BE OUR GUEST

Hello!

I was asked to do a guest post on the We R Memory Keepers blog today! I used fun papers and fabulous tools to FINALLY complete my inspiration/gallery wall in my craft room.  I may or may not keep walking in there just to stare at all the happiness!

Check it out here:  We R Memory Keepers Blog.

This fun perpetual birthday calendar was made with an amazing FREE printable at Lemon Thistle.  Check her out too!

I'm working on giving my craft table chair an updo so stay tuned for that!

Thanks for joining me at the Table today!

Paper Crafts and Scrapbooking magazine

Hello!

Just wanted to share a little peek into the August issue of Paper Crafts and Scrapbooking magazine.  I was excited when I got the email that they wanted to pick up my card and it's even more exciting to see it in print!  You know they work on these magazine issues months in advance, don't you?  Well they do.  And if you think it's easy to wait and wait and wait and wait and... for your project to be published, it's not.  At least not for a newbie like me!  I think I got the acceptance email way back in March so waiting clear....till....August.... to see it sure seems like a looooong time to wait.  But at last it's here.

I started collecting the hard copies of the publications I am in (which really, who am I kidding.  It's not many) a year or so ago but now that PC&S is only digital, I'll just pray and keep my fingers and toes crossed that nothing happens to my iPad!  Yeah I know.  I can save it to my desktop computer, but I highly doubt that I'll cuddle up in bed with my big computer any time soon.  Does anyone else have a love/hate relationship with digital books and magazines?  I mean really.  Who doesn't love that you can store hundreds of books and magazines on a slim device, meaning less bookcases to find room for but how can you not love to thumb through an actual paper magazine or book?  See the pretty spine on your shelf and smell the paper?...ah well.  Such is the way of technology, right?

Anyway, my card is right there on the right.  The one right there with the feathers and stitching.  I'm in the section of the magazine that you take a sketch they provide and you make something based off of the sketch (as I'm sure you can tell by the similar layout of the awesome card by Miriam next to mine. ha!)

So in love with how this turned out (on the first try, I might add) and so happy that PC&S liked it too!

Thanks for joining me at the Table today.

We R Instagram Album in a New Way

Hello!

I wanted to show you how I'm using one of my adorable Instagram Albums from We R Memory Keepers.  

I like to have my inks already stamped on scraps of paper so I can really see how they might look with other papers. That way I can get the perfect coordination between paper, ink, and embellishments.  At one point I had stamped a bunch of tags with all my ink colors and then put the tags on a binder ring.  I liked to see it hanging in my craft room but I never used it.  It was a pain trying to leaf through all the tags to see exactly what I had and to try to come up with color combos so I've been searching for a different solution.

I think it was Jennifer McGuire who I saw organize her swatches in pocketed page protectors.  I loved that idea so I ran with it.  I decided to take the 2x2 divided We R page protectors to house my swatches.

Since I don't have an awful lot of colors, this little album is the perfect size.  I stamped my color on white card stock, punched it out with a 2" square punch, wrote the company and color name at the top and then just slid each swatch into one of the 2x2 pockets.  Like this.

You might wonder why I have a different stamp image up top.  It's simply because I don't have that heart stamp set anymore and I just used a different stamp set with the new colors I got.  I love that Pale Tomato color from Hero Arts!  

I'm not in love with my handwriting, but I don't have a labeler yet so I'm just going to deal with it this way for awhile.

And here she is sitting pretty on my punch storage unit right next to a picture my son drew of himself when he was 8.  He's almost 24 now so I've had that treasure a long time and it still makes me smile.  In case you're wondering, the album color is called Mint.  It's just the perfect light aqua and matches my craft room decor to a T!

Thanks for joining me at the Table today!

You're so very strong

Hello!

Just popping in real quick to share a card using the Inked Rose collection from We R Memory Keepers.

My mom's Dr. put her on a Chemo pill and while that means she isn't tied up to an IV for hours at a time, there are still side effects that aren't very nice.

My mom has been a great example of "keep on keepin' on" even if you don't feel well these last few months so I wanted to tell her how much I admire her.

I love the Frame patterned paper and how could you not be tempted to use one of those gorgeous frames to house your sentiment?

I used the new Triangle embossing folder to add some coordinating texture to the card base.

Then I just added some We R enamel dots and shapes plus some of my leftover Sheer Metallic clouds and a flower sticker from the collection.

