International Scrapbooking Day: HUGE Free Kit from Pixels and Company

International Scrapbook Day is this Saturday!  There are usually lots of sales, contests, and promotions around this time and I found a really cool one I just had to share.  You can get this gorgeous kit for FREE through the Blog Hop at Pixel and Company.  Here is the post with the order of blogs you need to visit to get the whole thing.

Dance Recital Luncheon Decorations: A Twinkle Toes Party

I had so much fun putting together the Hot Dog Bar that I was motivated to work on some hybrid digi goodness for ER's dance recital on Saturday.  I already had the perfect digital scrapbooking kit in my stash, Twinkle Toes by Kristen Aagard, to use and I think they made our little performer's day even more special.

Each pendant of this banner is rather large, from top to bottom tip 10 inches tall and about 8 inches wide.  I only made three, which cut down on the time needed to create it.  After printing onto brochure paper I mounted on chipboard for durability.

Here is a closer look at the digital version so you can see all the details better.

I also made some lunch buffet cards to label the dishes.  They'd also be cute as place cards.

Next I made some digital frames for pictures I took of ER before the dress rehearsal.  I just popped them into the some double sided Tolsby frames for a quick centerpiece.  On the otherside of the photos, I added some filler cards with dance quotes.

I forgot to take a picture of the frames on the table, but I'll try to get one and add it to the post so you can see how great they looked assembled.  This was ER's first time in more than one dance for the recital and it was a big deal.  She was in three different dances and we're so proud of her and all the hard work she's put into practicing.

Updated: Here are the pictures of the photos and inserts in the frames.  My daughter likes them so much I may have to go get more frames because she wants to keep these as is on her desk :)

Sharing at: Craftionary,

Project Life: Week 17

I used to take a lot of vertical portraits; a majority of my pictures were that orientation.  Since starting Project Life, I've found that now, most seem to be horizontal.  All the better to fit in the page protector style I have the most of.  But I was still surprised when I went to fill the backside of Design D for the first half of the week, by the shortage of vertical photos.  I ended up using the little spaces for photos and making collages to fill in the rest. 

It ended up being the first week that I didn't use any of the kit components to make my pages, which felt very weird but oddly liberating.  Instead, I threw some Live Free: Love Life freebies from Miss Tina into the mix for my Weekly Title Card and Week in Review Journaling Card. 

That odd looking close up of a mouth is our nine month old, the little baby teeth we've felt for awhile just below the gums finally pushed up.  They are so small you can't see them in photos, believe me I tried, but a milestone like that had to be in PL don't you think?  I ended up laying him on his back and trying to pry back his lip while he squirmed.  Ah, the things we'll do for a photo!

The biggest news was that Brad and I became an Uncle and Aunt; the kids now have a cousin!  Very exciting!  They're out of state so we haven't met her yet :( and the only picture I had was from a grainy text message.  So I used Erica Zane's First Time Ever to make a sweet little annoucement.  The white frame is from another kit but I'll be darned, I can't recall which one!

We had Daisies on Tuesday and the girls played Musical Chairs and Simon Says to practice being honest and fair.  Those girls played so nicely we didn't really have much to discuss, no one made a fuss or fought over the last seat.  You Make Me So Happy by Wild Dandelion Designs by Meghan Mullens was used for the collage.

Since I've been branching out and trying new things with PL, it seemed time to finally crack out Design E.  With such a busy second half of the week, it was the perfect time to do so.  6"X6" digi layouts helped me get a lot of pictures into my spread.  I'll give you a closer look at each one below.

My daughter's kindergarten class went bowling for a science field trip.  It was also her first time going bowling ever, exciting stuff!  My parents were able to come over and watch the baby so I could go and help coordinate the volunteers for the teacher. 

I decided to be really wild and crazy ☺ and do a 6"X12" for the day so I could photos from the trip and back home with my parents.  I used a Double Up No. 1 template from Karen Funk Designs and have to say, it looks awesome!  I used the same kit as the Daisy collage from the other side in an attempt to give the two halves of the week a more cohesive look. 

