Dot & Whimsy

Two of the hottest places in the 

papercrafting world are meeting up in a duo

Now, you won't be hopping from my blog to another, instead

head on over to the Authentique Blog to see the line-up for the day :)

With back-to-school in mind, I wanted to create

 a couple of special teacher gifts.  

For the first project,

 CURIOUS OWL NOTEBOOK, 

I used portions of the Basically Bare Album. 

 On the front, clear cover I hand-stitched a few buttons

 to the bottom, outlining the shape. 

 I also machine stitched around the perimeter

so that the edge would be defined.

 For the inner cover, I layered the cardboard sheet and felt scalloped sheet

WELCOME

to my little part of the 

You should be arriving here from Shemaine's Blog.

All-righty...let's get started!

I love ribbon.  I use ribbon on almost every single project that I make.

It adds that soft texture which, to me, completes a look.

 My first card is pretty simplistic:

Unity: June 2012 Kit-of-the-Month

Ribbon Carousel: Blue Striped Grosgrain Ribbons

Patterned Papers: October Afternoon

Okay, so I'll admit...I was a little afraid to try this next trick, but in the 

end I threw caution to the wind and said 'what the heck!"

You've guessed it:  I stamped onto the actual ribbon and then carefully

trimmed out with a pair of super sharp fine-tipped scissors.

Be sure to use a solvent ink such as Staz-On so that the image

doesn't bleed.  

Unity: Poised & Pretty SB-987A

Unity: July 2012 Kit-of-the-Month (sentiment)

Ribbon Carousel: 1.5" Blue/White Striped Grosgrain Ribbon

and Red/White Striped Poly Ribbon

Patterned Papers: Pink Paislee

 Ribbon Carousel  will be giving away ribbon to one lucky commenter

The winners will be announced on Saturday, 8/18 at 8:00 PM

10 Itty Bitty Stamps.... winner's choice!!!

Thanks for stopping by...don't forget to leave a comment so you'll
be in the prize-drawing :)
Now it's off to visit Carisa's Blog!
Have fun! 

(complete blog hop list below)
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V

...with Authentique Paper's

ENCHANTED COLLECTION!

 Today I have a couple of Enchanted papercrafting

ideas that will hopefully get you in the mood for Halloween.

I've said it before, but I'll say it again:  the beauty of
Authentique Paper is the durability and texture of the paper
and cardstock stickers.  When you have confidence in a paper
 like Authentique, you can set out to craft just about anything!

As my little bio states to the right...

I love playing Christmas music in July, as well as in August,

September, October...you get the point :)  

My favorite station for Christmas tunes on Pandora is either 

Bing Crosby or Dean Martin.

Man, I just love the old crooners...does anyone 

(aside from Michael Buble and Harry Connick, Jr)

sing like that anymore?

*sigh*

So you know I had the 'ole Marshmallow World cranked

up as I crafted these projects for the 

For these tags, I used standard shipping tags which can be

found at most any office supply store.

 For the "tree" tag, I used three of the Lace Corners (B165 Deco E)

to create the branches of the tree!  I cut a small strip of 

"Christmas Cheer" paper for the trunk and then machine-stitched

the 'branches' onto it. I embellished with punched circles,

Glitter Hot Rocks and a hand-cut snowflake.

For the "Santa" tag, I framed him with two of the pretty 

All patterned papers and stickers are from 

For the little sentiment banners, I just printed them

out on my printer and trimmed to size.

And although this next project isn't Christmas-related, I still had 

the holiday tunes cranked.......... :)

 I love the look of a scalloped cake stand,  yet I don't own one.

So, I dressed a tiered plate stand by embellishing the inner rims 

(below where the actual plate sits) with four lengths of the beautiful

and patterned papers and stickers from the 

 

Using a 2" square punch, I created the triangle banner by folding

the squares diagonally.  I added a few of the fun Hello Cupcake die-cuts

to the top with a couple of sticky dots.  

I'm thinking this would make a great idea for Halloween

and Christmas party treats as well.

Don't miss all of the great ideas shared by both the

Imaginisce and Cheery Lynn Design Teams this week!

PLUS, both blogs will be giving away a prize pack to some

lucky commentors:

Have a wonderful weekend, friends!

Welcome, one and all!

