6 x 6 Challenge- Day 2

So the countdown begins, there are now officially only 12 days left until Christmas and I have not bought a single gift. For someone else I mean, I have bought pleanty for myself. Why is it that when you walk into the store around Christmas time to buy the "perfect gift" for someone you suddenly experience a gigantic brain fart and can't think of a single thing that the person would like. But, you suddenly remember about 20 things that you want that you forgot to put on your Christmas list. The only solution, simply buy it yourself. So after several hours of shopping at a store with the intent of getting all of your Christmas shopping done you suddenly realize the only person receiving gifts from you is… yourself. Am I the only one this happens to? 

Well before I have a massive panic attack about my lack of gifts for other people let's get on with the card. You'll be happy to know that I stuck quite close to the sketch this week (pats myself on the back for a job well done) and it only took me 2 hours of which most of it was drying time. 

Here is the sketch (once again from operation write home, if you go to their website you can download a PDF of all 300 sketches): 

And the finished cards:

This weeks card went a lot faster than last weeks because I gave myself permission to relax. As I stated above the longest part of this card was actually drying time. I used a stamp from a Hampton Arts Christmas stamp set, for the snow globe and colored it in using my Bic Mark-it markers. For the snow I used the clear Wink of Stella glitter marker. I coated the whole "dome" with glossy accents to give it a glass like look. It turned out much better than I anticipated. 

6 x 6 Challenge- Day 1

So, anyone who knows me knows that I am completely OBSESSED with YouTube! When I'm not crafting or spending time with family I can usually be found browsing YouTube for new videos on crafting, food or other miscellaneous nonsense.

Which brings me to my post for today, I am starting a new series. This idea is not my own and you guessed it I found it on YouTube. I recently came across a woman who has made it her mission to use every piece of a 6 x 6 paper pad before she can move on to a new one. I fell in love with this idea, not only will it help me to make a lot of cards but I would also deplete my stash of 6 x 6 paper (let's face it, I have a paper hoarding problem). 

She simply sits down with one 6 x 6 paper pad and a stack of card sketches she found online, sets the camera to record and begins. So, after watching several of her 6 x 6 paper pad videos, I naturally though how hard can it be. 

I picked a paper pad (Gingerbread by CraftSmith) spent 2 hours searching the Internet for the "perfect" sketch and then I finally set to work. 4 hours later the result...looks nothing like the sketch but I'm still really happy with it and in the end I think that is what truly matters. 

Here is the sketch I attempted to use: 

And now for the actual results:

BONUS Birthday

Hey guys, I thought I would give you a special treat, it is Christmas time after all. My family is blessed to have at least 4 birthdays that fall in December. One of which is my beautiful aunt Marilyn, whose birthday is TODAY!!

In my opinion, it is always harder for a December birthday because everyone's mind is already on Christmas. Not only do you have the difficult task of figuring out what to get them for their birthday within just few short days/weeks you have to come up with something completely different to get them for Christmas, it can be a total headache. Not to mention if you're the one who's birthday actually resides in December, you receive a lot of Christmassy birthday gifts. 

So how did I battle this winter time dilemma, why by pretending it was spring/summer of course. Now some of you are probably wondering what is wrong with me, but hear me out. My aunt hates winter. She hates the cold weather, the over crowded stores oh and did I mention the cold weather. Every year she can't wait for winter to go away and for spring to appear. The sights, the smells and the warmer weather. So why not try to bring a little of her favorite season into her least favorite season for her birthday. 

And what is more spring/summertime than flowers? 

Happy Birthday Aunt Marilyn! 

Christmas Village

So it is officially December 1, this means the start of the Christmas holiday. Most people tend to believe that the true start of the holiday season is 6pm on Thanksgiving day (when the Black Friday sales start) but not me, I absolutely refuse to acknowledge the Christmas season until it is officially December 1. Any earlier than that and I'm about to rip my hair out by the 15th and I'm a COMPLETE Scrooge. By remaining in denial until the first it means that I don't actually think about Christmas until around midway through the month and by that point I'm scrambling like a mad woman to get everything done within a week. But, this year I decided to break from tradition and begin Christmas early... Well actually I was doing some cleaning in my craft room and came across a paper pad that I bought at the end of last Christmas season (when everything is marked down like 80% off). 