A bright, cheery, beautiful card to tell my mom how much I love her!

Thanks for joining me at the Table today!

National Scrapbook Day!

Hello!

This past Saturday was National Scrapbook Day.  Did you celebrate?  It was a super busy day for me but I couldn't let the day go by without creating at least one layout.  I pulled out the Inked Rose and Sheer Metallic collections from We R Memory Keepers and created this fun layout of my son and his girlfriend going to Senior Prom.

I can't believe I am on my third child to graduate from high school!  Just one more to go.  Sniff.  Anyway. ;)

The clouds are punched out of text vellum from the Sheer Metallic collection and the rest is from Inked Rose.  I thought Chalkboard was my favorite We R collection so far, but I love Inked Rose too!  We R papers and collections just keep getting better and better!

The silver "dots" are just extra punctuation from the glitter alpha sheet that are in the Inked Rose collection. And the enamel dots are from We R as well.  To finish it off, I did a little stamping (I used two different date stamp wheels from Stampin' Up! which you can order through me.) and then a tiny bit of writing.  I'll do another page later about their relationship and how his Dad and I got to chaperone Senior Prom ;).  But this one I just wanted to keep basic.

I hope you had a fun National Scrapbook Day and keep scrapbooking.  May is National Scrapbooking month!

Thanks for joining me at the Table today!

SUPPLIES USED (All supplies We R unless specified):

PAPER:         White card stock 

                        Inked Rose Patterned Paper

                        Sheer Metallic Silver Text Vellum

STAMPS:      Make Note This and That Rotary Stamp – Stampin’ Up!

                        Remember This and That Rotary Stamp - Stampin' Up!

INK:               Basic Black – Stampin’ Up!

OTHER:        Inked Rose butterfly, flowers and hello stickers

                        Silver Glitter Alphas

                        Warm Enamel Dots

                        Cloud punch - Fiskars 

                        Sewing Machine, white thread

We R Memory Keepers National Scrapbooking Day Blog Hop!

Hello!

Welcome to my little stop on the We R Memory Keepers blog hop!  You should have come from Pam Bray's gorgeous blog.

We wanted to get you excited for National Scrapbooking Day which is this Saturday, May 1st!  How will you celebrate?

For my project today, I'm actually setting aside my photos and journaling pen to make a little home decor piece.  But it's for my scrapbook room, so that still counts, right?

I recently acquired a room of my own for my crafting {yay!} and I'm slowly purging older supplies, organizing the supplies I love, and decorating to make this room a place of inspiration just for me.

When We R came out with their stitching templates, I was so excited!  I love the look of embroidered samplers.  I decided to combine embroidery with my Silhouette to make this:

I first started with a piece of white textured card stock that I cut to 8 x 10.  I used a light pencil line to trace around the frame opening, then took my ruler and drew light lines vertically and horizontally to find the center for my phrase.  Then I went to town piercing and stitching.  Did you know We R Memory Keepers has floss in a ton of colors and textures?  I may or may not have a whole drawer full of We R floss and twine. ;D

I love how easy it was to combine words from the template to make a custom work of art!

I really like the word 'lovely' so 'lovely moments, lovely life" seemed like the perfect sentiment to add to my craft room.  Could it be all those British period dramas I'm addicted to? Maybe.... But in any case, it also reminds me to keep looking for those lovely moments that I sometimes overlook in life.

Once all the stitching was done, I took a variety of colors of We R textured card stock to cut my cute flowers.

 On a side note, I know I've said this on my blog before, but We R textured card stock is my absolute FAVORITE card stock to use with my Silhouette.  It cuts so smooth and clean.  I never have a problem with it!

Then came the fun part of deciding exactly how I wanted my flowers to look.  A simple flower garland, top and bottom, lends itself to the sampler feel, I think, and I love how the card stock gives added texture to the project.

To finish it off, I used some We R enamel dots for a few of the flower centers and the dot on the 'i' and then placed it in a fun wooden frame I painted white.  Here it is on what is the start of my crafty gallery wall.  By the way, that shutter is from We R as well.  Isn't it fabulous?  They come in several colors!

I love, love, love how this turned out.  Very simple, yet clean, fresh and girly.  Something that I'll enjoy looking at for years to come.

I hope you found some inspiration here today!  Your next stop is the very talented Patti Hamil.

