... just Laura

Kerri Bradford Studio: Love You Sweet Thing

Hey everyone! I meant to get back over here earlier this week with a different layout, but ran out of time. I'll share that one later this week. Today, I've got a new layout up at Kerri Bradford Studio. 

When Kerri suggested we create love themed projects this month, I wasn't really sure what I would make. Then I came across this selfie that my youngest daughter, Sarah, had taken a while back, and with the colors, I thought it would make for a great love themed page. 

I decided to mix the "{heart} YOU", one of the freebies in Kerri's Hello There class, and "sweet thing", from Kerri's February Fourteen kit, for my title. I cut both the heart and the "you" three times from my patterned papers. I layered the three sets of "you" letters together, one on top of the other. It thickens the letters up and almost mimics the look of chipboard. 

For the pink hearts, I ran each one thru a polka dotted embossing folder, layered them together, and then machine stitched down the center to hold them together. The sides of the hearts aren't adhered together, so it gives some extra dimension to the heart. I also added some pink enamel dots to the top heart, right up top of the polka dots.  

My journaling is all about how much I love her, whether she's the sweet thing that I know and love, or the sassy, stubborn, challenging thing that I see more often than not in her teen years. She's not always easy, but I always want her to know how much I love her. 

All of my patterned papers are from Fancy Pants, from an older collection I believe. I actually started photographing this layout and realized it needed a little something in the top left corner. So I pulled out a few large buttons, from Fancy Pants as well, and added them along that side strip of patterned paper. Love digging into older products in my stash!

quick card share + giveaway winner

i almost forgot that i had to announce a winner for the "last minute gifts" blog party giveaway. i randomly choose the winner really late last night (i stay up late, so it was actually today), but never got to blogging it this morning.

congrats heather! email me, and i'll get your info over to kerri, to get your prize all arranged! if you havn't been keeping up with the blog party, you will want to head over to kerri's blog and lori's blog, and see all the amazing projects they've been sharing all week.

tonight, we are having our team pizza party for sarah's soccer team. since i'm the team mom, i had to come up with some thank you cards for our coach's. i decided to lift one of my own cards, since i loved the design. i made these 5x7, since i will have all the girls sign the inside. i needed the extra space for 14 girls to sign.

i made 3 of these, since we have three coach's. i hope they don't pick up on the fact, that they all say "number one". lol!

handsfree kit for the slice

i know i have talked several times about how much i love my handsfree kit for my slice. and i have mentioned how, if you own a slice, you absolutely, without a doubt, need to have a handsfree kit to go with it. but sometimes, things are worth repeating ;)

 

"zoo fun" is an older layout, that i don't think i ever got around to sharing. i used the zootopia design card to create this layout. at the time, it was the first design card that had the layering feature on it. since then, making memories has come out with quite a few newer design cards that have this layering feature as well. btw, the adorable tiger face belongs to my good friend, lynn.

this layout is a great example of how handy the handsfree kit comes in. this layout has a TON of slicing on it. with the layering feature, you're cutting multiple pieces for each shape, that you'll then layer together. i had to have sliced at least 18 pieces for this layout, from what i can see here.

obviously, then handsfree kit is fabulous, because it's magnetic. before, you had to hold the slice in place while it did the slicing. which wasn't a huge deal to me. it's not like it takes forever to cut the shapes. BUT. once i had the magnetic mat, and i didn't have to hold my slice while it did it's slicing, i realized how nice it was that i didn't have to hold it in place. i don't know about you, but i can get a lot accomplished in 20 seconds. lol!

 

this gives you a little better look at the layering. you can see on the tiger and the giraffe, that there are two pieces to them. each shape on the design card has multiple pieces that can be sliced, and then layered together. some shapes have more pieces to layer than others. just depends on the shape.

it's a fun feature to use, since you can use different papers and colors, and mix them together. just like paper-piecing, back in the day. on the palm trees, you can see that i sliced the entire tree first, with the kraft cardstock. then i used the layering feature, to slice just the leaves on the palm tree, from some green pattern paper. i like to use lots of pop dots, when assembling my layered pieces together, to really show off the layering of the papers.

my second biggest reason for recommending the handsfree kit, is for the accuracey of the cuts. you will get MUCH more accurate cuts, when you use the handsfree kit. no matter how great you are at holding the slice in place while it's slicing, there's always going to be those moments where it shifts or moves. just enough to mess up your cuts. the magentic mat is so strong, that your slice isn't going to go anywhere. i guarantee it.

now, that's not to say you can put a little 4x4 square of paper down, and put the slice over that and have it cut properly. you definately need to have the paper you're working with, be larger than the slice, so that the magnetic frame clamps down on the paper from all four sides. as long as it's holding down the paper, it's strong enough that the paper will not shift. 

there you go. my two biggest reasons that you NEED a handsfree kit, if you have a slice. anytime that someone asks me about it, those are the two reasons i give them, without a second thought. if you don't have one already, you might want to think about investing in one. it will make your slice even better, than it already is! 

slice: teacher cards

this week is the end of the school year for my girls. seems to early to be going on summer break already. but the school calendar does not lie, so they're last day is friday. being that it's the end of the year, i needed some teacher cards. i created these this morning with my slice, by making memories.

a while back, i had shared some cards i created using the new bravissimo design card. you can see them HERE. i really loved making those cards, and how easily they came together. i love how you can create the base of your card, and then add a fun "award" to the card, along with a sentiment. and you're done.

so i decided to use this same idea, for my teacher cards. these are for sarah's teachers. her original teacher from the start of the year got a promotion within the district and had to move on. so then she got her new teacher. and for the last month or so, she's also had a student teacher helping in her class. this is a recent college graduate, that gets to sort of practice and take these kids on a trial teaching run. lol! but sarah's been telling me that i need a card for him too. so i made a girlie version, and a dude version. 

 

i'm still loving using the ledger papers for the base of my cards. they're just such a great neutral background to work with. it's an older pack of 8x8 papers, and i'm starting to run out of it. i'm not sure what i'll do when it's gone. i used some pattern papers from the just chillin collection, and from an older spring collection. 

 

for the top piece, i sliced it twice from the teal glitter paper. i pop dotted the top piece, and offset it just slightly when adhering it to the bottom piece. i sliced the "number one" sentiment from brown cardstock, and added my favorite tiny alphas for "teacher".

 

for the dude version, i choose some pattern papers from the just chillin collection also.