I do product reviews on my blog from time to time; we especially like seeing all the new kid's products.  I got some especially good pictures of E playing with Nickelodeon's Gak & Floam that deserved a layout all to themselves.  My Best Friend from Amy Stoffel was used for this one along with a page template I got through my Premium Membership at Simple Scrapper.

For the last day of the week I used a free Scrapbook Etc. photo collage, slightly altered, to save some time scrapping the visit we made to see my Great Aunts.  It was B's first time meeting them and I think they really enjoyed the company, even if they were a bit confused as to who I was.  I think everyone just likes seeing a baby and it made them happy that they had visitors.  Kit used is Cloud Watching by Ellie Lash.

Linking up to The Mom Creative ☺

I Heart You Lip Balm Labels

This probably never happens to you, but I bought a set of cute Christmas lip balms for ER to give my friend Margaret's two daughters.  Then I temporarily misplaced them until they were  rediscovered while cleaning out the office last week.  I didn't want to hold on to them for a year, so I made these cute little graphics and printed them out onto Avery Sticker Project Paper.  Peel and stick right over the Santa Claus and Elves on the lip balms and no ones the wiser :)

Here is a better look at the label

Credits: Litabells Design (You and I Kit): Pink Ribbon, Meredith Cardall Designs (Love is in the Air Kit) Blue & Green String, Blue & Green Flags, Heart, Kristen CB Designs (Love is in the Air Kit) blue rick rack, WM[Squared] (Crazy Love - Mini): I Heart You Word Art, heart paper

February's Take Twelve

Happy President's Day!  We are enjoying a four day weekend.  I hope you are getting a little break too, while we remember and are thankful for the father of our nation and all the men who have led our country, for better or worse.  Regardless of party lines, I am grateful for the men & women who dedicate their lives to public office and law making.  It's a thankless job, with so many critics one can never hope to make everyone happy.  With that being said, now back to our regularly scheduled postings...

I have some exciting news, my January Take Twelve was featured on this month's post on Ella Publishing's blog!!!!  I was so thrilled to see it up there, very fun for me as I love Elizabeth Dillow.  I've even got her book, The Scrapbooker's Almanac so knowing she saw one of my layouts is very cool!

I am running a little late with my monthly layout for Take Twelve, which is okay because unlike some participants mine is not made up of photos literally taken on the 12th of each month.  Since I am also doing Project Life, I decided that 12 photos revolving around the monthly theme from the Take Twelve Guided Inspiration Kit is how I'll be participating.  Although, I wouldn't rule out a month where I will take all 12 on the 12th. 

Here is a closer look at the leftside of the page, I used number 4 from the Take Twelve Templates.  The kit is Letters of Love Mini Kit from Sara Schmultz.  The blue polka dot and red hearts on each side are made from part of the bingo card.  To make them, I {badly} extracted the heart.  The edges are pretty rough but since the hearts are small I don't think you can tell that much. 

The cursive "love" and "hug" on the layouts are from the kit Well Written Set One, a freebie I got from Simply Tiffany Design, during one of the designer blog hops through Design House Digital.  The originals are really cute quotes but I only needed the word so I erased the rest of the text. 
The Journaling Reads:

No matter where you look in February, pink and red are everywhere all month long! From the clothes we wear - even on LB, to the treats we eat! {12 in 2012}

From Top to Bottom Left to Right:
Lunch at Mongolian BBQ with our friends
Valentines on the mantle
Star Wars Lego book from Daddy
LB’s 1st Valentine package
ER’s drawing of the family for Daddy’s card.

Right Page:
ER writing her classroom Valentines
Chocolate cake - okay not the right colors but with a
big frosted heart in coffee flavored icing, yum!
M&Ms from Grammy & Papa in a bowl
Favorite decoration, a felt countdown I made
LB’s 1st Valentine onesie
ER at her kindergarten party, making a glitter heart
Newest decoration, a wood block with vinyl.

A Little Outdoorsy Bundle: Kit and Template

I'm back with Snail Mail Fridays, my personal card a week challenge.  This time I've got a beautiful hybrid card to share, made with the kit A Little Outdoorsy from Louise Franks Designs.  Aren't the little houses adorable?  The rolling "hills" were part of the kit so it was so easy to put together this little scene perfect to illustrate one of my favorite sayings.  See the little winding road that looks like it's going "over the hills and through the woods", leading from one house to the other?  Cute, huh?  Yeah, I'm that cheesy!

