~ Part 2 - Early Start on Christmas Gifts

I realized last week that the pretty girly Post-It Note holders I made a few posts down probably won’t go over very well with the men in my office.  I work in a pretty sizable directorate–about 20 of us when we’re all there and without added interns running around.  Here is my solution to the girly note holders, a somewhat more manly black-white-cranberry themed clipboard-like note holder, complete with color-coordinated binder clips.

The chipboard I used are actually Bind-it-All covers.  I re-purposed them to serve as the backs of make-shift “clipboards”.  The awesome binder clips are available in bulk at Staples.  You can pick and choose different styles of clips and fill a container ($5.99 for the small or $9.99 for the large).

Click here for Part 1 (or page down a few entries) - Early Start on Christmas Gifts

Stuff:  chipboard - Bind-it-All; patterned paper - Foof-a-La; cardstock and ribbon - Stampin’ Up!; binder clips - Staples

~ Monkey Fun

Here is a small project I made for my daughter’s welcoming home.  She’s coming home this week from her summer vacation with my parents in Las Vegas.  She had asked me to make a mini album for her with these monkey papers a while back and I just got around to making it for her.

I kept the book simple in design so that my daughter can easily add photos or other keepsakes to it without much fuss.

  

Stuff:  patterned paper - Reminisce; cardstock - Bazzill; wire binding - Bind-it-All; ribbon - American Crafts, SEI and Wal-Mart, extra-large eyelets - We R Memory Keepers; alphabet stickers - Lil’ Davis Designs and American Crafts

~ LYB BIA Minibook

 

Okay, no more acronyms (did I think I was at work?)  Here is my Little Yellow Bicycle & Bind-it-All project using a variety of BIA materials — Zutter Clip-Board Wood and Perfect Closures.  This was my first time using the clip-board wood and boy was I apprehensive.  I didn’t think the BIA would cut its way through but it did and super-easy.  If you look closely, you can see the embossed velvet that I created with one of my FIskars embossing border punches.  I am so enamored of the colors in the Vita Bella paper collection (I guess I need to go back to my local scrapbook store and buy more)!

Of course, this project will end up in the hands of one of my family members as a gift.  Just need to fill it with pictures or gift it as an album for them to fill.

Here are a few close-ups of the binding and selected pages. 

{Click on each picture for a close-up}

Stuff:  Clip-board Wood Cover, Perfect Closures, wire ring - Bind-it-All/Zutter; paper collection, ribbons, glitter die-cut stickers, chipboard embellishments, rub-ons - Little Yellow Bicycle; velvet - SEI; cardstock - Stampin’ Up!; extra large eyelets - We R Memory Keepers

~ Early start on Christmas gifts…

I’m probably the only person you know who gives co-workers “embellished office supplies” for the holidays!  This year I’m giving my and my husband’s gal co-workers these cute little Post-It note holders.

Aren’t these cute or what?  I’ve seen these note holders done with coaster covers but I decided that acrylic would be nice touch, too.  This is my first project with Crate Paper (sooo pretty!) and recycled paper 4″x4″ Post-It Notes.  (I didn’t even know Post-Its came in a recycled paper version.  I’ll have to look for these from now on!)  The butterflies are made from layering punched hearts from the Fiskars Extra Large That’s Amore Squeeze punch.

{Click on each picture for a closer look.}

Stuff:  acrylic - AccuCut; patterned paper and chipboard button stickers - Crate Paper; rub-ons - Stampin’ Up!; binding wire - Bind-it-All; bling - Heidi Swapp

~ Summer Flowers

These are from the Chrysalis Vineyard and Winery in Middleburg, Virginia.  So glad we still have flowers for me to capture. 

P.S. Happy Birthday to my son, Jacob - August 5

P.S.S. Happy Birthday to my brother, Michael - August 5

 

~ Round and round

I knew today was going to be a pretty day–perfect for taking blue sky photos.  We ventured to Aldie and Middleburg, VA, towards the wineries and grist mill.  We stopped at the Chrysalis Winery first and bought a bottle of ice wine.  I’m not a wine-lover, so to speak, but sweet is always good.  My usual question is, “Does it taste like Kool-Aid?”  Yeah, I like it that sweet.  My friends joke that I should just buy Boone’s! 