 

same deal on here. i pop dotted the top piece, and slightly offset it, when adhering it to the bottom piece. i used the same "number one" sentiment, and added some tiny alphas for "student teacher".

if you're on facebook, make sure to become a fan of the slice facebook page, so that you can stay up to date on all the fun project shares, tips, and even giveaways.

speaking of end of school gifts. i have 2 more that i'm going to share this week. they're both using the new bravissimo collection. i have a teacher gift and a graduation gift. look for those on wednesday.

slice: tips for maximizing paper

i wanted to share a few tips today, on how to maximize your paper, when using your slice. i know when i first started using the slice, years ago, i went through a TON of paper. i was randomly slicing shapes all over my papers, without any thought or planning. and in the end, i was wasting a lot of paper in the process.

 

here's a great video on getting the most out of your paper, done by miss jenny weston of making memories.

 

here's a sheet that i was slicing on months ago. like, forever ago. i'm actually quite clueless as to why i saved it. lol! it shows some pretty good cutting. but there's still a lot of wasted paper there.

 

this paper is from last week, when i was working on THIS project. one big tip i have, is to work in rows. when i slice, i go from left to right, and from the bottom of the paper to the top. i like to work from the bottom, since the majority of the shapes start slicing towards the bottom of the shape. if you work from the top of the paper, you'll have to pay more attention to how much room you'll need, so that you don't cut into the space above. i also work in rows, so that, once i'm finished, i can simply trim off that strip of the paper if needed. makes more sense then to slice randomly all over the paper.

 

another tip i have, is to really learn to judge the size of your shape and how much room you need to slice it. this seems obvious, in some ways. if you're slicing a 2 inch letter, you need 2 inches of space. right? this is true. one way you can judge where the slice is actually going to cut, is to use the measurement guides on the mat and on the slice itself. the other way, is the way i do it. i eyeball it. after lots of use and a little trial and error, i think you can just really get a feel for how much room you need. i can tell you what 2 inches, 3 inches, or even 3.5 inches looks like. it just becomes familiar.

this isn't really a huge tip. but i don't usually put my paper directly up to the edges of the mat. half the time, i just drop the paper and slice where it lands. i don't really line it up with the grid lines. BUT. having said that, the grid lines are great for checking your measurements. one reason i tend to start with the paper in this position, is that i can start slicing directly in the corner of the paper. if the paper is all the way to the edge, you can't always start out as far down on the paper. 

 

ignore my first "a". it cut a little too low. just shows you i make plenty of mistakes. lol! after you choose your shape, and choose "select", the blade will get into position and the screen will show you an "x" on the shape. this tells you where the machine will start slicing. on some shapes, this will be directly in the bottom corner of the shape. but some shapes, it will be a little higher up, or a little to the left or right. this is what happened on my "a". it didn't start in the bottom corner, like i thought it would. it started halfway up the left side of the "a". so this photo shows where i'm started my new cut, leaving room for the bottom part of the "a". 

 

when i went to cut my next letter, a "b", i started out right next to my last letter.

 

usually, i would keep going, straight across the paper. but i wanted to show how i would go up to the next row. i'm cutting a "c" next, which starts the cutting halfway up the letter. so i positioned the blade to start cutting a little above the "a", leaving room for the bottom part of the "c".

 

and then i started the "d", directly next to the "c", since it started slicing in the bottom left corner of the letter.

 

i think this shows pretty good usage of my paper. i could have gotten these letters even closer together, if i tried. but i think this is good. we all love our paper and want to get the most out of it. so, with a little practice and learning to judge our shapes and how much room they'll need, you will be able to get so much more out of your papers.

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soccer albums: slice all star design card

i got to play with the new all star design card for the slice, today. it's perfect for all sports, and has lots of great shapes to work with. right away, i knew i wanted to do something for my girls soccer albums. yes, i have soccer albums. i came up with a plan about 6 months ago, and started getting them all organized. one thing that i knew was on my list to do, was to make divider pages, to seperate all the years.

 

i knew my divider page would serve as a sort of intro page for each soccer season in the albums. i got the idea to use THESE page protectors late last night, right as i climbed into bed. luckily, i remembered the idea this morning. the middle section is 6x12.5 or so. it's a bit longer than 12 inches, since all the squares on the top and bottom are 3 inches in size. so there's some extra wiggle room in the large center area. i knew i would add their age division, and team name, to that large part of the page. and then use squares of cardstock and pattern paper in the other spaces.

 

i have a ton of this white grid pattern paper, so i figured it would work good for these pages. i have 18 teams to do, between the two girls. since this area is longer than 12 inches, i just added a few strips of kraft cardstock and pattern paper to the left side, to make the strip a bit longer. i love the font on the all star design card. i decided to do a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters for the team name. partly because some of the team names are pretty long. these letters are all either 2 inches or 2.5 inches in size. for the age division, i sliced the "U" and the number in a 3 inch size.

 

this is a soccer album. so there should be some soccer balls, right?

 

here's what it looks like finished, and in the album. this is for alyssa's last soccer season. her last year on under-14's. i added her jersey number, which was #5, to one of the squares. i will be adding the year as well, to the bottom white grid paper. need to find some stickers for that, i think. 

 

now, pretend this intro page was for sarah's album. because i havn't printed the photos from alyssa's arsenal season yet. but sarah just happened to be on the arsenal team the previous year, so this page could easily be her's too. just to give you an idea of what i have going in their albums. this is what i set up last year. i have some 8.5x11 page protectors, that i slipped their team photo and individual photo into. i also have their game schedule, and any newspaper clippings in there. at some point, i will do something with those, and make them a little neater. but for now, it makes sure i have them in the right spot and they're not floating around the house.

 

following that, i have THESE page protectors. i simply choose an assortment of my favorite photos from the season to print, and i slip them into these protectors. i don't stress if i have vertical photos. it doesn't bother me that they're sideways on the page. although, they do make divided page protectors that will hold a mix of vertical and horizontal, if it really bothered you.

 

i honestly don't scrap many soccer photos, on actual layouts. although, i do have a really fun one that will be in an upcoming CK issue ;) when you're dealing with 8 years of soccer, and 18 different teams, that's a lot of soccer photos. and i can't come up with that many ideas for layouts. lol! the photos are in an album. and if i get some notion to scrap a layout, i can simply pull out some photos and scrap them. i do have a few layouts done, and they're slipped right into the album, behind the divided page protectors, for the right season.

 

here's sarah's into page for her all-star team, that just finished up this past march.

 

this is the first one i did this morning, and you can see that "revolution" is a much longer team name. which is why i switched out some letters to lowercase. i like the loopy letter stickers that i used for "all stars", and it makes me want to add a little sub-title to my other intro pages.