I'm really excited about this week's 

because we get to share brand spankin' new

designs from the very talented, Phyllis Harris...whoot!

Okay, first things first:  you should be arriving here

from the wonderful blog of Robyn Weatherspoon.

If you missed the blog line up, just hop on over to the 

to get started in the right direction :)

Not only brand new kits, but a wonderful mark-down as well.

I had a blast crafting these two cards...

the hand-drawn faces say it all!

I wasn't too crazy about the shading that I did on the 

dress, so I figured 'why not add glitter?'

My motto is: a multitude of sins can be hidden with glitter LOL

Patterned papers by Imaginisce

With the tutu, I knew I'd have to add a bit of tulle somewhere so I

tied a small bit into a bow and attached to the front. 

Patterned papers by Simple Stories

And as if the deals just couldn't get any better....

Unity definitely knows how to have a good sale!

That's all from me today...now off to see what beautiful creations

Shemaine Smith has whipped up for us.

Y'all have fun!

I'm always excited to share 

  projects...the enthusiasm over their products is definitely contagious

and makes designing for them that much more fun :)

For today's Simple Stories blog post, I have a layout featuring 

-Take A Hike- and a quick and easy Fall frame using -Harvest Lane-

I adore this picture of my middle son. 

 I've had it in my stack of photos marked: I-really-want-to-scrap-this 

 for quite some time now.  After seeing Take a Hike, I knew it would 

be the perfect palette for this beloved photo

I cut three 1.5" wide strips from Brown Wood/Map #2516 

 and framed it around the photo.  In keeping with the 'wood' motif,

 I added a few brads to resemble nailheads.  The bottom was decorated 

with a 2x12 Border Strip #2514, various stickers from the  

Fundamentals Cardstock Stickers #2502 and punched leaves.

Here I added just a couple of clouds from the Fundamentals Stickers. 

 When adding dimension, think about using different thicknesses 

such as thin and thick foam dots...just right when you're

 layering two dimensional pieces side-by-side.

I cut the F-U-N pennants from one of the Take A Hike Flashcards #2509 

 and strung up a banner using baker's twine and a few punched circles (folded in half)

 that I punched from the back of the Flashcards paper. 

 By applying foam dots to the backs of each piece, I was able to easily

 position the banner across my layout.

 It's a thrill for me to rummage through any dollar bin.  Any dollar bin! 

 If I didn't love it, I would not have found this really cute wooden scalloped frame. 

 This was just your standard, craft store-style wood item:  

plain blond wood with a few rough edges.  After sanding, I took a pad of Tim Holtz

 "Walnut Stain" Distress Ink, a cosmetic sponge and applied the ink to the frame. 

 Of course, you may use any acrylic paint or actual wood stain, 

but this worked out just fine for this project.

 For the inset of the frame, I cut various sizes of paper from the Harvest Lane Collection,

 layered and then machine stitched them together.

  To create the pumpkin, I used the 2.5" and 2" lace nesting dies from Lifestyle Crafts.

 Foam dots were added between the two layers.  After embellishing with a "Give Thanks" 

banner and leaves stickers, I attached it to the center of the piecing. 

 A hand-sewn button was added, as well as a stick (for the stem) from my yard :)

 

In keeping with the homespun feel of Harvest Lane, 

I outlined the frame in jute twine and a chenille ric-rac for the inset. 

You could make up several of these little pumpkins and use them as place setting markers 

(just attach to napkin-covered silverware), tie them to goodie bags

 or hang from a harvest tree!

Like to see even more ideas using these two collections?

Just hop on over to the Simple Stories Blog and take a gander

at some of the amazing stuff created by the Design Team!

I'm so glad you dropped by!

Good Monday Morning!

Welcome to the 

You should be arriving here from Rose's Happy Place

and don't forget to stop by the EAD Blog to see what's up for grabs today!

It's August and with August I start crafting heavily on Fall-related

crafts.  I like to have everything lined up and ready to go once I begin

decorating in early September. Who's with me? :)

I've used this concept on a couple of Design Team projects that I will

be sharing soon, so don't think that it's Groundhog Day when you see it again LOL

I've taken the 2" and 2.5" Nesting Lace Circle Dies by Lifestyle Crafts and 

applied the Stickerz to the top, smaller circle. This particular set of Stickerz,
Halloween Faces comes with 12 different round images
Patterned papers by Authentique Paper Enchanted


Can't you just picture a creepy branch, spray painted black with
12 of these little tags hanging from it?  I think that I just might do that!
You could also make the same tags and attach them to goodie bags
for class parties or trick-or-treaters!
**STICKERZ & RUBONS SHIP FREE WITH EAD**

That's all for this addition of the EAD BLOG HOP...I'm the caboose.
Hope you all have a fabulous week!