The mills and granary date back to the 1800s.  The large mill with the water wheels was restored but the smaller one in the foreground (above) is an 1800s original.  Today was a corn-grinding demonstration day.  Pretty cool if you’re into how things worked in the 1800s. 

Notice a common shape in my pictures today?  It was all about the circle.  How many people do you know get excited about a recurring shape motif?

I need to work on not forcing my kids to pose for pictures.  They so dislike when I bring my camera on trips.

~ My first BIA project is posted on the Zutter site!

Hooray (again!)  I woke up this morning to an email from the Zutter Zisters (the people who bring you the Bind-it-All) telling me that they’ve chosen my first BIA project to show on their site in August!  WOW! 

Check it out at this link:  http://www.zutterzisters.com/InspirationStation2.html 

or click on this one to go to my original post:  Bind-it-All Minibook

~ My Fiskars Travel-themed Project

 

Hooray!  I’m a guest designer this month on Fiskars!  My travel-themed purse, mini album and clipboard projects are featured on the Fiskars Craft site (just newly posted today!).  Fiskateer (Legend) May sent me the Away We Go paper collection from Li’l Davis Designs and asked for a Fiskars tool-heavy project and this is what I came up with.  This one is a keeper–I don’t think I’ll give this set of projects away like so many of my others. =)  

 

 

Please go to this link and view the project details, steps and a downloadable PDF:  http://www.fiskarscrafts.com/projects/t_travel0808.aspx

Oh, one last note–I completed this project after I had fallen down my stairs leading to the first floor.  You just can’t keep a crafter down–hobbling but not down!  The calf pain was sharp (now a dull annoyance) but I was still crafting!

Stuff:  wooden purse, clipboard - A.C. Moore; paper collection, embellishments - Li’l Davis Designs; stickers - Cloud9; cardstock - Stampin’ Up!; rings - 7 Gypsies; large eyelets - We R Memory Keepers

~ What a looooonnnnggg day…

{Click on each photo for a closer look.}

This morning I had it in my mind that we would visit the National Geographic Museum in D.C.  Well…we ended up in the opposite direction and went to George Washington’s birthplace way down south instead.  It was hot and the grounds around the house were pretty dry but I managed to get a few decent shots. 

 

Afterwards, we stopped by for some Lil’ Davis Designs embellishments at Scrapdoodles in Fredericksburg.  Guess what greeted me at the door to the store?  Of all things, a duck!  The ladies in the store told me that “Sally” comes up all the time, sometimes with ducklings and daddy duck, but this time she was alone.  Oh, I couldn’t resist taking a picture of the motorcycles.  They were so shiny!

 

~ Family Mini Album

I took a ton of pictures when I went to visit my parents and brothers earlier this month, so I put a small album together for my mom and dad.  I had my teenager in mind when I made this, so the style is a little messy-funky-quirky but I think it works for the theme of the photos (and my family!)

 

 

Stuff - book boards - 7 Gypsies; paper collection, cardstock buttons, epoxy stickers - Love, Elsie; alpha stickers - American Crafts; felt flowers - Creative Imaginations; rub-ons - Rusty Pickle; extra large eyelets - We R Memory Keepers; ribbon - eFavor

~ Am I lucky or what?

Cosmo Cricket is the greatest!  Guess what was waiting for me on my doorstep this afternoon?  My not-so-long awaited thank you gift from Cosmo Cricket for making their Top 20. 

Not only did I get the collection I asked for (Gretel), Cosmo Cricket also sent me their new collections - Haunted, Mr. Campy, and Jack’s World.  OMG!  Can you hear me screaming?!  I am so excited and can’t wait to make some new projects with these babies. 

A big thank you to Cosmo Cricket for their generosity and awesomeness.  Big hugs and kisses from a happy fan!

~ Funny Faces on the 4th of July

 

Most of my projects are gifts, this one is no exception — an 8″x8″ scalloped acrylic mini-album filled with pictures (assorted goofy mugshots, really) of my brother, sis-in-law and nephew from my visit to Las Vegas on July 4th.  This is my first project with Kaiser Craft paper.  I’ve often used their pressboard albums but never their paper collection. 

Though you really can’t see it that well, there are thin sheets of acrylic (little tabs are attached to each) between each of the decorated pages to protect the facing pages from the thick embellishments.  I’ve found in the past that really thick embellies tend to leave indentations on the pictures or paper of the facing page, so this was my solution.

I would have liked to have taken pictures of every page but the combination of acrylic and lots of light just created too much glare.

Stuff:  acrylic album - Creative Acrylics; paper collection - Kaiser Craft; chipboard and stickers - Scenic Route; alpha stickers - American Crafts; extra large eyelets and binding rings - We R Memory Keepers; grosgrain ribbon - Stampin’ Up!;  gems - Doodlebug; bling - Heidi Swapp; additional materials - brads, rickrack, glitter

~ Do you love Italy?

Being that I lived in Italy for 4 years, I couldn’t help trying this one out - unabellavista.com (translated means - a beautiful view).  This is a cute Italy widget I found when I was updating my Facebook.  This widget gives you daily photos, recipes and a language lesson. 

 

~ “Boo-tiful” Halloween Minibook & House

{Click on the picture for a closer look at the three different Fiskars punches used on the cover–Leave it to Weaver, Threading Water, Give it a Swirl.}

 

I love Halloween!  I couldn’t wait to finish this minibook and matching house and share it with you.  This is my second Bind-it-All project and I think I’m getting the hang of my new tool!  (Lea’s lesson–Don’t try to cram too-thick materials into your BIA if you want it to work for you.)  Though I love straight lines, I like the challenge of making odd-shaped projects like this one using a chipboard album from Crafty Secrets.  This mini is pretty full with pockets, acrylic tags and hanging cardstock tags.

 

{acrylic tag close-up}

 

{back and front of house}

 

 

{inner pages}

 

Stuff:  chipboard house - Michael’s; chipboard album - Crafty Secrets; paper collection, rub-ons, cardstock stickers, tags - Rusty Pickle; textured cardstock - Bazzill; alphabet stickers - American Crafts; ribbon and ink - Stampin’ Up!; ribbon - eFavor; extra large eyelets - We R Memory Keepers 

~ And the winners are…

Thanks all for coming by my blog and leaving wonderful comments to celebrate my 10,000th blog post!  Jacob, my little helper, is here to show you who the recipients of the RAKS are.  Drumroll, please… 

 Ms. Fiskateer Kerri, #1017 and Ms. Fiskateer Marla, #3291 

 

Hooray!  Please PM me your full names and addresses soon and I will get mail your RAKs in the next week or so.  Thanks all for participating. =)

~ Bind-it-All Minibook (and 10,000 Posts Blog RAK)

08/02 Update - Zutter has chosen to show this project on their site in August!  Hooray - http://www.zutterzisters.com/InspirationStation2.html

Friends, in celebration of the impending 10,000th post on my blog, I’m having a RAK!  How can you get in on it?  Just post a comment anywhere on my blog by Friday, July 18 and I will pick two winners at random - one in the States and one International.  I’m giving away two mini Kaiser Craft wood items - one mini heart album and one tag album. 

Please don’t forget to add your Fiskateer # and State or Country listed in your profile so that I’ll know who you are! =)  If you’re not a Fiskateer, why aren’t you?  That’s okay, leave me enough information so that I’ll know how to contact you if I draw your name.  Good luck, all!

=============== 

Here is my first effort using the Bind-it-All.  I had a little problem at first with getting the chipboard into the tool so that the holes would line up correctly but I think I’ve got it all straightened out (so to speak!)  This is a mini book I made for Celia, the MOTG (mother of the groom) from the wedding we attended a few weeks ago.  I’m not much of a glitter person (it gets everywhere!) but I love the Doodlebug stickers that I glittered.  It really added a little extra something.

 

 

glitter detail

 

binding, hat pin and flower detail

 

Stuff:  chipboard covers - Teresa Collins (for Bind-it-All); patterned paper, pearls, crystals and hat pin - Stampin’ Up!; flowers - Prima; stickers - Doodlebug; coil - Bind-it-All; ribbon - Target  

~ Home Sweet Home

  ~ desert flowers in my brother’s front yard ~

 

I’m home, I’m home, I’m home!  I loved visiting with my parents, brothers and their families but there really is no place like home.  I left my daughter in Las Vegas with my parents for the summer, so I’m one child short right now.  So glad to be back with the hubby and my little boy. 

So, what were the Top 5 things I did while I was on vacation in Las Vegas this past week?  