 

when i went upstairs to check on her jersey number, i realized their jerseys were blue, but with touches of red. i should have added red as an accent color, instead of green. i choose green, because of all the grass you see on the field and in the photos. although this pattern paper does have stars on it, and this was for her "all star" team. i didn't really do that intentionally, but it's fitting :)

 

and here's what this page looks like in the album. so i have two intro pages down, and 16 to go. totally do-able, right? lol! honestly, yes, it IS do-able. these can be mass produced. especially, if i'm cutting everything from black cardstock. i'm not about re-inventing the wheel, when it comes to certain things. and albums like this (or my school albums, vacation albums) are meant to be easy and simple. so i will be keeping this design, all throughout both the girls albums. i can sit and cut a ton of soccer balls one night. or do all the age divisions one night. and the team names another night. cut all the papers one night. and then piece it all together. easy peasy, right :) 

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smile tag - a creating keepsakes project

remember the easter layout i shared last week? i was working with ribbon scraps for the accent on that layout, and was asked to make a fun little tag as well.

 

i don't remember seeing this in the march/april issue, so i'm not sure if it landed somewhere else. lol! i used lots of scraps from my layout for this tag. the papers were all out, and i had my slice out for my title. so i incorporated those things onto this tag. along with the same scrap ribbon pieces from the easter basket accent.

 

i pieced together some of the paper scraps, onto a plain white shipping tag. i used my favorite scallop border punch on the striped paper, and layered 2 strips on top of each other. i sliced my "smile" sentiment on some brown woodgrain pattern paper, and added a felt flower brad to dot the "i". i added the green ribbon to form the stem of my flower, pleating as i went.  

 

for the flower, i cut small pieces of different ribbons. i think they were about 2 inches in length. i would add a mini glue dot to hold the ends together, to form a little loop. then i glue dotted them one by one, into a circle. i added the flair button to the center, using a large pop dot, to cover the ends of all the ribbons.

back to work. i have 4 little ones running all over the house right now. a 1 yr old, a 2 yr old, a 3 yr old, and a 4 yr old. it's been quiet here the last few months, so it's nice to have all this energy in the house for a change. although i might re-think that at the end of the day, considering how many toys they've taken out already, that i'll have to put away later. lol!

easter egg hunt - a creating keepsakes layout

since easter is this coming weekend, i thought it would be a good time to share this layout from a recent issue of creating keepsakes.

 
as seen in the March/April 2011 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

i created this easter layout for the march/april issue. when i got asked to do an easter layout, i wasn't sure what photos i even had to work with. it's gotten harder with the girls getting older. they're not always into things like easter egg hunts. so i dug deep, and found these photos from 2002.  

 

i used some american crafts pattern papers, and lots of making memories die cuts. i used my slice to create the title, and i pop dotted the "egg hunt" piece. i cut my journaling block from a piece of lined pattern paper. i'm pretty sure i had to make that about 4 times, since i kept messing my what i was writing. lol! 

 

i can tell that these photos were from our first easter, after we moved to where we are now. this was actually at my parents house, who live like two blocks away from us. and we moved within a few months of each other. in a few of the pics (that i didn't use), i could see the houses next to them in different stages of the building process. anyways. that was totally random. lol!

 

i created this fun easter basket, using scraps of ribbon. i started out by sketching out a basket shape on cardstock, to fit the space i had on my layout. i covered the paper with adhesive, and adhered my first ribbon across the bottom of the basket. then i just did one ribbon at a time, weaving them together. i'm not even sure how to explain how exactly i did that, since i made this layout back in october of last year. lol! i want to say i did one across the bottom, and then one down the side. then the next one up on the bottom, and the next one along the side. the adhesive will help hold the ribbon in place. but then i also added mini glue dots at each end of the ribbon as well, to really secure it. 

once i had all the ribbons on the basket, i trimmed off any excess hanging off the sides. i adhered it to my layout using pop dots, so that i could still tuck my easter eggs in. i added the last piece of ribbon, for the handle of the basket.

 

for my "eggs", i used an assortment of embellishments. i basically went thru my stash, looking for anything oval shaped. i had some large rhinestones, a few super old printed foam charms, and some pearls and gems. to fill in the spaces, and to add in the colors that were missing, i hand cut a few extra ovals from pattern paper. i just glue dotted them all together, layering them up and tucking them in the "basket". once my basket was filled to my liking, i was done :)

slice - cheer up card

i want to share a simple card that i created yesterday, using my slice from making memories. one card that i don't have a lot of in my stash, is get well cards. i loved the font and look of the "cheer up" sentiment. it sort of feels like a more casual take on the standard "get well" card to me.

 

for this card, i used my slice, the dilly dally design card, and the greetings design card. the pattern papers are from the great escape collection.

 

i started by slicing my sentiment, using the new greetings design card. my cards are standard size, at 4.25" x 5.5". so i went with a 2.5" sentiment.

 

then i switched over to the dilly dally design card, to slice my flower. this design card has the new layering option. this breaks down each design into several different pieces and cuts. this allows you to cut the different parts of each shape seperately, from different papers, so that you can then piece them back together. this flower i choose has two layers. this is the first one, which i sliced at the 4 inch size.

 

if you push on the double arrow buttons at the bottom, this takes you from the normal cut, to the shadow option, then to the mirror option, and then to the layer option. once you get to the layer, this is where you'll find the next set of cuts for this flower. the circle piece goes over the actual flower, and the small piece is for the leaf.

i sliced the base piece of the flower from green pattern paper. since i was slicing the layered pieces from two different papers, i decided to go ahead and make two cards. i just swapped out the pieces. so one card will have the pink flower and leaf, with an aqua flower center. and one card will have the aqua flower and leaf, with a pink flower center.

 

to add a little texture to the layered pieces, i ran them thru my cuttlebug, using my swiss dot embossing folder.

i then inked the edges with a brown ink pad, and also rubbed it over the embossed areas of each piece. i added mini pop dots to the back, to give some extra dimension to the cards.

 

for the actual card base, i started with white textured cardstock. i decided to take out this background grid stamp from hero arts. i stamped it to the card front, using some peach parfait ink from stampin up.

 

the new greetings design card has some cute little borders to choose from.  these are perfect for card making. i choose the 4 inch size at first, knowing my card was 4.25" wide. but it was a little too long. i think it ended up cutting a 4.5" border. most slice shapes only cut to 4 inches, so this is kind of nice to have a larger cut on this. i decided to use the 3.5" size, which was perfect for my cards.

