Frosty Friends - NEW from Doodlebug!

I wish I could say "brrr", but it's SO hot right now! It's unseasonably warm here in Carmel, CA and it has been like 90 degrees! None of us have AC so it has been.. interesting. But that hasn't stopped me! Courtney from Court's Crafts here with a card to share! I fell in love with the embellishments in this collection and wanted to showcase as many of them as possible! 

Frosty Friends is SUCH a darling collection! Doesn't it just scream "Frozen!?" Well, today I am channeling my inner (fellow DT member) Melinda Spinks and I created an embellishment cluster. The card is supposed be a decomposed snow globe. Can you see it? 

My little circle of love. Isn't. It. So. Cute.? I used Melinda's idea of putting down a circle and indenting around it slightly to give me my edge. You can see it slightly where the bird is top right and also bottom left. You cannot see it at all in person. 

You can also see the sparkles in the pink and dark blue sprinkles. 

The sentiment was made up of a section on the fancy frills (winter) and "warm" and "winter" are teensy type letters in lily white and blue jean.

Check out all the dimension and sparkle! The sprinkle shapes are fantastic (snowflakes) and the sugar coating on the bird's earmuffs. yum. The little sugar coated dots are on the icons sheet and the one held by the paperclip was part of the fancy frills. :) 

The glitter accents on this collection are AMAZING! Here is the sentiment and winter is covered in sugar coating. Scrumptious. 

 I thought I would show you the overall dimension of the card. 

bugs used:
doodlebug: frosty friends: this and that (4366)
doodlebug: frosty friends: fancy frills (4377)
doodlebug: frosty friends: icons (4376)
doodlebug: frosty friends: sprinkles winter assortment (4401)
doodlebug: frosty friends: sprinkles shapes: snow flurry (4402)
doodlebug: frosty friends: mini paperclips: winter (4494)
doodlebug: frosty friends: mini doodle-pops: penguin pals (4522)
doodlebug: frosty friends: mini doodle-pops: polar bears (4519)
doodlebug: mini pearls: lilac assortment (3349)
doodlebug: mini pearls: swimming pool assortment (3347)
doodlebug: mini pearls: blue jean assortment (3348)
doodlebug: teensy type in lily white (3435)
doodlebug: teensy type in blue jean (3433)

Washi Tape Christmas Trees

These washi tape trees came together SO quickly. From concept to completion I did all three in 40 minutes! If you just execute it should take you far far far less. 

Everyone has *too* much washi tape in their stash.. If you don't, you should. LOL. I often find that I just want to USE mine. So here it is. No die cutting, no machines, just scissors and a paper trimmer. 

If you wanted to cut the edges of the washi tape at an angle it would look even more tree-like. :) 

Okay, ready? Go!

I built the whole tree around this super cute choo choo train washi tape. Love it. 

I used the white doily washi tape for a sweet effect that is very elegant in person. 

Shh... I grabbed this star from the 4th of July line.. 

If you wanted to make these cards super easy to mail without extra postage just forgo the enamel dots and put a sticker star at the top instead. They look just as cute!

Sometimes the pictures make it hard to see the color differences. I just wanted to show you: 

1: How pretty the two color greens are. 

2: How there is this darker ring around the outside edges and lighter in the middle. Gorgeous. 

3: How pretty they sparkle! 

I grabbed some of the chevron washi to give the eyes a "direction" to follow. 

Check. Out. That. Glitter!

I hope this inspires you to grab your washi tape stash and go to work on some easy to make Christmas cards!! 

doodle bugs used:
santa express: baby deer (4342)
lily white card stock
washi tape:
santa express: sweethearts (4414)
santa express: santa express (4413)
santa express: north pole stripe (4411)
santa express: frosty frill (4412)
candy stripes assortment (4235)
chevron assortment (4234)
sprinkles: Christmas (4399)
star jewels: red, white & blue (3671)

Family Key Holder

Family Key Holder

Our assignment was to create something that represented "thankfulness". Well, I am SUPER thankful for my tiny family. I am not so thankful when my husband steals my car keys because he cannot find his own and then hides them somewhere like in his jacket pocket. Inevitably I need to run out the door and my keys are no where to be found. SO this was a reminder to be thankful and not to get angry.. even if I am staring at an empty key holder because mine were abducted. When it comes down to it, it doesn't matter. At. All - There are quite a few people out there wishing they had a husband to steal their keys and are still waiting for "the one". I am so thankful I have him. 

Okay okay, enough of the sappy. Onto the post!  

I have been meaning to use these mini flowers for a while now. They have stared at me forlornly from my craft room wall just begging to be used. Then - suddenly - home decor! I could stare at this sweet flower all day! :) I added some twine to the middle of the "button" and lots of pop dots. Presto. 

I cut the shadows out of doodlebug colored cardstock. love it. The individual patterns came from 6x6 paper pads of both Friendly Forest and Happy Camper. They are totally interchangeable - like one huge happy collection! 

Check out the "L". I HAD to get that fox paper somewhere in my house. Cutest. Little. Foxes. Ever. If you have boys find a way to make this into wall paper for their rooms or something. So cute.