1. I had dinner with an old friend from post high school era and took really goofy photos of us.
2. Stayed at my parents’ house and ate and ate and ate, relaxed, sang really bad karaoke and taught the families how to Cupid Shuffle (hee hee).
3. Went in search of LSS’s in the Las Vegas area.
4. Went to Red Rock Canyon.
5. Took lots and lots of pictures!  Speaking of which — here are my favorite pictures from the trip. 

~ My friend, Michael Sanft, with my daughter Miranda–Isn’t he a cutie? ~

~ Fireworks that were launched around my parents’ house on July 4th, and my nieces and nephew “glow-sticking in the dark” ~

 

~ my parents, brothers’ kids and my daughter ~

 

 ~ Red Rock Canyon ~

I hope to get back on the project-making this weekend. =)

~ If you’re ever in Las Vegas…

…and need a LSS fix, I recommend the following locations:

• Majestic Memories at North Decatur Blvd  and Smoke Ranch - http://www.majesticmemorieslv.com/
• Scrappin’ Time at East Russell Rd and Pecos - http://www.scrappin-time.com/

The ladies at Majestic Memories are very nice and invited me back for a Rusty Pickle (love Rusty Pickle stuff!) class sometime close to the holidays.  They had a good variety of different products and several items I had not seen before specifically for the Bind-it-All.  Lots of acrylic and alterable items there, too.  I’ll be sure to visit again when I’m back in LV for Christmas.

Scrappin’ Time was a pleasure to visit.  This was not my first time there and they still had me in their computer from when I visited them when I lived in Italy several years ago.  They had an extensive selection of Heidi Grace, Cloud 9, Lil’ Davis Designs and Kimberly Poloson.  There was so much, in fact, that I could not settle on any one collection today so I’ll have to go back again before I return home.

I visited another store called the JulieJane Paper Co.  Though it was a cute little store, I didn’t find anything there that really jumped out at me today.  The fourth store on my marathon LSS search today doesn’t seem to exist anymore.  That one was called Scrapbook Creations.  

Well, just a few more days here in Las Vegas and then I’ll be home!  I’ll post again when I’m back in Virginia. =)

~ Going on Vacation

Friends, I’m going to be out-of-pocket for the next week while I’m visiting my parents and brothers in Las Vegas.  Woo-hoo!  I’ll be back with new projects hopefully by the end of next week to share. 

So, what’s this picture?  It was a shot I took of table decorations at a luau we attended last Friday before the Saturday wedding.  I loved the colors!

~ Still Life

We attended a great wedding reception yesterday.  So, you’d think that I would have photos of the bride and groom to share, right?  Wrong!  I was totally obsessed with still life photography before the guests arrived.  Here are a few of the images I took before it got really busy.

  

~ Wedding Card

I have a wedding to go to today and realized that I need a card!  Just made this card this morning to match the Engagement Mini Album a few posts down.

The little words are actually cut from the strips of the patterned paper you would normally discard.  How’s that for using your resources?  I used two Fiskars punches - Threading Water border punch and Read Between the Vines border and corner punch. 

 Close up of the words

Close up of the border and corner punch

Stuff:  cardstock - Bazzill; patterned paper - Cosmo Cricket; flowers - Prima; ribbon - Target; jewels - Doodlebug

~ Hooray, I got a shout-out on Scrapscene

Check it out!  The Scrapscene blog is almost impossible (I think, anyway) to get credit on if you’re not a famous scrapper.  Finally,  I have a shout-out!  “They like me, they really like me…”  (hee hee)

A-ha!  I see the culprit!  I would not have been noticed there if my bud, Carolyn, had not posted about my blog on ScrapScene.  Thanks so much, Carolyn.  That was so sweet! =)

Click here to go to the shout out on Scrapscene.

~ Cosmo Cricket Top 20!

Hi, all!  I’ve been busy lately so I don’t have a project to share just yet.  However, I did want to give myself a “toot” to let you all know that I had applied for the Cosmo Cricket Design Team. 

I made it to the Top 20 out of more than 300 applicants but I didn’t make it into the Top 12.  I’m excited that I got as far as the Top 20 and of course, disappointed that I didn’t place in the Top 12.

Cosmo Cricket is sending me a great “thank you” for applying and making it in the first cut–one of the current paper collections and sneak peaks of Summer CHA products.  I requested the Gretel collection as this “little girl” of a paper collection really matches my favorite time of year - Autumn, Halloween, apple-picking, corn mazes, pumpkin patches, all the stuff that comes when the leaves turn those fabulous, rich fall colors.