If you joined our hop anywhere in the middle, here's the complete list:

We R Memory Keepers - http://wermemorykeepers.wordpress.com
Traci Penrod - http://www.artsyalbums.com
Shannon Morgan - http://designsofapaddymack.typepad.com
Jennifer McDermott - http://wonkywares.blogspot.com
Amanda Johnson - http://asjmade.blogspot.com
Aly Dosdall - http://alydosdall.blogspot.com
Pam Bray - http://www.pammejoscrapbookflair.com
Rebecca Fellows (you're here!) - http://mykitchentablestudio.blogspot.com
Patti Hamil - http://www.mypiecesoftime.blogspot.com

NOTE:  Once you have finished visiting all the blogs in our hop, don't forget to head back to the We R Memory Keepers blog and leave a comment about any of the projects you've seen today for a chance to win the awesome new Flower Punch Board!


Thank you for joining me at the Table today!

Life...

Hello!

I know it's been awhile since I've checked in here.  I'm so sorry about that.  Not that I posted a ton when I was posting "regularly", but anyway.  ;)

Just wanted to give you a little update about why it's been quiet.  I've been busy, people!

I made.... the centerpieces and favors for my sister's wedding in Las Vegas:

{Those cute little boxes were made with the We R memory Keeper's Gift Box Punch Board and the Sheer Metallic card stock.  The gold twine is also from We R Memory Keepers.  They are more simple than I had planned, but when one of my dogs decided the completed boxes looked good enough to eat, and the paper roses I wanted to make and put on top kept tearing, I decided to S.I.M.P.L.I.F.Y.}

I've been.... watching my boys play a lot of baseball games: (don't let that beautiful blue sky and green grass fool you...it was DANG cold! and that third photo shows what happened the next day!)

But mostly.... I've been helping my parents.  Last October my mom had breast cancer surgery.  A month later she found out she had lung cancer, and yesterday we found out her lung cancer has spread to her liver.  She'll be going through chemo.  I'm the only one here to take care of her.  My sister lives out of state.  My dad is 92 and has Macular Degeneration and needs help as well.  Don't feel sorry for me.  I'm just stating facts.  But it is hard watching your parents get old.

So.... I've taken a leave of absence from my We R Memory Keepers Design Team position for at least a few months,

And.... I've stopped doing Stamp Club and will probably no longer be a Stampin' Up! demonstrator after June.

But.... I'm still enjoying life.  I'm focusing on my family.  Enjoying being with them.  Having time to help them however I can.  Big changes are coming to my family within the next several months.  I want to be present and focused on that.  Not have any regrets or unnecessary responsibilities that I place on myself.

Spending 5 hours in the hospital with your mom gives you time to do this...

I will be.... participating in a fun blog hop coming up later this month, so watch for that.  And I will still pop in here once in a while with a card or scrapbook page or some other crafty creation.  Just in case you think I'm going away forever and you "unfollow" me.  I hope you'll stick around. :)

Thanks for joining me at the Table today!

When Two Loves Come Together

Hello!

I know Valentine's Day is over but I still wanted to pop in to share some Kitchen Table Scraps with you today.   Stampin' Up! and We R Memory Keepers are definitely two of my crafting loves.  I had some hearts and a negative die cut piece left over from another project and I didn't want to put them in my drawer and I definitely didn't want to toss them!  This card came together pretty darn quick.  I added even more interest with the stamped background and enamel dots.

You know, this doesn't even have to be a Valentine's card.  It could be used for all sorts of occasions, dontcha think?

Thanks for joining me at the Table today!

SUPPLIES USED:

PAPER:         Naturals Ivory and Early Espresso card stock – Stampin’ Up!

                        More Amour DSP (retired) – Stampin' Up!

STAMPS:      Hardwood background – Stampin’ Up!

INK:               Crumb Cake – Stampin’ Up!

OTHER:        Pocket Scraps Dies "Hello" – We R Memory Keepers

                        Full Heart Punch – Stampin' Up!

                        Small Oval Punch – Stampin Up!

                       Enamel Dots - We R Memory Keepers

Enamel Dots at CHA!

Hello, hello!

So what new product does day 3 at CHA bring?  Enamel dots!  But not just dots.  Oh no.  There are dots, of course, but there are also trendy triangles, geo tags, and hearts.  I love them all!  I had a little bit of fun. ;)

See that jar?  It's a new Lifestyle Crafts die.  Super cute!

