salty sea air and feel the motion of the ship over the waves and I just yearn to be in the Caribbean once again!  

This layout was created using the Reminisce Signature Series collection.  It features several different papers, embellishments and stickers for themes including cruise, family vacation, winter, playing cards magic vacation and more!  

Back To School

It's that time of year again when kids are running for the bus and moms are left standing with just the camera in their hand.  It's a feeling I'm familiar with and will be experiencing again this weekend as we take our kids back to college.  I don't think the initial goodbye gets any easier, but I do find that I "recover" more quickly.

So while you're waiting for the kids to get home from school why not scrapbook those first day of school pictures.  This collection, School Days, is from Debbie Mumm and it's on sale now (40% off!).  The owl is simply adorable and the papers are versatile enough to be used for all grade levels.  

Sweet Home Chicago; a new collection and layout idea!

I love Chicago!  Always have, always will!  I was born here and still live in the suburbs, so this city is a part of me, and that was my inspiration behind our new line, Sweet Home Chicago.  I just couldn't find any Chicago-themed papers that represented our city, so I created my own.  Our new collection is available on our website.  Here are some pics:

Here's a 2-page layout that is embellished with Glimmer Mist from Tattered Angels and the new mini Chicago laser cuts from Paper Wizard.

http://www.vacationscrapbooksupply.com/illinois.html

These laser cuts from Paper Wizard are simply amazing.  The detail is amazing and they're on SALE!  

The Sweet Home Chicago collection from SSC Designs:

Off We Go!

It's a rainy day today here in the midwest, so I thought I'd take a break and daydream about our trip to Hawaii a few months back.  We had a fantastic vacation with my sister and her husband.  Here we are waiting at the airport for our long trip to California. 

This layout was created using the Signature Series collection from Reminisce.  You know I just love their papers and embellishments; they're easy to use, look great and they have tons of themes!

He's been Glimmer Misted!

My husband and I will be celebrating our 22nd wedding anniversary in a couple weekends so while I had some free time today I thought I'd see what I could come up with for a card.  Given that I hadn't put two seconds of thought into it prior to sitting down, I think he'll like this card.  Plus, I don't think I've ever given him a card with Glimmer Mist on it yet! 

On a side note - can I just say I LOVE WASHI TAPE!  If you haven't bought yourself a roll yet, I highly recommend it.  If you are like me and have a love hate relationship with ribbon, I think you'll find that Washi Tape is your new best friend.  Can you say bye bye ribbon???

Oooh baby!

When the Homespun Easter collection from Moxxie arrived in the mail I immediately had a vision in my mind of the layout I wanted to do.  Well, it didn't come out exactly as I planned, but it's pretty close, and I love this collection.  It's very "folksy" (is that a word?) and a little "country" at the same time, so when I saw the new Tim Holtz Kraft Core Seasonal paper I knew I had a perfect match!  The flowers I created using twine and a button (just put a 3-D Zot on the back of the button and go back and forth with the twine creating loops (as you come back across the Zot, stick the twine down)).  It was super easy and I just love the look.  

Enjoy!

Winter won't you please go away!

I've always lived in the midwest so I know snow and cold.  Cold so cold that your nostrils freeze together and snow up to the rooftop of our house.  So while I'm normally excited about winter, this year it just seems like it will never leave.  So rather than fight it, I decided to celebrate it with some fun winter photos.  This layout was created using Moxxie's new Winterland collection.  It features four, double-sided papers along with coordinating stickers and punch outs.  The colors are deep and the patterns are fun!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

If you're lucky enough to be Irish, then you're lucky enough!  I just love that saying and it applies to so many things.  A while back my sister adapted that saying for a layout of her brother-in-law who had just become a new grandpa (If you're lucky enough to be a Grandpa, then you're lucky enough).  It was perfect, but I digress!

St. Patrick's Day is always a festive time for our family.  We traditionally have a party with our closest friends and family and this year is no exception.  I always enjoy making the invitations because, as you'll see, it's not just about the green this year.  Reminisce incorporated black and hot pink into their collection while Moxxie incorporated gold and orange.  Here's what I came up with:

Did I mention I made the cards using scraps from past year's collections?  Well, I did, but I scrapped some of the past year's parties using some newer collections.  Here are a couple layouts using Reminisce's new Shamrock collection:

Here's a better look at the entire Shamrock collection from Reminisce:

Slainte!

Winter Frost Collection by We R Memory Keepers

We are hitting the ground running in 2013 with a bunch of new collections.  Today's featured collection is Winter Frost by We R Memory Keepers.  This collection features five double-sided papers, a glitter paper, a die-cut paper and several coordinating embellishments.  It is a traditional winter-themed collection of snowflakes and snowmen, but with a twist of greens and grays thrown in.  It's absolutely gorgeous and is available now: