April Stack-A-Holic Challenge

It’s April and it’s also time for the Scrap-A-Holic Challenge from DCWV.  I realize it looks as though I’m only working on these challenges now, but they are my kick-start.  I’m also working on something very special which I will show to you soon – just not today.

As you may know from previous posts, I am a year behind on my scrapbooking.  For the April challenge, I have scrapbooked my mother’s birthday from a year ago, yesterday.  I’m hoping her birthday this year will get scrapped sooner! 

I used the Scripts and Music Notes paper stack from DCWV as the background.  I love this paper!  It’s so dreamy and soft and feminine.  Perfect for my mother’s birthday. 

I also used my Creative Memories Border Punch system to create a notebook effect on the side of the page and my Suburbia Cricut cartridge to make the tea cup and lettering.  When I think of mom, I think of tea.  That’s her go-to drink.  She used to take it with one sweet-n-low but now she’s switched to a teaspoon of sugar, and milk.  I propped the teacup on foam squares to give the page dimension, although you can’t see it here.  I also gave it a little bling with some glitter glue.  I love that stuff!

Did you see my flowers?  I used the leftovers from cutting my border and made them into stems and leaves!  So cute and a great way to use scraps! (Scraps? Scrapbooking?  It's a win!)

I have an extra pad of the DCWV Scripts and Music Notes paper that I will be giving away in the future.  Please follow my blog so you’ll know when that will be happening.

Syrup Time!

Several weeks ago I completed several surveys through DCWV and received a lovely paper stack from them!  What a surprise when they contacted me!  Thank you so much DCWV!  

I received the Luxe Lodge stack about a week after being notified and at first I thought to myself “How am I going to use this?”  Well, I had just started scrapbooking again, after a self-imposed hiatus (because I have no room in my house) and as I was going through my photos I came across the Maple Syrup Weekend photos from 2015. 

Here is a sampling of the different papers:

This is my favorite

Ok, as you can see, I love plaid...

        We do MSW every year with the kids and it’s so much fun because we get to taste NEW maple syrup and maple candy, smell the sap being boiled into liquid happiness, pet the alpacas, and ride through the countryside and woods in a wagon drawn by beautiful draft horses.  We always look forward to it, and we always say we’re going to try a different place the next year, but then we end up back there with the animals.  We love them.  Every time I see the alpacas I want to get a couple.  Unfortunately, living in the village put a stop to that.  Maybe someday…

So anyway, I took some liberties with the March challenge.  The main one being that I used two photos instead of one.  Most of the pages I create have two or more photos on them – I like to get as many memories in there as my scrapbooks have taken the place of my photo albums.  I used the birch tree paper as the main background page as it gives one the feeling of riding through the woods.  

I used the pine cone paper as my photo mat and my title words.  I love the pine cone paper!  

One of the circles under the photo matting is DCWV burlap paper from the 6” stack.  I love the texture!  It also lends itself to the outdoorsyness (NOT a word but using it anyway) of the photos and paper.

My Cricut was useful for the letters and the arrows for the forest signs.  I traced around them to make them stand out a little more and then added some directions for fun.

I had a really great time doing this challenge.  It’s been awhile since I have even tried, though I wanted to, and it just seems to me that I need to make time for what I want to do.  Even if it’s just a half hour a couple times a week.  Being among my paper and crafting supplies was therapeutic. 

Christmas Cards - Part 1

It’s the most wonderful time of the year (besides summertime!) and it’s the time when I feel I can get most creative in some areas of my life.  If you haven’t checked out my post about the gingerbread, please do!  In the meantime, I will enchant you with my Christmas card journey.

            My cards should have been started in July so I wouldn’t be waiting until last minute to get it done, but my name should be “Last Minute Jenny”.  Therefore, I’m right on time!  I actually started thinking about cards before Thanksgiving.  I scoured Pinterest for card ideas as I am not a good card idea person at all, and I found some pretty good, albeit easy, examples. 

I started scouting my local crafting store for Christmas scrapbook paper and finding none, thought there would be some there for Black Friday, which of course it wasn’t.  I went on-line and found some 6x6 paper packs at scrapbook.com – all brands I had never used before, so this would be a learning experience as well.  I picked up some red 8.5x11 cardstock and Kraft paper for my cards and envelopes and got to work getting those cut out while I waited for my patterned paper.  I used my Cricut to cut the envelopes – all 60 of them.  Last year I did them by hand.  With a pattern.  Not again.

My patterned paper came in magically fast – I thought I would have a longer wait than I did so I started my card prototypes.  This is important.  If the card is too difficult my boyfriend will say so and then getting him to help will be no fun!  It took several days to get started and then I had one day all to myself and voila!  I was able to get all prototypes done and made into kits of 15 each and they are now ready to assemble!  Only one last problem – I thought it would be easy to go to my local Joann’s and get a set of Christmas stamps.  Well, it isn’t.  There was nothing Christmassy in that store except the decorations.  Once again, the internet should have saved me but as of this writing the stamps I ordered have not even shipped yet. 

We are headed to Michael’s over the weekend, even though it is an hour away, so we can get the cards stamped and ready to go out by the 17^th.  That is my deadline.  I will have to do the family picture this weekend, have it reproduced in-house and ready to go in the cards by then. That should not be a problem.  Getting the dogs to pose properly will be!  LOL!  I love them.  Last year we let the cat sit in the photo for the first time.  We’ll see if he returns…

Results and finished photos to come…