 

i adhered my sentiment in the upper right corner of the card. then i adhered my border strip directly across the bottom of the card. i adhered my flower base, tucking it behind the border strip.

 

then i adhered my pop dotted, layered pieces, on top of the green flower base. i added the circle outer flower piece first, and then added the flower center right in the middle. a few rhinestones and some staples finished off the card.

 

and in less than thirty minutes, i had two super simple, but cute cards to add to my card stash. if you want to see some cute easter cards, using the layering options on the dilly dally card, check out wendy sue anderson's cute idea.

slice - fabric cutting

i get asked a lot about cutting fabric with the making memories slice. they recently came out with the slice fabrique, which is geared towards quilters. but you'll be glad to know, that you can cut fabric using your original slice or your slice elite.

 

here's another look at some fun fabric flowers i made last year, using my slice and the spring has sprung design card.

 

if you take a minute to watch THIS VIDEO, it will show you just how easy it is to slice fabric.

 

having the right accessories makes cutting fabric much easier.

 

you'll need some fusible webbing to start out with. you iron it onto the back of your fabric, so that it stiffins up the fabric for slicing. once you slice your shape, you can peel off that fusible webbing and then iron your shape onto your project. or use it as is, which is what i did for the flowers above.

 

the hands free kit is a must, in my opinion. it's not only because of the fact that you don't have to hold the slice in place while it's doing the cutting. it's more due to the fact, that you just get more accurate cuts all around. and with fabric, it just really gives that extra hold that you need to keep the fabric from sliding around on the mat.

with that, you'll also want to be sure you have a nice, sharp blade to work with. the blade will dull a bit faster, when you're working with fabric. and have a good amount of the spray adhesive on your mat as well, since the fabric and fusible webbing are more textured than your normal paper or cardstock, and need to really stick down in place.

if you havn't tried using fabric with your slice yet, think about giving it a try. it's another really fun way to add a cool touch to your projects!

slice bravissimo design card

have you seen the new bravissimo collection, by making memories. it's a really different type of product for them, and is something that we really havn't seen before in the marketplace. it's a really fun concept, and i think it's pretty cool. a huge collection of personalized keepsakes and awards, for all occasions. it's full of ribbons, wands, awards, and shadow boxes.

 

making memories is also coming out with the bravissimo design card, for the slice, which compliments the bravissimo collection. you can get the same look of the awards and ribbons, using paper and/or fabric. and then embellishing them with all sorts of things from your scrap stash. i played around with this design card over the weekend, and made a few cards to share with you.

 

first up, is my "have a great day" card. i used papers from the noteworthy collection, and some older slice ledger paper. for embellishing, i choose some pearls from the gem collections, and a few pebble brads. 

 

i chose a really cute scalloped circle shape for the main part of my design. i sliced it at 3.5 inches. the center is cut out, so i also sliced a 2.5 inch plain circle, which is also found on the design card. for the ribbon tails, i chose a design that has all 5 of the strips cut as one piece. once again, i sliced it at the 3.5 inch size, but i cut it from two different pattern papers.

 

i lightly adhered the two circle pieces to each other, and then machine stitched them together. since i'm not talented enough to make a clean, straight stitch, i tend to do very random stiching. i just go several times around, purposely going a little wonky, so that it's a very carefree stitching. anyways. i adhered this piece with pop dots to the card front. i then sliced a 3 inch butterfly, also on the bravissimo design card, from some brown woodgrain paper. i adhered the butterfly with mini pop dots, and added some pearls along the center.

 

i mentioned that i sliced the ribbon tails from two pattern papers. i just trimmed two of the strips from the green pattern paper, and then adhered them directly onto the same spots on the orange piece. i adhered the entire thing onto my card, before doing the machine stitching down each strip. i pulled out this old MM tag, and added it for my sentiment, securing the ends with mini brads.

 

next up, is my "sweet baby girl" card. this is obviously another take on my first card. i loved that scalloped circle, and had to use it again. i used papers from the dilly dally collection and the pitter patter collection, as well as some older text paper that was designed for the slice. i used an older making memories rub on, and an epoxy sticker as well.

 

same sliced cuts on this one. the scalloped edged circle, and the ribbon tails are both sliced at 3.5 inches. i thought about doing three different pattern papers for the ribbon tails, but ended up only doing two paperes. and the circle was sliced at 2.5 inches. "girl" is also found on the bravissimo design card, and i believe i sliced it at 3 inches.

 

same idea here. machine stitched the circles together, and adhered using pop dots to my card. since the font on "girl" is fairly narrow, i choose to simply adhere it to the piece, instead of using pop dots. i added the "sweet baby" rub on. i lost track of dot to my "i" during the process of making this card. normally, i would add a mini brad, but i had already adhered this whole piece down. so i just used an epoxy flower sticker to dot my "i".

 

same thing on the ribbon tails here. i pieced the two papers together, and machine stitched it to the card.

 

lastly, my "sweet baby boy" card. for this one, i used papers from the pitter patter collection and the animal crackers collection. once again, i used an older making memories rub on. and the gems are from hero arts.

 

i'm not sure what to call this fun center design. maybe a starburst, of some kind. i sliced it in the 3.5 inch size, once from the orange text pattern paper, and once from kraft cardstock. the ribbon tails are another design that cuts all 5 strands in one piece. i sliced this two times, at the 3.5 inch size, from the green pattern paper.

 

i adhered the kraft starburst shapes to my card first. i did some very wonky machine stitching around the center of the orange pattern paper starburst, and then adhered it with pop dots, directly on top of the kraft starburst. i bent up the edges all the way around, to give it some extra texture. i sliced "boy", also found on the bravissimo design card, from a woodgrain paper, and adhered it using mini pop dots. i added the "sweet baby" rub on right above "boy".

 

i used mini pop dots to adhered the two sliced ribbon tail pieces together, directly on top of each other. adds a really subtle touch of interest. i added some blue gems to a few of the strands.

 

keep your eye out for this super fun design card. it should be out in stores any day now. i think it's a super fun way to add a new look to your cards and gift giving projects.

to see some fun cards and hear tips about using the layering option that can be found on some of the design cards, check out wendy sue anderson's blog post from last friday. and tomorrow, wendy bretz will be hosting a fun slice related giveaway. if you're on facebook, make sure to become a fan of the slice facebook page, so that you can stay up to date on all the fun projects we're going to be sharing :)

some older slice layouts

i was cleaning out some files on my computer, and i came across a couple of layouts that never made it to blogland. i'm actually not sure these layouts ever made it anywhere, to be honest. lol! 

 

i created these layouts over two and a half years ago, for making memories. this was back when a handful of MM designers were working on the slice inspirations box, and using the slice for the first time. i only had a few design cards to work with, so i used a lot of hearts, stars, and circles. these two layouts (along with a few other projects), didn't make the cut into the box.

 

this was also the time when MM was getting ready to come out with the speciality papers for the slice. so i used a lot of printed transparencies, metallic paper, and glitter paper. do you like how that metallic heart looks all bent? lol! i remember adding the mini brads, as an afterthought. but it was already adhered down. so i worked those brads onto the heart, without removing it. no idea why i didn't just cut a new heart. lol!

 

i'm seeing a lot of swiss dot embossing on my projects from back then too. that must have been when i had first gotten my cuttlebug. i remember i used to swiss dot everything i could run thru that machine.

 

 

i actually think this bottom piece was quite clever. i randomly used the slice to cut circles in a strip of red metallic paper. i discarded the actual circles, and just used the negative piece that i had sliced them all from. i adhered it with pop dots, so that it was raised up. i had added some metal grommets and metal rimmed tags to each circle, and tossed a few metal flower charms on for good measure.

i might have to dig up a few more older projects to share this week, since i can't share any of the stuff that i've been working on the past few weeks. i'll see what else i can come up with tomorrow :)

making memories slice fabrique (part 3)

how about i share the last of my slice fabrique projects with you today? i think this next one was my favorite out of all my projects. 

 

it's an art box, and i think it's just adorable! when i saw the little monster girl on one of the four new slice fabrique design cards, i just knew i had to use it on something.

 

i kept telling wendy that i was so jealous that she was working with baby clothes for the majority of her projects. they could all be sewn onto. meanwhile, i had frames, wooden boxes, and hair accesories to make. most of which could not be sewn directly onto, so i had to do some creative thinking too. i was also painting, decopauging, and using papers and ribbons. so it was sort of a mix of fabric and scrapbooking.

 

but this art box was fun to make. how could this adorable monster girl NOT be fun to work with ;) she was created with seven different cuts on the slice, and then all pieced together.

 

i also sliced the letters for "ART", and hand stitched them all before adhering them down.

 

and last, but not least, another favorite. a vase of flowers. i choose one of the flower designs, and cut that design from about 12 different fabrics. numerous times. i believe i ended up using 24 flowers total, for these 3 flowers.

 

each of the flowers had 8 seperate fabric flowers, all put together. each flower was machine stitched, thanks to my mom. i fused two flowers back to back for the center part of the flower. then i bunched up 3 flowers and stitched them together, adding a button to the centers. to put them together, i hot glued the center, and 2 bunches of flowers all together. the stems were made by twisting a pipe cleaner around a small wooden stick.  

 

and with that, i was done. 4 days later, and hours and hours of crafting. when i got that email with final approval of all my projects, and those magic words "love them. send them in", i just about screamed with excitement. lol! everything got boxed up, and sent off to the making memories office to be photographed. and then they traveled to the international quilt market, in texas, where they have spent the weekend in the making memories booth. i can't wait until they get back from the show, so we can see some photos of the booth and how all these rooms looked put together. don't forget to check out wendy's blog today, to see a few more of her projects :)

making memories slice fabrique (part 2)

i have some more projects to share that i created with the new slice fabrique, by making memories. if you're wondering what i'm talking about, check out yesterday's post. here are some more additions to the "little girl's room" section of the booth.

 

a fun headband. i've admired so many of the cute headbands, with fabric flowers on them. so here's my take on the style, complete with layered sliced flowers.

 

i covered the headband with pink ribbon, and added the flowers off to the side. i handstitched all nine flowers, and then layered them in groups of three with buttons stitched in the centers.

 

a little bumble bee hairclip. i think this bee is the cutest little thing.

 

i made him puffy too. i cut the four parts of the butterfly with my slice fabrique, and then fused them onto a piece of white fabric. then i trimmed it down, and cut another piece of white fabric to the same shape. i handstitched the two pieces together, adding a little stuffing inside each section as i went along.

 

it might be hard to tell what this one is. lol! i really wish one of the girls had been home when i made this, so that they could have modeled it for me. it's a ponytail holder. i was thinking about the ribbon ponytail holders that you see on the soccer field all the time, and thought it would be fun with the fabric.

 

i tore TONS of strips of the fabric, and tied each one onto a regular black ponytail holder. then i cut some butterflies with the slice fabrique, and hand stitched around each one. i added a button to the center of each little butterfly, and stitched them randomly onto the ends of some of the fabric strips.

 

and this one is pretty simple. just a quick and easy bracelet. i used this same green and pink ribbon throughout all my projects.

be sure to check out wendy's blog, for her second round of projects. and keep your eye out on the making memories site for more information on the slice fabrique. more projects to come tomorrow :)

making memories slice fabrique

guess where making memories is this weekend? they are at the international quilt market in houston, texas. they are there to introduce their brand new slice machine that is specifically designed for cutting fabric. the new slice fabrique, and the new slice fabrique design cards, were designed with the fabric appliqué quilters in mind. want to see this new machine? here's a photo, courtesy of making memories. 

 

the first thing i have to tell you, is that i don't sew. i don't stitch. i don't even iron. i actually do own a sewing machine, that i bought years ago, so that i could machine stitch on my layouts. never learned to use it. i LOVE the look of machine stitching. and i do LOVE fabric projects. i have done all of 2 fabric projects in the past, which were for the slice infomercial last year. but i didn't stitch on those.

so when i got asked to work on this assignment with the slice fabrique, i was a little worried as to whether i could actually pull it off. but i'm always up for any challenge that comes my way, and of course, i said "yes". i was excited to learn something new and push myself to try new things. and that's exactly what i did. for hours and hours on end. lol!

i give some major props to anyone that works with fabric. or makes quilts. or hand stitches anything. it takes patience. lots of it. it was also tons of fun. but working with fabric is an involved process. once i got started, i was fully invested in it. for 4 days straight, all day long. every waking moment. ask my family. nothing else mattered for those 4 days. lol! i felt better, knowing that my BFF wendy, was also fully into the same project. we kept each other on track, compared updates and notes, gave each other tips, asked each other opinions, laughed together, and i'm pretty sure we even cried together at one point. lol! seriously, i love when we work on things like this at the same time. we keep each other sane :)

ok, enough rambling. on with some projects. i was assigned to create some projects for one of the "rooms" in the making memories booth for the show. and my room was a little girls room.

 

first up, a lampshade. i'm sure they have a cuter lamp base at the show. this is one i found in my garage, so i could get an idea of the overall look as i worked. i was going to adhered the butterflies randomly around the frame, as if they were fluttering all over. but i'm so glad that i decided to adhered them all in a row, around the frame. i'm going to use this same idea for a lampshade in my family room, except with flowers ;)

 

how cute are these butterflies! and the fabric is just adorable. it's all from my mind's eye. i'm going to be honest on this one. my mom machine stitched the butterflies for me. i did ALL my own hand stitching, but she did help me out with the machine stitching. but i really do plan on learning how, because i love the look. and because now, i have this weird desire to make fabric stuff again ;)

 

i adhered each butterfly to the lampshade, using a glue dot in the center of the butterfly. then i used some glue dots on the outer edge of each wing (top and bottom), so that i could curl the wings slightly before adhering them down. this way, they're not totally flat on the lampshade.

 

next up was a picture frame. this picture of alyssa didn't stay in the frame. they had a little girl in mind for the booth. i just stuck this in there, so that i could take a picture of it :)

 

the new slice fabrique design cards have a fun cutting tool. most of the cards do have the mirroring and shadowing options (MS+). but the fabrique design cards allow you to cut shapes in different pieces. like this pinwheel on the frame. it has 6 pieces to the design. the 4 triangle pieces for the main part, the stem (which i left off of here), and the center of the pinwheel. and because you cut each piece individually, your shapes can end up larger than the typical 4 inch slice size. the largest choice on the pinwheel, will actually give you a 5.6 inch tall shape.

 

isn't this pinwheel so fun! i cut all the main pieces twice. so i had 8 pieces total. then i ironed 2 pieces back to back, and hand stitched them around the edges. i folded the corners over, just like the design quide showed me, and stitched that down too. i added a few fun buttons to the center, and a pipe cleaner for the stem. there's more pipe cleaners on another project, that i'll share later. so they tied together. i also sliced out the letters to spell "FUN", and hand stitched those as well. 

 

and how about a cute tote bag? giving credit and props to my mom, who machine stitched this for me too :)

 

i have to tell you, that i did fix his button eyes, after taking these photos. i have no idea why i stitched them right there, in the middle of his face. it wasn't until i was looking at some of wendy's project peeks that she shared with me, that i noticed HER frog's eyes were on the top of his head. i had to ask her about it, because i suddenly couldn't remember where a frog's eyes are. this is where the "asking each other for advice and opinions" comes in handy. lol! his button eyes are now nicely stitched where they belong.

 

another example of the pieced together cuts. the frog is actually made from 6 different cuts on the slice fabrique. his head, his body, each leg cuts seperately, his hands cut together, and his eyes cut together (i didn't use those). so it makes it really easy to cut pieces from different fabrics, and then tie them all together. the kite is made from 4 different cuts. the 3 pieces for the kite, and then the tail piece (which i cut 3 times).

 

these flowers are one of my very favorite parts out of all my projects. i LOVE these flowers! i used the largest size cut on these, so they are 4 inches wide and 5.8 inches tall. good sized flowers. each one was 4 cuts. the 3 parts of the flower, and the stem. we stitched down the outer flower, and the center of the flower. i left the middle flower as it was, so that the edges lift up and give some extra dimension to the bag. i hand stitched on the buttons to the centers of the flowers.

ok, it's almost 2:00am here. and i have to be up at 7:00am for the girls soccer games. so i'm calling it a night. i'll be back tomorrow (sunday, since it's technically saturday right now) with some more of my slice fabrique projects. and make sure and check out wendy's blog, to see her projects too. her "room" was a baby boy nursery. and she did some super, duper cute stuff. and make sure to leave her some loving comments. we both worked so hard on these, and we really hope that you like them. we both love making memories, and are so grateful to work for them. we hope that they are getting an awesome response to the new machine and the new design cards at the quilt market this weekend, and that our projects helped make their booth a little cooler and prettier :)

just arrived - a pebbles layout

last week, on the pebbles blog, it was all about the new arrival girl collection. this week is all about the new arrival boy collection. i have a layout up on the blog today, featuring that collection.

 

recognize this little dude? that's zachary, when he was just one month old. even the girls saw this layout sitting out, and said "is that him?". they were convinced it was some other little baby boy. lol! i've taken some photos of him and his parents a few times, since he was born. and these were from his one-month shoot.

 

i think my favorite part of this collection is the embossed papers. i used 2 of them on this layout. the blue dot, and the brown with white dots. you really have to see these in person, to truely appreciate them. the raised dots on both of these papers are amazing, and add a TON of texture to your projects. and i love that they're neutral and not just for baby boy layouts. i can see these papers on a lot of projects :)

 

i just love the 3D felt stars embellishments. they're thick and layered and all the work is done for you. just peel and stick to your layout. and the moneky? well, i created him with a new making memories slice design card, that will be out in december. the cool thing about it, is that it will cut your shapes in pieces, that you then assemble together. this will actually allow a lot of the shapes to become larger than the standard 4 inch size that the current design cards will cut. will share more, once it's officially announced. i cut the monkey from a few of the different pattern papers, even using the brown embossed dot paper for his body. i added some stitched buttons for his eyes, and "hung" him from the photo collage. isn't he cute :)

supplies:
new arrival boy little angel pattern paper by pebbles, new arrival boy brand new pattern paper by pebbles, new arrival boy expecting you pattern paper by pebbles, new arrival boy congrats pattern paper by pebbles, new arrival boy everything sweet pattern paper by pebbles, new arrival boy felt embellishments by pebbles, new arrival boy words stickers by pebbles, new arrival boy rubons by pebbles, slice design card by making memories, rubon stitches by doodlebug, buttons by basic grey

you made my day - a jillibean soup card

it's card day over on the jillibean soup blog, and one of them is mine :)

 

this card is 4.5" x 4.5" in size. the flower is just like the one on the layout i shared on friday. so if you're curious about it, check out friday's post for the details. i did stamp the white card base with a text background stamp, in a light green ink. the brown torn strip is a handmade paper, which adds a great texture to the card.

 

keeping this short and sweet today. i have a ton of work to get done today, and i'm determined to get it done sooner in the day, rather then later. lol! i'll be back tomorrow, with a baby boy layout share ;)

my 11 year old - a jillibean soup layout

here is my other layout that went up on the jillibean soup blog yesterday.

 

this is one of those layouts, where the photos were one of the last things i decided on. every now and then, i will create entire layouts, without any particular photos in mind. i had this idea for doing a grid of pattern paper squares along the bottom of the layout. so i trimmed an assortment of pasta fagioli pattern papers, into squares. these are all just under 3 inches x 3 inches. i want to say 2.85 x 2.85 or something, if you want to get really specific. lol! then i inked the edges of all the paper with a brown ink pad, and adhered them down. the inked edges really seperate all the patterns from each other.

 

next, i trimmed off a strip of the filmstrip pattern paper, and adhered it above the squares using pop dots. i used  a small hole punch to make a few notches on either end of this filmstrip piece. then i wrapped white string around the layout, about 7-8 times. the notches help keep the string in place, so that it doesn't slip off your finished layout. i added some corrugated flowers to the left side of the layout. for the center of the smaller one, i simply added mini silver brads to the center of a button and glue dotted it down. for the larger flower, i added a journaling sprout and a decorative brad to the flower using a pop dot.

 

i created this flower using my making memories slice and the basic elements design card. i choose one flower shape, and sliced it from kraft cardstock, pattern paper, and a specialty glimmer paper, all in varying sizes. i inked the edges of each flower, and bent the edges upward just a tad. i layered them all together, using lots of pop dots. then i arranged three of the sugar picks on top of the last flower (with a few glue dots underneath them), and then adhered a journaling sprout over the ends of the pins. this is an easy way to make sure the pins stay in place. a quick threaded button finishes off the flower. 

 

it was at this point, that i figured i should choose some photos and a title. lol! i had created the rest of the layout, without anything in mind. no theme, no story. so i dug around in my photos, looking for some that i wanted to scrap, and that would match my layout, and that had a story i could tell. i decided to go with a few photos of sarah that i took shortly after her 11th birthday. i went with the space i had left for photos, and sized my photos to fit that space. then came up with a title that would fit the space i had left, after adding the photos. it's all so random when i do it. but it comes together in the end :)

 

this looks pretty blurry to me. but if you click on the photo, it should come up larger and you can read the journaling.

supplies: pasta fagioli italian seasoning pattern paper by jillibean soup, pasta fagioli romano cheese pattern paper by jillibean soup, pasta fagioli meatballs pattern paper by jillibean soup, pasta fagioli clove fresh garlic pattern paper by jillibean soup, pasta fagioli shell macaroni pattern paper by jillibean soup, pasta fagioli blended beans pattern paper by jillibean soup, atomic soup minced molecules pattern paper by jillibean soup, pasta fagioli journaling sprouts by jillibean soup, blue corrugated alphas by jillibean soup, red corrugated alphas by jillibean soup, baked beans alphabeans by jillibean soup, red cool beans buttons by jillibean soup, brown cool beans buttons by jillibean soup, flowers corrugated shapes by jillibean soup, orange/turquoise sugar picks by jillibean soup, green/quartz sugar picks by jillibean soup, red/brown sugar picks by jillibean soup, brads by making memories

i also wanted to let you know about a great deal over at two peas in a bucket. i do my best to link all the supplies that i use, in case you want to pick it up for yourself. if you have been stashing anything in your shopping cart, now would be a great time to check out ;)

after a rough start this morning, it put a smile on my face to see this on 2peas. i know this changes often, and i just happen to get lucky on being on all three spots at once. but i'll take it and enjoy it. until more gorgeous projects take my place. lol! 

 

 

 

treat bag tutorial - little light studio

i have a new tutorial that went up at little light studio today. i created a fun fabric halloween treat bag, using some fabric i've had laying around for years, my slice, and even my super old foam stamps. here's a small peek for you. head over HERE, to see step-by-step photos and full instructions :)

 

some making memories halloween shares + a winner

i just now remembered that i had said i would share my top product picks, when i announced the winner of 101+ creative ways to use your scrapbook supplies. but it's almost 1:00am, and i'm too tired to make my picks and write about them. lol! so i will have to get that over the weekend, or next week. i'm thinking my 10 favorite tools will be a good thing to cover too. so, on to the winner. the random number generator (who thinks it's 8:00am, but it's 1:00am here) has choosen:

 
Do I really have to choose?? What a hard decision.....I guess I have to go with patterned paper.....But that can always change! ;) Can't wait to get my hands on this magazine! Love your LO & Jennifer's ideas are always awesome!! Posted by: Sara Rossi | October 04, 2010 at 03:49 PM

congrats sara! email me your mailing address, and we will get that mailed out to you :)

 

i was really excited to see these lanterns up on the making memories site, and on the blog. i had such fun making these last month. i never tried putting lights inside of them. i just held them up to the window as i was creating them. so i loved seeing that they worked so well, and am thinking i might need to make another set to display in my own house. lol! you can watch THE VIDEO on the making memories blog, to learn how one of these was created.

 

i had shared a few 6x6 halloween layouts around CHA time. but in case you don't remember them, you can check them out HERE.

 

and here's another VIDEO, on how to create this fun halloween card. i thought the little paper doll pattern paper was so cute. takes me back to the days of punching out the dolls, and all the clothes, dressing them, and then pushing the little tabs down on the back to hold them in place. so cute.

slice kitchen frame project + winners

first up, the winners of the stampin up stamp sets. i used the random number generator, and it choose #8 and #26. congrats joanna and michele! email me your mailing addresses, and i'll get those sent out to you this weekend :)

I love the color book idea. It sounds like it would be super helpful. And thanks for doing such a neat giveaway! Posted by: JoannaG | September 22, 2010 at 06:10 AM

Love the detailed instructions you have provided on this layout. I love using stamps on my layouts...as you can see by my email address. Posted by: Michele Marshall | September 22, 2010 at 09:19 AM

yesterday, one of my projects went up on the making memories blog. i used my slice and the bon appetit design card, to create 3 fun little frames for the kitchen. you can see more photos of the frame set HERE, and even watch a video about how they were created. and in case anyone is wondering, the colorful frames are from target :)

refreshing H2O - a layout

this weekend, i had a creative marathon. and i loved every minute of it. it's been a long time since i have scrapped just for fun. meaning, no deadline, no assignment, no specific requirements. just scrapping for fun, with whatever i wanted to use. actually, i checked my blog and the last time i had a "just because" layout, was back in the beginning of may. it was time. and for once, i had a free weekend with nothing big going on. so i devoted saturday and sunday to creating. i came out of it with 9 layout (5 of which are totally done, and 4 are almost done), 1 card, and 5 projects (4 of which WERE assignments). here's one of those layouts.

