Dot & Whimsy

Hello!  I'm sharing a sweet mini album today at 

with just two of their double-sided 12X12 papers and fun embellishments from the

(I've also created this same-styled mini album using only one paper)

We're celebrating Graduates and Summertime at 

If you're not familiar with Doodlebug's newest collection, Cap & Gown,

it is captured in black, grey and white so it's easy to customize to a school's colors!

A dear friend went back to college this past year and finally reached his goal of 

attaining his Bachelor's Degree.  The school's colors are purple and gray, so this worked

out perfectly!  I kept with the circle theme from the 4X6 Simply Put journal card and punched

and layered two circles of cardstock as a backdrop for the owl.

And here is a simple layout that actually started out as a card!

I wrapped Washi Tape around the edge of a Simply Put card and then embellished

with pieces from the Fruit Stand Mini Banners Craft Kit.  

I dressed up the banner with stickers from the This & That Sticker Sheet.

I love the colors...it just says S-U-M-M-E-R!

There are loads of fun projects to see on the Doodlebug Design's Blog...come on by!

Happy Thursday...it's time for some 

along with fabulously fun flowers by PETALOO

This month's focus at Petaloo is their Color Me Crazy Flowers.  

These come to you in white and can easily be transformed with whatever color you

like by spritzing, stamping, inking, coloring, etc...or just leave them in their natural state :)

For today's card I wanted to use some papers from Dear Lizzy, so I went with 

Georgia Peach ColorShine spritz by Heidi Swapp.  

I stamped the sentiment from the May Kit-of-the-Month onto a frame found on one 

of the patterned papers...it worked out just great!  I embossed the mint green paper 

behind it with one of my new folders by Brenda Walton.

The "celebrate today" sentiment is also a part of the May KOTM.

This particular Shabby Cut Canvas Flower came in two layers.  

I wanted a certain 'fit' so I removed the back layer and then layered the flower

onto a green mulberry paper flower (also from Petaloo) to act as the leaves.

I think it turned out to be a very nice and elegant card for the new couple :)

Enjoy hoppin', my Unity friends!

We're doin' some more stampin' this week with

 I've always loved the endearing images that Stephanie creates for Bella Blvd

and now you can find many of them in stamp form!

Today (yesterday on the Bella Blog) I have a sweet layout and binder photo frame to share:

 To begin my layout I started with strips of various Designer Tapes to create a background/photo mat.
I then thought that the Ice Stripe Designer Tapewould make a cute set of clouds.
 I applied the tape to paper and then stamped with black Staz On ink.


 When you're stamping  onto a slick surface, be sure not to wiggle or walk the stamp back and forth
 as you may get a  smudged look; instead stamp directly down and then back up.

 For the border of hearts, I only stamped the image a quarter, a third or half-way to create a staggered look.
I used Color Box's Squash ink for this and it matches the Orange Crochet Hearts perfectly!
  
Supplies:Love & Marriage: Smokeys in Love; Kiss Me: Alpha+Bits Stickers, Just Write Journaling Stickers; Sienna Chipboard Alphas: Frosting; Ciao Chip Elements: Borders; Designer Tape: Ice Stripe, Piggy Pink Stripe, Pickle Juice Stripe, Navy Dot, Pony Dot; Crochet Hearts: Orange; Hampton Art Stamps: Kiss Me

(Photo Courtesy of Aleksandra Gadji)
 I recently ran across a cute idea using binder clips to hold place-setting cards...
I wondered how well it would work as a photo display!

I set out by adhering three large binder clips together by wrapping with a piece of patterned paper.
Next, I made a 4x6 photo mat and backed it with a thin chipboard for extra sturdiness.
After decorating the photo mat, just insert the frame into the binder clip prongs and it's ready for displaying.



For the stamped clouds, I used Bordering Blue ink by Stampin' Up! and plain white cardstock by American Crafts. After stamping the image three times, I used a blue watercolor pencil by Faber Castell.


To make the banner, I took a length of Designer Tape and applied it to a scratch piece of paper and then cut out. I then stamped the sentiment onto it with a black Staz-On ink; this works well and doesn't smudge!