...about the newest sketch challenge for

AUTHENTIQUE PAPER?

It's up and ready to go!

 You can choose from a layout sketch, a card sketch

or both!  I've chosen the card sketch this time around;

here's a peek at it:

And my card:

 

Most of the Design Team has made samples using

the brand new Curiosity Collection by Authentique.

As you can see, this collection celebrates all things school!  

You will love the nostalgic vintage prints and beautiful color combination of 

teal, dark blue, sunny yellow and gray.  Perfect for boys & girls alike :)

If you'd like to join the fun and have the chance to win a 

gorgeous Authentique Paper Pack, just hop on over to the blog:

Hope you're having a terrific weekend!

Friday Greetings!

Just popped in to share a card that I whipped up for the

for Kit-of-the-Month Members at Unity Stamp Co.

For my card, I've used Simple Stories "Summer Fresh"

and the cute hot air balloons, sentiment and cloud stamps from the 

May 2012 KOTM 

If you're a Unity KOTM Member and would like to play along,

just link up -->right here<--  The winner will receive a FREE KIT of their choice!

And in case you missed it...here's a peek at this month's KOTM Stamp Set 

For $26 plus shipping, you can receive this kit (plus future KOTM kits)

delivered right to your door!  Take a look at previous kits if you'd like to see if

this is something that you're interested in 

Off to run some errands and get those Friday things done

before the weekend!  See you soon!

I love Thursday Hip Hops with

mainly because I just 

love 

Unity's stamps!

You should be arriving at my 'lil ole blog 

from the exceptionally talented, Renee Aslette's Blog

 I've stamped up a couple of different tags from past

Kit-of-the-Month sets:

 Do you have a friend who loves crafting and giving away

or selling of their wares?  Stamp several of these "handmade hearts", embellish

with a glittered punched heart, add string for hanging and package up to give

as a sweet little gift to her! 

I kept out that same little heart punch and used it to embellish

the center of this juicy stamped orange :)  I stamped this in black and then

colored in the sections and peel with orange watercolor pencil and marker.

Okay, y'all my FAVORITE season of ALL-TIME is just around

the corner and this Texas girl could NOT be happier :)  Although it's still

pretty 'warm' here during the Autumn months, I still love it!

How HAPPY do you think the newest (August) KOTM set made me?

I literally squealed in delight when I laid eyes on this stamp set!  

Are you a KOTM member?  It's easy to sign up...you won't be disappointed!

Time to head over to the fabulous Shilo Miles' Blog

Hope you enjoy the hop!

Bringing some 

on this, the first day of August 2012!

My birthday is in 18 days and is usually right around

the time that school starts...and so begins the busy-time-of-year!

Labor Day, football games, after-school practices, Halloween, 

Octoberfest, Election Day, Thanksgiving, Columbus Day...so many

in-between days while we wait for the Christmas Season to begin.  

I said all of that to say this:  Christmas will be here before we know it LOL

 Now, don't panic...you still have 145 days :)

But what better way to spend some of those in-between days

than crafting up some fun and cool Holiday crafts?

The Monthly Challenge is up at the
IMAGINISCE BLOG

and it's really pretty super easy (see below)

 Don't you love pilfering through the $1 bins?

I found this darling red splattered tin at Target a couple of years

ago and knew it would be even cuter dressed up!

The large Santa die-cut, the three patterned papers (for the flowers),

the canvas sticker and the chipboard sticker are all from the new

 I used three different sizes of the I-Top Punches to create the

layered flowers that I made to decorate the rim of the tin.

(16mm, 24mm and 32mm)

In attaching the flowers to the tin, I used the very handy-dandy

I-Bond Hot Glue Tool by Imaginisce...perfect for these types of crafts!

Now, if you would like to play along and submit a project

to the August Imaginisce Monthly Challenge, just do the following:

Create a layout, card or other project using the Inspiration below and ....