I fussy-cut those butterflies from one of the beautiful patterned papers from the Inked Rose collection.  Swoon.

Thanks for joining me at the Table today!

New Washi Tape at CHA

Hello!

It took me awhile to embrace the washi tape trend.  Now I'm a hoarder collector of washi of all kinds and styles. ;)

We R Memory Keepers is coming out with a bunch of fun new washi tapes.  I'm loving them all!  If you look at the layout, you'll be able to see a sneak of another new product We R is coming out with. So excited!!

Don't you love them?  I especially love the silver.  There's also gold and a bronze/copper one as well. As if all those aren't good enough, there is going to be some metallic chevron shaped washi too!  Woot!

Thanks for joining me at the Table today!

Game Day at CHA!

Hello!

Guess what time it is?  It's time for CHA Winter 2014!  I was privledged to be able to make some samples to hang in the We R Memory Keepers booth.  Dang I wished I could be there to see the booth in person and feel the excitement of new products that are being introduced to the crafty world.  Sigh.  Someday.  Maybe.

Today I'm sharing the samples I made with the Game Day collection.  I have 3 boys and a husband which means I'm very familiar with home plates, 50 yard lines, and free throws.  And lets not forget the soccer lover in your life.

And here you go.  I promise you're going to love the colors and patterns as much as I do:

photo courtesy of We R Memory Keepers

photo courtesy of We R Memory Keepers

photo courtesy of We R Memory Keepers

Make sure you stop by the We R Memory Keepers blog to keep up on all the latest and greatest products!  There's a new punch board that you definitely want to check out!

Thanks for stopping by the Table today!

Okay, Just One More!

Hello!

Don't you love how inspiration hits you right as you're falling asleep at night?  Most of the time I'm too tired to get up and and make the inspiration come to fruition and so I forget my great ideas by the time the sun comes up.  But thankfully not this time!

I received the Lifestyle Crafts Letterpress Kit a few days before Christmas and I've been imagining the projects I'll create with it.  Because Christmas, I'm just now getting to play with it.  It's so fun!  I have to say I was a little intimidated to try it at first, so I watched a bunch of videos on YouTube to get a feel of how it works and then decided to jump right in.  It really is pretty easy and I know the more I play with it the more comfortable I will be and the better my results will be.

I decided that since it's still officially December for a couple more days, I would make just one more Christmas card.

I decided to use the Holiday Letterpress plates and silver ink.  I paired that with the Candy Cane paper (love that design!) from the North Pole collection by We R Memory Keepers.  Oh, and let's not forget I used the Knotty Bow die also by Lifestyle Crafts.

Here's what was floating in my head as I was heading to dreamland:

It turned out exactly like I pictured it.  I love it when that happens.  Here are a couple of close-ups of the fantastic letterpress texture.

And isn't that silver ink so pretty and shiny?

I cut a section from the 12x12 Candy Cane paper for the background and then used the 6x6 pad to die cut the bow.  Cute, right?

Okay, thanks for letting me share just one more Christmas card.  I can't wait to get more plates and make lots letterpress cards for other occasions.  :)

Thanks for joining me at the Table today!

Last Minute Card Ideas

Hello and Merry Christmas Eve!

I had all but given up on the idea of making and sending Christmas cards to our family this year.  Until I saw an idea by Julie Ebersol.  It was simple but oh, so cute that I knew I had to take that idea and run with it.  It took me about an hour to make 30 cards.  And now I don't feel like such a schmuck because even though the cards will probably be late, at least they'll get them.  he he.

I decided to call on Stampin' Up!, Hero Arts, We R Memory Keepers, and Lifestyle Crafts to help me pull these babies together.  And here they are:

I wish you all a very merry Christmas and I'm excited to "see" you all in 2014 for more crafting!

SUPPLIES USED:

PAPER:         Whisper White card stock – Stampin’ Up!

                        Silver Glimmer paper – Stampin’ Up!

STAMPS:      Color Me Christmas – Stampin’ Up!

                        Get Merry – Hero Arts

INK:               Gumball Green – Stampin’ Up!

                        Island Indigo – Stampin’ Up!

                        Real Red – Stampin’ Up!

                        Rich Razzleberry – Stampin’ Up!

OTHER:        Baker’s Twine – We R Memory Keepers

                        Holly Leaf Die – Lifestyle Crafts (Quikutz)

Thanks for joining me at the Table today!