Supplies:Baby Boy: Momma's Boy, Wild About You, Cute Cuts; Ciao Chip Elements: Clouds; Designer Tape: Yellow Chevron; Hampton Art Stamps: Kiss Me, Sand & Surf

Now, don't forget to visit the blog and leave a comment each day so that you'll have
a great chance of winning the "Love & Marriage Collection" Giveaway!  Good Luck!

Hope all of my American friends have a wonderful and safe Memorial Weekend.

Hello!

Today I'm bringing my latest design for 

featuring the fabulous Photo Frames that can be found in most Pink Paislee collections. 

 Today I’ve chosen the cool, crisp colors and patterns from the Portfolio Collection and

 have picked out not one, not two, but all four of the Photo Frames included in the pack! 

I started out with the idea to layer the frames all together and then place on a layout…

but after a little Pinterest research, I came up with an altered Photo Display using 

three large binder clips, a sheet of scalloped chipboard and some Pink Paislee goodies.

  Here is a look at the completed project…I’ll get into all of the details following:

 All righty, to begin I started with a plain 4.25″ X 8″ scalloped chipboard page (Maya Road) that

 I painted a warm yellow (and yes I cheated…just paint the areas that will show).  

Next, I spritzed on a light coating of Black Velvet Color Shine. 

After all was dry, I machine-stitched on a 4″ X 7.75″ piece of Black LUXE Chevron Paper.  

This next photo will show placement of the three binder clips.  I added these to the chipboard 

before I attached the black photo mat holding the layered frames.  Note that you will need to make

 sure that each clip is even at the bottom and in line with the other clips; once that is done 

your frame with stand just beautifully!

 For the layered Photo Frames, I began by arranging them so that each would overlap without the 

‘window’ below it showing through.  Then I applied small square foam adhesives between each layer.  Attach the bottom frame to a black cardstock mat with foam dots.

 A sweet doily border accents the top Photo Frame.  I added Gold Gelato by Faber-Castell to the Artisan butterfly and colored the star with a permanent black marker. 

To the top, I added a couple of the photo tabs, along with my daughter’s nickname spelled out 

with Heidi Swapp’s Clear Mint Letters.  Meh, it was lacking that ‘something’ so I decided to

 type out her full name in a New Courier Font (Bold 24 pt) and then printed it out onto a 6×6 Portfolio page.  I used a 1/2″ circle punch to cut out each letter and added to the top with foam dots.

   You could also try incorporating this idea into recipe, note or place-card holders. 

Now wasn’t that F*U*N!!!  I hope you get the chance to try it…would make a wonderful

 Teacher’s Gift or try something masculine for Father’s Day.

Glad you've come by today!  

I'm gradually adding to the giveaway pile...I'll be sharing soon :)

I was asked to create a mini album tutorial this month for 

The high-quality of Authentique's patterned papers allows for such an album as I bring today.

  It's quick, it's easy and it's fun to put together for any theme! For this particular 6x6 mini album, 

we'll be using the endearing Cherish Collection that is doubled in design for

 both Grandfathers and Grandmothers.

To begin, cut any 12x12 sheet of paper to a 6x12 size; score in the middle and fold.  

Decorate each page accordingly and then apply a strong adhesive tape to the bottom

 and (opened) side to create a pocket.

 

 

 With this pattern you can insert all sorts of tags and extra photos inside! 

 Here are a few more photos of the pages of my album:

 

 

The 6x6 Bundles come in so handy for this type and size of album.  

The print is to scale for such a mini; you don't lose all of the beautiful artwork in the process.  

Just trim the 'mats' from a 6x6 size to whatever size you'd like to use...

these are cut to a 5x5 and then machine-stitched into place.

 

 The Enhancement Sheets do so much of the design work for you!

  Just layer with Components Stickers, fabric brads, buttons and other cute embellishments to match.

 

Once all of the pages have been assembled, bind at the side with rings, ribbon or use a binding system.  

 

 For my album, I measured in 2.5" from the top and bottom and punched holes at those marks. 

 Tie on pretty trims and ribbons or leave plain.

 

 Now for the tags!  These were as simple as trace, cut and...that's it!  

I used templates from Kiwi Lane Design to create these particular tags.