Oooh splash, summer has finally arrived!

The summer I've been waiting for all winter is finally here and I couldn't be more excited!  Well, maybe just a little more excited because I also received the new Splash Collection from Echo Park Paper this week and it is awesome, fun, bold and absolutely wonderful!  I had such a blast playing with this collection;  the colors just pop and the papers are fun, fun, fun!   Here's a couple layouts I came up with:

Let's kick off summer with a HUGE Clearance Sale!

We need to make some room in the warehouse for all the new collections that are coming in, so we're kicking off summer with a HUGE warehouse clearance sale.  We have the best of last year's collections on sale up to 75% off along with those everyday essentials like adhesives, punches, brads and more!  Here are just a few samples of what you'll find on sale:

Who needs a good dose of SUN?

Yes, I am still stuck just dreaming about paradise and reliving those moments when we were on a warm, sunny beach with sand between our toes.  Mother Nature has been relentless around here.  Sunday was sunny in the mid-80s and then Monday it was rain and cold and then some more rain and cold.  I need a dose of sun very badly!  Pasty white is NOT becoming on me.

So to stave off the urge to crawl under the covers and never come out, I pulled out some vacation pictures and started scrappin'.  These layouts feature the new Karen Foster Design collection, Paradise.  With its six bold papers and two coordinating cardstock stickers it's just the medicine I needed!

Aaaaah....a small taste of summer!

My husband and I always joke that when we retire we want to move to an island.  I think Chankanaab would be a great alternative.  If you're planning on visiting Cozumel, Mexico and love to be pampered, enjoy swimming with exotic fish and love the feel of warm sand between your toes, then this is the place to be.  It is a Mexican National Park and it is absolutely wonderful.

This layout features the Paradise Collection from Bo Bunny.  The collection features six double-sided papers with several coordinating embellishments including flowers, chipboard, stickers, bling and Double-Dot papers.

Who doesn't love a BBQ?

Yum....the smell of barbeque and the taste of sweet corn makes my mouth water.  I love summer; mostly because of the food, but also because it's a time to get together with friends and family. 

This year a bunch of us girls have signed up to walk a 5k, so I decided that what better way to celebrate our "healthy lifestyle choices" than with a big, fat juicy burger and some beer after our walk!  Yup, It's BBQ season and I am excited!  And yes, I see the irony in all of this and, frankly, think it is hilarious!

So my goal this week was to come up with some invitations.  I wanted them to be special because who wants to get a boring BBQ invitation (is there such a thing)?  Here's what I came up with:

I used a variety of collections from Reminisce, Karen Foster Design and Creative Imaginations.  Most of the products I used are available in our Picnic themed section.  I hope this gives you some inspiration to have your own BBQ.  Happy Grilling!

Bath Time Remembered

I always loved bath time with the kids when they were younger.  There was always so much laughter and fun that it was easy for me to capture that in this layout using the Karen Foster Design Bath Time Collection.  The collection features three papers, cardstock stickers and fabric brads.  I just love the greens and yellows mixed with the blues in this collection, and the stickers are just adorable!

Magic Wands are fun!

Last year SRM Press came out with these wonderful wands and I finally had a chance to play with them.  Here I created what I hope will be a nice alternative to a "sparkler" for the little ones this Independence Day.  I filled the wand with red, white & blue chocolate candies I found at the local grocery store.  I cut the stars using my Cricut machine and then glued the stars to the wand cap.  I put a few stitches through three ribbons and a button and adhered it on top of the wand with an adhesive dot.  I then curled the ribbon with a curling iron.  It was a quick, fun and inexpensive project!  The tubes are available here for only $1.