I put a little message on the inside, you know I had to use that little blue bird!  The top is blank for writing a little message.  I picked up a set of little 4 in X 5.5 in cards with envelopes and it fits perfectly inside the envelope.  Just a little note, the colors in my photos is a little washed out because it was a little overcast when I took the photos.  In person they are more vibrant and look like they way they appear in the image below.

I figured out how fit it onto one sheet of high resolution paper and fold it so that when you fold it both the front and inside message work without cutting.  Here is a visual so you can see what I did.  Just make sure you format your printer for borderless printing.

Here's a bit more A Little Outdoorsy:

This cute little kit contains some cute doodle style houses and a sprinkling of trees, cute little birds, love hearts and more.

The kit contains 2 birds, 3 buttons, 1 cloud, 1 stitched cloud, 2 frames, 1 heart scatter, 3 hill embellishments, 1 hill stitching, 3 houses, 4 journal boxes, 1 path, 1 path with stitching, 1 ric rac, 1 stitched swirl, 1 tag, 2 trees, 1 Photo clip, 4 Build A Flower components, 1 Build A Flower leaf and 1 word art tag.

Now let's see some pages!  First I used it to make this layout featuring pictures of the outside of our home during each of the four seasons: winter, spring, summer, and fall.  It was fun to combine pictures from several different years.  My favorite part is the fun little house scene I made for the journaling spot.  It's similar to the one I made for the card, but this time I tried to make it look more like houses in a neighborhood would look.

Besides the kit, Louise also released A Little Outdoorsy Template, which I used with Louise's Happy Page Kit, a kit you can get for FREE with just a tweet or Facebook post to help spread the word about Louise's fabulousness :) 

Here's how I used the two together.  The bright colorful papers look great on the template.  With all it's photo or paper slots, it was just perfect for a layout about the things that make me happy...like shopping for my post pregnancy figure, which is currently four pounds less than my prepregnancy weight.  Go me!

(Please note I added an overlay from another source over the orange space in the layout, it is not included in the page kit.)

FREE Stuff for Fans

Be among the first to find out about all sorts of opportunities to win free kits by subscribing to her blog, and get new posts emailed right to you!  Every time Louise releases a kit, she gives her readers a chance to win it.  Right now you can win the Blogwear for A Little Outdoorsy.   She also has other freebies like this cute Bundle of Joy (Boy) Quick Page or Happy Page Kit I used with the template example, free in exchange for a simple tweet or Facebook post.  Plus more so go check them out!

Because Louise knows that once you try her kits you'll love them, she gives fans lots of opportunities to get free stuff!  She is really generous and her newsletter often come with free goodies.  This month it's an alphabet that matches A Little Outdoorsy so hurry up and sign up so you can get it!  The sign up is at the bottom of her home page.



Shared at: Tidy Mom, Tatertots & Jello, Fun to Craft, Craftionary, Lolly Jane, Dear Creatives,
Disclaimer: As a member of the Louise Franks Design Team I am given access to kits to create promotional items. 

Snowman Math

Snowman Math Materials

Dice

Math Mat (above)

Cotton Balls

Dry Erase Marker & Sheet of Kleenex for Eraser

Page Protector or Laminate

I love being able to make my own learning materials for ER using the beautiful digital scrapbooking kits I've collected.  This simple addition activity I created with Let It Snow, a now retired kit from Louise Franks Designs.  (Visit the kit release post to download the Design Team Quick Pages I created, they're still available for free download.)

Snowman Math is simple and straight forward to do.  Roll a dice for the first number.  Write it on the first blank line.  Roll again for the second number and write it on the second blank line.  Use cotton balls to represent each numeral and place on the corresponding snowman.  For example, if the first roll is a two, place two snowballs on the first snowman image.  Then count up all the math manipulatives, in this case the cotton balls, to get the total.