The paper pad was the DCWV Project Stack Chrismas Village (shown below) and I was excited to start assembling. 

So, I sat down with my scissor, hot glue gun and a mountain of glue stick and began assembling. The paper pad made 16 buildings as well as some chipboard trees and reindeer, it actually took me about 4 days to complete. 

First, I have to apologize for the blurriness of the photos, I decided to lay out my village an a table we have at the base of the stairs and it doesn't receive much light. Second, I am completely in love with the way it turned out. I bought some fake 'snow' (a piece of felt covered in glitter) that I laid down first and the I placed each building on top of a battery powered tea light. It is truly magical when all lit up. 

Letter to Santa

It's here! The final day of Christmas in July. I'm sad but at the same time I am so glad to finally be able to embrace SUMMER. Enough of the fake cold weather and listening to Christmas music to get me in the mood to craft. So without further ado, let's dive into this layout.

As a kid I believed in Santa! It was a big reason why the season was alway so joyous and magical. One of my fondest memories of Christmas is the year that I swore I saw Rudolph flying through the sky pulling Santa's sleigh, and I couldn't wait to tell everyone I knew. Now as an adult a lot of the mystery and magic of Christmas has faded away and I realize what I saw that night was probably an airplane, but every time I think about it a large smile still appears on my face and I still get the feeling of wonder and happiness. When I sit down each year to make a wish list of what I want for Christmas I remember back to those days when making a list for Santa took an entire month with new things getting added every day. I wish that I had kept all of those letters to Santa that I wrote a child so that I could look back on them today. That was my inspiration for this layout. 

I was going through some of my Christmas themed paper when I came across this beautiful sheet of cardstock from DCWV stack and it spoke to me. Although the layout is simplistic I think it says a lot. I added a spot for a 4 x 6 photo since that is what scrapbooking is all about, showing off your photos. But, I think the true star of the page is the Santa envelope in the top right corner. It is a great place to tuck a letter to Santa so that it can be kept next to the picture forever. I left a space above the photo mat for journaling so that none of the important details would be forgotten.

The 'Joy' of Dies

For the final Christmas in July card I decided to keep it simple once again and use a die that I recently got at Tuesday Morning.

The die that I used is Holiday Greetings by Spellbinders. It's one solid die that cuts a 4 x 5.25 inch panel that fits perfectly on to an A2 size card. I decided to keep it incredibly simple and just use the die on a piece of white cardstock and then glue the die cut piece onto a colored picece of cardstock (the same size) before adding the entire panel to a 4.25 x 5.5 inch card base. 

I hope that you have all enjoyed my Christmas in July series and I will see you on Thursday with the final layout of the 'not quite' Christmas season.

Trip to Santa's

When I think back on Christmas as a child, the one thing that stands out the most is probably my parents taking me every year to Bass Pro to sit on Santa's lap. It was perfect for me because I got to tell a jolly fat man in a red suit everything I wanted for Christmas and then leave with a sugary sweet candy cane that made a mess all over the car. My parents loved it because it made for a great photo. Now as I've gotten older and the presents and candy canes seem less important the photos from back then have become a treasured keepsake.

For today's layout I decided to go with something pretty, simple and classic that would make the photo the star of the show. I saw a similar layout on Pinterest I knew I just had to make it. I decided to make two different styles of this layout depending on whether the photo was taken portrait or landscape. I also made it a double photo mat so that either a 4 x 6 or a 5 x 7 photo would fit. 

Christmas 3 x 4 Cards

Welcome back to another Christmas in July Tuesday. Today's card is similar to that which we made last week, in that it features cut aparts once again. The biggest difference… The size. Typically when I make a card I stick to the standard A2 size card (which is 4.25 x 5.5"). But, this week I was definitely inspired by the particular cut apart sheet that I had. Instead of each cut apart being 3 x 4 they measured approximately 2 x 3 and fit perfectly on to a card who's final dimensions or 3x4.