Aww... Look at that little raccoon rascal. Isn't he so cute holding that acorn? My dad used to feed feral raccoons out of his hand. (I know; not smart. But hear me out.) He would wake me up out of bed as a kid and keep me inside behind the sliding glass door while he fed them an apple. I thought my daddy could do ANYthing. He tamed while beasts! haha. 

bugs used for family key holder:
doodlebug: happy camper: 6x6 paper pad (4387)
doodlebug: friendly forest: 6x6 paper pad (4384)
doodlebug: happy harvest mini flowers (3944)
doodlebug: doodle-pops: forest friends (4426)
doodlebug: doodle twine: bon bon (2993)
doodlebug: cardstock: dolphin (3393)
doodlebug: cardstock: maple (3406)
doodlebug: cardstock: mandarin (3380)
doodlebug: cardstock: sweet pea (3389)

Pebbles Home for Christmas

American Crafts was so nice to send me some the new Pebbles Christmas line: Home for Christmas. I am loving it and got right to work on a Christmas card!

I wanted to try my hand at using embossing paste and came up with this concept. It didn’t change a lot from what was in my head which is always nice. :) I used tinsel glitter to give it a little extra softness.

I have been a little intimidated of the edge puncher from American Crafts. Why? I have no idea. Tried it. Loved it! And the little star confetti left over was really fun too! My 2 year old loved it! 

I wanted to give the focal point a little extra punch so I grabbed some May Arts ribbon and stapled it with my Xyron Teresa Collins stapler on and then covered up some of the bottom part with a sticker that came with the collection. 

There is a super cute two-stamp set that comes with this line and I thought it was enchanting. I heat embossed it with white embossing powder to give it some pop and that “chalkboard” look.

I hope this inspires you to go out and grab some of this fabulous Home for Christmas collection by Pebbles Inc. and a HUGE thanks to American Crafts for letting us play with one of our “sister” companies! What fun!

Supply List:

Pebbles: Patterned Papers (Home for Christmas)

Pebbles: Stickers (Home for Christmas)

Pebbles: Wood Stamp (Home for Christmas)

American Crafts: Punch Out Edger

Gingerbread Girl Thank You

Hey! Just a quick post for me today!

I made this card with Emmaline! She picked everything about it! I just helped her put it together. Super cute, right?! 

It's all made with Pebbles Home for Christmas collection. 

I just thought I would get a jump start on my Christmas thank yous. :) 

The stamp is My Creative Time: Once Upon a Time

The ribbon is May Arts Ribbon.

Washi Tape Christmas Trees!

I'm up on the doodlebug blog today! :) Check it out! :) 

Thankful for You

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Today I am thankful for my momma.

I bet you are LOVING seeing a new collection on the blog! We are loving it too! This collection is.. random.. It has everything from board games to zoo themes to crayons. It’s called Family Fun and is aptly named!

The “b” sides of these papers are awesome. It’s a FULL rainbow. I should have taken a picture. Every color except for pink was represented. Nice. So if some of the front patterns are too busy for you (as they are for me) then flip them over and have a ball! I used the d-stress to add a little distressing here and there. :)

Fall is just starting here and I am loving the fall leaf spirit!

My mom has been helping out a ton while my husband has been working like crazy - for like 6 months - so I just wanted to make her a card to say thank you.

The leaves were darling but I wanted to add a little umph. The buttons and enamel dots were JUST the thing to help! The buttons are super fun because each color comes in a big and a small button. love it. And the small size on the enamel dots is super small which is awesome for card makers! They could easily be used for dots of an “i” etc. :) Grab them! Fun colors!

I had some fun with the dimension on this card. Lots of foam adhesive was used.

I hope you enjoyed my fall card today and it inspires you to pick up some Imaginisce goodies and create a card for someone you love! 

Supply List:

Imaginisce: Patterned Papers (Family Fun)

Imaginisce: Buttons (Family Fun)

Imaginisce: Enamel Dots (Family Fun)

Imaginisce: d-stress

Stamps and Dies: My Creative Time (Piles of Smiles)

Zebra Card with Family Fun

Okay, so isn't this zebra kind of darling? This card was made with Imaginisce's new Family Fun collection. LOVIN' these "b" sides.

I wanted the adorable zebra die cut to take center stage. 

I stitched around the outside of the circle for some anchoring. It may be some of my best stitching to date! Be impressed. ;)

I used three buttons and really kept going back and forth on whether or not to put twine in them. I am glad I didn't.

You can barely see it but the red layer is actually tone on tone stripes. I think it actually focuses your eye without you actually knowing it. 

Here it is form the side. Not too much dimension for me. Only the zebra is popped up.

I grabbed the tiny sentiment from My Creative Time.

Thanks for continuing to stop by and leave me messages! It is taking a LONG time for me to get my feet under me again as a mommy of two. I wont go on a rant, but let's just say this and last year have been incredibly challenging.. and I hate cancer. Anyway, thanks for sticking with me! BIG hugs!