I printed the math mat on high resolution paper so the colors would be nice and vibrant.  Then slipped it into an empty page protector for a cheap way to "laminate" it and make it reusable.  On the otherside of the page protector, I slipped in a copy of this printable of Rhymes to Help Students Write Their Numbers, thank you to Miss Ingram for providing it.  That way ER can refer to it, if she needs help while writing.  I also put a piece of cardstock in between the two to make it a little stiffer and easier for ER to write and erase on.

Besides the cotton balls, we sometimes use some fun snowflake counters that I also used to Let It Snow to create.  We also use them to create patterns.  I glued them to an old empty cereal box before cutting them apart and "laminated" with clear packing tape so we can use them over and over.

Linking this up to the weekly linky at the blog I helped co-found, ABC & 123: A Learning Cooperative.



Disclosure: As a member of the Louise Franks Design Team, I received access to kits to create promotional items.  While this was not part of a DT assignment, I did use a complimentary kit to create them and in the interest of full disclosure am noting this for readers.

January's Take 12

Because I obviously don't have enough to do, last minute I decided to jump in and start another year long project.  I've been tempted to do something like this every year but usually forget or can't think of anything interesting to photograph. When I saw the photo challenge and supporting Guided Inspiration Kit and Take Twelve Templates, at Ella Publishing I thought it's never going to be easier!  They even send a reminder to get those camera's ready shortly before the 12th.  There is also a monthly link up and contest, that I didn't get finished in time for this time, but I hope to be a little quicker next month. I think the community feel will give me some added motivation to keep up.

Plus I really like the kit which has ideas for ways to capture the details of life each month.  I think it will be fun years from now to see what we ate, where we shopped, shoe styles, and things like that.  It's those kinds of things I that I usually don't scrap so without doing this kind of project, those little details would be forgotten over time.  The photos I took I got right from the check off list and I also used one of the templates from the other kit.

If you are doing Take 12 be sure to let me know so I can come see your pictures or layout.  And if you're scrapping them, especially if you're using the templates, I'd love to know if you've got any tips for including a lot of journaling.  There were a couple more details I'd have liked to include but I didn't want the type to end up being too tiny to read.  I usually scap 12X12 pages.  I was thinking if I got these digital layouts printed in that size, I could then do a 6X12 insert, kind of like a lot of Project Lifers are doing, between layouts with the journaling on there so the focus on the layouts can be on the photos.  Any other solutions you can think of?  Thank you in advance for any help you might be able to give!

The Journaling Says:

1. ER’s favorite library books, checked out multiple times.
2. A New Year, and finally some new clothes for Katie! The post pregnancy body needed some fancying up!
3. Love our new calendar from Paper Coterie, much more modern and clean looking than we usually get. Can’t wait to look at it all year long!
4. We got a Kinnect for Christmas and plan to make family game night a regular event!
5. Our little artist with her latest signed work.
6. I usually find Beaver the cat sitting right here, when we come down every morning.
7. A picture of the kiddos as 2012 starts. ER, 5 & LB, 5 months old.
8. Our other kitty, Mabel likes glance outdoors by the heat vent in the kitchen.
9. I love comfy shoes with a little style! My new Crocs and stand by Sketches get worn all the time.
10. ER is on a Cinnamon Chex for breakfast every morning kick, she usually eats it with either a banana or an orange.
11. My cluttered nightstand always has piles on it, at least one lip balm, some snacks - Brad hates when I eat in bed, and easy access to my books and magazines.
12. Currently reading on my NookColor: Mary Boleyn by my favorite history author Alison Weir and just finished Minding Frankie for book club.

Supplies: Title from the Guided Inspiration Kit and Template from Take Twelve Templates and My Happy Family Kit from Louise Franks Designs.

I Have A Dream Mobile for MLK Jr. Day

ER has been learning about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at kindergarten and we've also been reading books about him too.  As an extension activity we made this mobile, with ER providing an age appropriate dream based on MLK Jr.'s ideals.  Writing it on one side of the cloud was slightly torturous, not for her but for mom as it was slow going, but good practice for my little who does not like handwriting at all.  Plus it was a good opportunity to talk about how if there had been no Martin Luther King Jr and the Civil Right's movement, then our family, which is multi-cultural, might not exist.  That was certainly an eye opener for her.