i had the new boardwalk collection from little yellow bicycle sitting out, waiting for me to find the time to create with it. i was digging around for photos, and came across these ones of haley from last summer that were perfect. this collection is definately geared toward the beach and the sand a bit more than regular water play. but there are so many great pieces to choose from, that you can still make a fun water page with it. 

these canvas border stickers are so cool. the large red circle border is the one that started this whole page. i liked that it pulled out haley's red shirt. but i had to use the wave border too. even though there were no waves on the slip-n-slide. it still meant water to me. lol! and how fun is that puffy "photo op" accent sticker. so cute.

i love this sun decorative edged paper. at first, i was going to use yellow cardstock on the top of the layout. but then i saw the sun paper, and it was perfect. i added some fun embossed cardstock sticker clouds at the last minute. i used my making memories slice and the summer design card to cut the word "refreshing" from one of the red pattern papers, and then added some clear stickers to spell "H2O" for the rest of the title.

 

here's a close up shot of the journaling. sort of close up. i should have zoomed in a little more, now that i see this. click on it to read it larger. the journaling strips weren't standing out enough against the pattern paper. so i inked the edges with a red ink pad.

supplies:
LYB boardwalk - double sided paper, twister
LYB boardwalk - decorative edged paper
LYB boardwalk - canvas stickers, borders
LYB boardwalk - embossed cardstock stickers
LYB boardwalk - clear stickers with foil accents, words
MM slice - summer design card

gift tags - making memories blog

want to see how i took one basic tag, added in one cute shape, and topped it with one sentiment, and came out with 5 very different gift tags? you can check it out over on the making memories blog :)

 

hands free and loving it

do you own a making memories slice? if you do, do you own one of the new hands free kits? i had received my hands free kit over a month ago. but i have to be honest. i hadn't pulled it out of the box until yesterday. i already had my regular glass mat all adhesived up and ready to go. so, when i did need to use my slice, i had just pulled that out since it was easy. but yesterday, i had quite a bit of slicing to do. so it was a good time to try it out.

i know that i'm a little partial to making memories products, since i'm lucky enough to design for them ;) but it also has a lot to do with the fact that they really do put out amazing products. i have loved my slice since the day i started using it. but the new hands free kit? i honestly think it makes the slice a ton better than it already was. 

i could explain the hands free kit and how it works and what you get. but marianne does it so much better, and is cuter to look at and listen to than i am anyways. lol!  

i never had a problem holding my slice in place, while it cut. it's not like the images take that long to cut, unless you have a really intricate shape. then again, the fact that i didn't have to hold it in place, left me to do other things while it cut. i'm not one to sit still. if i have 10 free seconds, you can bet i'm going to find something to do with my time. lol! so as i was slicing for a few projects i was working on, i would get up and do things inbetween my cuts. a few times, i left my scraproom to do something in another part of the house and totally forgot i was slicing. the other thing that i noticed right away, is that i think the slice cuts a lot better with the hands free kit. there's less room for user error. not holding it right, holding it too tight or too loose, accidently having it move a little while cutting. the magnetic is so strong, that the slice stays exactly where it needs to be.

i was so excited about this, that i had to share it and demo it to everyone in the family today. i'm not sure how excited they were, but i figured that those of you with a slice would be able to appreciate this a little bit more. so i'm sharing with you. however, i cannot share what i was working on in these photos. you'll have to wait a little bit to hear or see more of that ;)

slice inspiration project 2 - paws & claws

do you remember that cute little doggie treat jar i shared last month? did you print out the instruction card to add to your slice inspirations box? well, last week on the making memories blog, they posted another project i created with the new paws & claws design card.

check it out over on the making memories blog, and you will find the link to print out a copy of the instruction card that you can add to your box. i created 3 projects for this design card. the newer design cards have an inspirations project card included in the packaging. so you'll have to purchase the design card, to see my third project ;)

MM - panorama layouts

i have some layouts to share today, using the new making memories panorama collection. these were samples i did last january, for CHA. keep in mind, these are all 6x6 layouts, since they were for the booth.

this is my brother and my sister-in-law. i went straight to them when i needed travel photos. since they travel constantly. us? not so much. and he made sure to point out that i have that airplane trim upside down on these layouts. wasn't even something i thought about as i adhered them down. lol!

that's my sister-in-law, hiking somewhere. i thought the little arrow was cute, pointing her out in the photo.

alyssa and her dad, on a trip to hawaii a few years ago. once again, upside down airplane trim. lol! i've used this photo before. i really need to find new travel photos next time.

i think this photo is from my brother, from one of their hawaii trips. i used the slice embossing tips along the bottom strip of cardstock, for the flowers.

slice inspiration project - paws and claws

i have graduation photos and stories to blog. i have last day of school memories happening as i type this. but i just havn't had time to sit down and put my thoughts into words yet. and i still need to get photos from alyssa's dad, to compare who's are better. lol! so that's definately coming. in the meantime, i figured it's a good day to toss in a scrapping project for you. 

this is the closest we'll come to having a dog, since alyssa is highly allergic to them. although, he's much easier to clean up after than a real dog. lol! but i was thinking of grammi and papa's cocker spaniel, jenny, when i worked on these projects using the new paws & claws design card. she looks exactly like this webkinz dog. this is just a fun little treat jar that i came up with. and if you head over to the making memories blog, you can download the instructions and print them out. then you can store the project card, in your slice inspirations box. 

new inspirations project cards

i think it was just about a year ago, when the MM slice inspirations box came out. 

did you know that the  newest design cards now include an inspirations project card inside the packaging? super easy to slip the new ideas into your box and expand your collection. but did you also know that there are more of these inspirations project cards available for anyone to print? they have been sharing a new card each week, over on the making memories blog.

 

i created this project using the nursery rhymes design card and the animal crackers collection. go check it out HERE, and you'll find a link to print your own inspirations card with all the instructions and supplies. and check out the archives on the blog too, where you'll find 3-4 more of these printable project cards that have been shared recently.
 
 

 

designer challenge - making memories blog

it's my turn again for a designer challenge on the making memories blog. this time it's all about altering your slice die cuts. go read all about it over HERE on the blog. and you can see my process of taking this:

 

and turning it into this:

 

green inspiration on the MM blog

this week is my turn to take on the designer inspiration challenge over on the making memories blog. since it was saint patricks day yesterday, we decided that my challenge would be to use the color green. and to find an item around my house to be inspired by. you can see the entire layout and read about it HERE.