While these cards might cost more to mail, they make great card to hand out at the holidays or attached to a gift for an extra special touch. The other great thing about making 3 x 4 cards is that the entire card easily fits into a Project Life style album page so it can be shown off along with the photos of that year's Christmas. 

The neat thing about this card is that it can be made even without a cut apart sheet. Simply replace the images with stamps, diecuts or other embellishments of your choice. It's easy to make this card your own. 

Here are some photos of just a few of the cards that I made. By using just one 12 x 12 cut apart sheet from the Cosmo Cricket Jolly Days Collection I was able to make 28 of these 3 x 4 cards. 

Christmas Countdown

Today marks day two of our Christmas in July series and the first of our Christmas themed layouts.  And, what better way to start out than with a countdown layout that would be great as the first page in any Christmas Album.

OK, so full disclosure, I actually put this layout together back in January of this year. It came from an awesome kit that I got at the end of last year's Christmas season. I've tried to find the name or company for this kit to include with this post but I haven't been able to. My goal is actually to try and re-create a layout similar to this using items from my stash, so keep an eye out for that sometime in December.

The kit included everything seen in the photo except for the holly photo mat. Each of the numbered squares opens up so you can hide images or words representing each day. This December I plan to do  an activity where each day is a new winter or holiday inspired event to get me into the Christmas spirit. It will be both cute and interactive.

I hope you like it and I will see you on Tuesday with another Christmas card.

Christmas in July Card 1

Hey peeps, today is the official launch of the new twice a week posting schedule and it is working out great. I have managed the first day so the rest can't be that hard right? right? Why isn't anyone saying anything? Oh that's right Ashley, because no one is actually reading your blog but yourself. But, here is to hoping that this is the magical post that changes it all.

So, you ask (not really) what are we going to do to mark this momentous occasion of a weekly schedule change? Well we are going to do.....CHRISTMAS IN JULY!! Yes that is right we are going to deck the blogging halls with cards and scrapbook layouts not made of holly. Wow that was a pretty crappy pun Ashley.

Lets start this series out REALLY simply and make some cards using cut-aparts. What is a cut apart you ask? It is a sheet of card stock that contains multiple 3x4 or 4x6 rectangular images that you can cut apart from each other easily (hence the name). 

These are super simple and incredibly addicting to make. They take very little supplies and you can make a lot with very little effort. 

Below are just a few examples of the cut apart cards I have made for Christmas. 

Schedule Change Announcement

Hey guys, so I have a new announcement for you. Starting tomorrow I am only going to be uploading on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This three day a week thing is proving to be too time consuming for me right now and lets face it Monday's are hard anyways and there are to many things that keep popping up on Friday's that make it a difficult day for me to upload. Hopefully it will be easier for me to manage only two days a week and then once I feel like I am getting a rhythm going I might try to do three days again.

What does this mean for Flashback Monday, Make a Card Wednesday and Layout Friday? Well I will be integrating flashback Monday in with card making and scrapbook layouts.

For now the schedule will be as follows:

TUESDAYS= Card Making
THURSDAYS= Scrapbook Layouts

Thank you for your patience and understanding as I try to deal with learning the ins and outs for blogging.

Have a BLAST

Hey guys, it's Friday!! I hope you have all had a good week. People are still shooting off fireworks in my neighborhood but at least by now they are are stopping around 11 pm so it is easier to get some sleep. They are beautiful to look at but annoying when you are trying to sleep.

Since Monday was July 4, aka Independence Day, I thought that I would share a patriotic themed layout with you this week. And, I have to tell you I am completely in love with how this layout turned out!!

For this layout I was loosely inspired by a single page layout I saw on youtube/pintrest by one of my favorite scrapbookers, Faith Abigail Designs. She used SVG files that she bought online to create her layout, but I decided to test myself to see if I could recreate a similar layout only using supplies I already own. It took a little time but in the end the result is WAY better than I anticipated!! 