Making this hybrid project began with searching through my digital scrapbooking kits for a cloud image.  I added the text, alphabet - altered by clipping on papers to change the colors, and banner to it.  Printed that out then deleted the extras and flipped the cloud image.  Printed the flipped version for the back of the cloud on our mobile. 

After we talked about the dream MLK Jr. had, we came up with one that's applicable to five year olds.  The word on the street is that the boys and girls don't always get along at recess!  ER wrote it on one side.  Afterward, we glued it onto chipboard.  I cut it out and then glued the flipped image on the other side.  We have left the back side blank for the time being, my hope is that we'll add another wish to it next year.

We punched holes at the top with my Crop-A-Dile for hanging and then more at the bottom of the cloud.  Each hole was reinforced with an eyelet.  I had some dimensional white bird stickers leftover from Christmas, I think they are doves.  They look like it to me and if they're not, well they're a decent substitute!

I told her they were doves and that they symbolize peace and hope.  We added a dove to one side of a punched scalloped circle, the other side could be used to write facts about MLK Jr. or additional dreams.  These have been suspended with fishing wire.  I like that since the fishing wire is "clear" it kind of gives the illusion that the birds are "flying". 

Supplies Use: Cloud Image from Retired I Heart Spring Kit by Louise Franks Designs, Alphabet, Papers - used as clipping masks, and Banner from Playful Kit by Louise Franks Designs.



Shared At: Skip to My Lou, Crafty Moms Share, Tutus & Tea Parties, and the blog I helped co-found ABC & 123: A Learning Cooperative.

Giveaway: My Sweet Family Digital Kit Release

And the winner is...Shayna, lucky comment #41!  Thank you to everyone who entered!  Check back often for more fun giveaways!

Louise has been busy and has a lot of new releases!  I'll be sharing all of them with you but and the first one I have to feature is My Sweet Family.  I love the soft colors and the cool citrus shades she used.  The blues go so well with it and it all kinda makes evokes a comfy cozy feeling to me.  Did you see the banner, it's a new style for Louise and the scallops give it a dainty feel, but the colors mean you can still use it with masculine photos.

Here is a closer look at the gorgeous papers.  The variety of patterns is just awesome, so much good stuff to work with!

And here are is a preview of the coordinating word art kit.  The pops of color are really fun.

There's also a template, great for quickly scrapping those memories!  Check out how I used it, below.

As you can see, it was easy for me to adapt the template to fit four photos instead of just two.  I used papers from My Sweet Family, a couple elements from it like the orange heart and blue flower button, and "adventurous" from the word art kit.  But most of the elements are from another recent release from Louise, Happy Camper.  I love how I was able to combine the two for a great page!

This next page is a first for me, as in it's the first time I've done a double page layout digitally.  To help me take this baby step along the progression of my skills as a digiscrapper I used a template from Simple Scrapper.  I treated myself to a Premium Membership a couple months ago and it's one of the perks of belonging.

Here is one more, can you tell I had such a good time creating with My Sweet Family that it was hard to stop?  This one is my favorite because it looks a lot like a paper layout I might do.  Plus, it has three of my current favorite pictures.

So there you have it, three layouts using the same kit and I think three pretty different looks.  The first is very digi-scrappy with all its layers.  The second has a clean minimalist feel to it and the last is reminicent of a traditional paper layout down to the "ribbon" wrapped photo.  Can't tell you how many times I've done

Giveaway!

Guess what I get to give the whole bundle away to one of you!!!  You read that right, the whole thing not just the kit but also the word art and the template!  I'm so excited.

To Enter:

Leave a comment on this post, I'd love to know how long you've digiscrapped!

Extra Entries:

• Follow Louise on Twitter
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• Tell me is your favorite Louise Franks Design digikit, check out her store at Scrapping Fairytales to see the selection.
• Suggest a theme for a kit you'd like to see Louise design.
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Don't forget to leave an additional comment for EACH of the extra methods that you do!

Giveaway open now through Wednesday January 18th at Midnight EST.  Please note that the prize is delivered electronically.

Disclaimer: As a member of the Louise Franks Designs CT, I receive access to kits to create promotional items.