Thankful Banner

Thankful Banner

I needed something to dress up my candelabra tree that I put in the middle of my dining room table for this season - Halloween through Thanksgiving. I wanted to give it a splash of color. I won't lie - I made doily toilet paper owls first... they were cute.. but something about toilet paper rolls on my dining room table just didn't suit. Doodlebug to the rescue! 

So I literally stood in my craft room saying to my 8 month old (because talking to your 8 month old is WAY cooler than talking to yourself... which is what I was really doing... out loud...), "Man, Charlotte, wouldn't it be great if I didn't have to cut out banner pieces for this? I should tell doodlebug to make them." Then I flipped through my fancy frills... and there they were... just waiting for me. So I again talked to my 8 month old, "Charlotte. Remind me to thank doodlebug later." Thanks doodlebug!!!! So smart.  

 This project was so easy! I simply used the banner pieces that already came on the fancy frills in the Friendly Forest collection and added teensy type letters in lily white. The faux stitching is already part of the banner! 

I punched some holes because I wanted to flash a little twine - That's basically like the old-fashioned way of flashing a little leg in a black and white movie... but for crafters... (insert cat-call) Check.Out.That.Cute.Twine!

Decor for Thanksgiving table? Done. :) 

bugs used for thankful banner:
doodlebug: friendly forest: fancy frills (4371)
doodlebug: doodle twine: bumblebee (3208)
doodlebug: teensy type in lily white (3435)

"Thankfully" up on the doodlebug blog today! :)

Check out my post up on the doodlebug blog today! :) A little home decor goodness for you!

Halloween Shadow Box

Happy Halloween!!!!! Be safe out there tonight! Or.. just stay in and craft.. and make this. :)

So the inspiration around this project was the phrase: true love will haunt you forever. My husband and I just celebrated 6 years of marriage, 10 years of dating, and 17 years of knowing each other. We are more in love than ever. So I wanted to make a funny little wall decor for Halloween to have fun with that. I'm the witch and he's the Frankenstein. :) Our tiny humans are the mouse and the owl. :) And there you have it - our little haunted family.

 It's easier to see without the glass. :)

I started out with the spooky house idea and then wanted to add some flare to the roof... Fancy frills to the rescue!! I simply layered them like shingles - SO easy as they are already sticky-backed. I peeled them up with my fingertips and added some flour to the back (I didn't have baby powder in the house... I know. I have two babies... and no baby powder. {hangs head}).

I had to get a mini clothespin in there. I LOVE them! I added some doodle twine and put a star on it. Now, doodlebug is amazing and both frankie (doodle-pop) and the witch (doodle-pop) came with extra doodle-pops: a star and a moon each (AND frankie came with a mouse too!). I used one of the stars on the clothespin and the other star and moon in the sky - top left of picture. :)

Speaking of that little witch, have you seen the dimension on her?! I don't know if you have ever looked at a doodle-pop from the side, but if you are a dimension lover (like me!) then you will LOVE them! The packaging pics never do them justice. They are SO cute!

I had originally added a candy corn as the door knob... and I loved it.. until the end... BUT I used the sprinkles dots that are a bonus on the halloween treat sprinkles shapes sheet as my bubbles coming up from my cauldron of love. And I replaced the candy corn with one of the sparkle sprinkles!

Umm... look at this itsy bitsy spider.. now, let me say.. I am not a big spider fan, but look at how cute this one is!!?! I anchored him with a mini clothespin. :)

This was my first time using doodlebug rub-ons. They are super easy to use! Excuse my little hiccup. I had a 7 month old squirmer in my arms while I was doing this! :) But these letters are super small which was uber fun! I wanted the phrase bubbling out of the cauldron. :) 

I added a little owl doodle-pop and called it done! :) Emmaline (age 2) actually picked out the color and was adamant that I put the orange one on. :)

I have never really cared for Halloween home decor because it has been too spooky! I LOVE the cutesy and now want to decorate my whole house in it! :) Oh! And did you know that doodlebug makes these awesome 8x8 shadow box frames (also in 12x12)?!? Yep, it's doodlebug too! 

bugs used:
doodlebug: ghouls and goodies: spooky sprinkles (4319)
doodlebug: ghouls and goodies: midnight magic (4316)
doodlebug: happy camper: chowtime (4483)
doodlebug: ghouls and goodies: spook alley (4315)
doodlebug: sugar coated chevron: beetle black (4089)
doodlebug: beetle black cardstock
doodlebug: ghouls and goodies: mini clothespins: halloween (4435)
doodlebug: ghouls and goodies: doodle-pops: franky (4424)
doodlebug: ghouls and goodies: doodle-pops: wee witch (4423)
doodlebug: ghouls and goodies: mini doodle-pops: lil' owls (4421)
doodlebug: ghouls and goodies: mini doodle-pops: itsy bity spiders (4420)
doodlebug: ghouls and goodies: sprinkles shapes: halloween treats (4396)
doodlebug: ghouls and goodies: sprinkles: halloween (4395)
doodlebug: ghouls and goodies: washi tape: trick or treat (4403)
doodlebug: twine: beetle black (2994)
doodlebug: fancy frills: ghouls and goodies (4368)
doodlebug: lily white candy shoppe mini rub-ons (2169)
doodlebug: 8x8 black shadow box frame