I promise to post a new project this weekend made with my new toy – the Bind-it-All!  Woo hoo!  

~ Father’s Day Accordian Album

Here is my submission for the Fiskars Crafts Father’s Day Contest.  I made this one for my dear hubby, a wonderful father to our two children. 

I purposely wanted this to look busy and messy by painting over the smooth lines of the photos and around embellishments in a hap-hazard way and randomly adding fabric stickers at angles.   Alas, the album is too “fat” to stick into the little box holder that came with the album.  Not to worry, I’ll use the box for a different project. =)

Click on each picture for a better look.

Stuff:  accordian album - Creative Imaginations; paint - Making Memories, paper collection, epoxy stickers, sticker ribbon - Little Yellow Bicycle; gems - Doodlebug; rub-ons - Daisy D’s; extra large eyelets - We R Memory Keepers; grungeboard - Tim Holtz

P.S. Happy Belated Father’s Day

~ Mini-Mini (AKA Teeny Tiny Minibook)

 

Don’t let the pictures fool you!  This pretty little mini-mini is only 3 1/2″ square.  It is perfect to display small square photos from the Epson PictureMate.  This project made frugal use of the three sheets of Cosmo Cricket “Dutch Girl” paper that a great friend and Fiskateer, Lisa Falduto, sent me some time ago to play with.  Though the project is small, it packs a big punch!

Stuff:  paper collection and die cuts - Cosmo Cricket; chipboard squares, ink, ribbon, die cut flowers - Stampin’ Up!; rings - 7 Gypsies, extra large eyelet - We R Memory Keepers; paint - Making Memories

~ Engagement Mini Album

A son of a dear friend of ours from Naples, Italy, is getting married in a couple of weeks.  Instead of getting an impractical gift for the two young lovebirds, we’ve decided to give them a gift they can use (money always works, right?).  Along with the monetary gift, I wanted to give Manny and Nancy a small mini album to scrap and journal a few of their engagement photos.

 

Stuff:  paper collection, chipboard, chipboard stickers - Cosmo Cricket; rings - 7 Gypsies, extra large eyelets - We R Memory Keepers; grungeboard - Tim Holtz; flowers - Bazzill; paint - Making Memories

~ Funky Blinged-out Purse

Funky, huh?  My explanation?  I don’t know…I made this one in the dark last night.  (hee hee)  I was surprised when I got a good look at it this morning.  It is a bit different than my usual crafts but it is good to try something different once in a while.  This is my first project using Pink Paislee. 

Click on each of the pictures for a closer look.

 

Stuff:  purse - Creative Imaginations; paper collection - Pink Paislee; fabric flowers, hat pin and ribbon - Stampin’ Up!; bling - Heidi Swapp and Doodlebug; paint - Making Memories; rain dots - Cloud 9

~ Trading Card Mini Album

Who said you have to put baseball cards in those sturdy plastic collector sleeves?  I re-purposed 10 sleeves  into a solid little mini album.  Each of the “cards” is 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 (more or less) — about the size of an ATC — cut from Bazzill Bling and covered in Cloud 9 Sunrise Smoothie.

Click on each picture for a closer look. 

Stuff:  cardstock - Bazzill; pattened paper - Cloud 9; ribbon - American Crafts 

~ Woo-hoo! I won the Lil’ Davis Designs Photo Contest!

Let me tell you, I’ve been entering for months now but none of my pictures were good enough. 

Finally, a subject I could have a fair shake in - FLOWERS (wouldn’t you know it!)  I won the May contest and just found out by looking on the Lil’ Davis Designs site a few minutes ago!  Hooray!  I’m so excited. =)

Here is the pic that won.  Lil’ Davis Designs link - http://www.lildavisdesigns.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18&Itemid=66

~ Garden-themed Hanging Album

Using the pictures I took from our Botanic Garden trip, I made a hanging album using a Kaiser Craft wood product and K & Company paper collection.

Though the paper collection is a bit Christmas-y with red and green, I think it worked well overall with the theme of plants and flowers from the gardens.

I really like how this turned out!  It’ll probably end up another gift for one of the grandparents. =)

Click on each of the thumbnails below for a closer look at seach section.

Stuff:  wood hanging frame - Kaiser Craft; paper collection - K & Company; ribbon - Stampin’ Up!; felt flowers - Creative Imaginations; paint - Making Memories