I was able to use a coupon that gave me a free trial of the Cricut subscription service,so I had even more cartridge options available to me. It is definitely something I am considering subscribing to but that will have to wait for awhile (aka when I have money). In the end I used three cartridges that I own (Teddy Bear Parade, Stand and Salute and George an Basic) and only two that I don't (Old West for the barrel and Independence Day for the wagon and flag banner.)

I hope that you all enjoy this layout as much as I do and that you had a happy and safe 4th of July!!

With Sympathy Cards

Hey guys.

I mentioned in Monday's blog posts that I had recently lost two members of my family. The first was my uncle in March followed by my great uncle in April. I needed to make a few sympathy cards and I wanted to keep them as simple as I could, since I wasn't in a particularly crafty mood.

The cards that I made are actually the same, I just oriented them differently. I used a sketch that I found as my inspiration for these cards (http://mojomonday.com/Sketches/Mojo435Sketch.gif).  I actually think that my favorite of the two is the portrait one, maybe it is because the flowers that I used were so large but it just reads slightly more polished to me. But I liked how each of them turned out in the end and that I was able to make two cards at the same time that are both similar and different.

News

Hey guys, first of all I want to apologize that it's been so long since I last posted. Life is been CRAZY. We have had two deaths in our family that have shaken us all to the core. One kind of came out of nowhere and the other, although slightly expected, was still just as traumatic. On top of all of this I also got sick, I'm not really sure if was the stress and grief that caused it or if there were other problems (such as anxiety and depression) that played a bigger role.

So as part of the process of getting my life back on track, I'm going to (hopefully) resume my weekly blogging. Just because I've been MIA from my blog does not mean that I haven't been crafting a little. Luckily that means I have a backlog of things to show you LOL. 

I haven't decided yet if I'm going to keep doing flashback Monday, Make a Card Wednesday and Layout Friday. I don't want to put too much pressure on myself as I get back in to blogging. But, I am going to try to still post something every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Thank you all so much for your patience and understanding during this difficult time. 

Birthday Banner Cards

Hey guys. Often times when I sit down to make a card I will make multiples of the same card, it doesn't take my longer to do and it makes it easy when I need a card in a pinch. (Usually because I've forgotten a birthday or occasion). 

These cards were SUPER easy to make and great to have on hand. They are great for men, women and children because they are simplistic. I made them in a variety of colors. So time you get invited to a last minute birthday for a coworker you have a card on hand. 

See y'all back on Wednesday and have a great rest of the week.  

Birthday Double Page Layout

Hey peeps, it's that time again. 

This weeks layout is a little bit busy but I'm loving how it turned out. And, since it is a layout to showcase some of my own birthday photos from last year my opinion is the only one needed. (Although I hope you guys like it too)

For this layout I used a LOT of different products. In order to keep this post from being considered "boring" because of all the particulars, I'm not going to list everything. If you have any questions please feel free to ask, I might even have an answer. 

Have a great weekend and I'll see you back here Monday. And, as always, please comment below with any feedback, questions, critiques or requests. 

Final Valentine's Day Cards for 2016

Howdy peeps. Once again I thought I would make some Valentine's Day cards. 

I try to keep the card simple, clean and easy to mass produce. I started with a patterned paper that I got from Michaels for my background. The doilies on the front are from a stamp set by Recollections (it is a couple of years old now) that stamped using Memento Angle Pink and Rhubarb Stalk inks then cut out. Each layer is popped up on foam to give it some dimension. Next I use the Martha Stewart three in one butterfly punch and layered the small butterfly on top of the larger one.  I love the elegance of this card.

 This card was made using a Sizzix die set called Royal flip???  No, I have to admit this card took a lot longer than it should have because I couldn't figure out how I wanted to embellish it. I decided to keep it super simple and just add some layered hearts both to the front flap and to the inside back panel. It's not one of my absolute favorite's but I'm still pleased with how it turned out. If you happen to have this die set please let me know how you embellish it.

I hope you all liked the cards that I made for this Valentine's Day. I'll see you are back on Friday for a new layout. And, don't forget to comment below. 

Flashback Monday- Graduation Card

Hey guys. I was going through some old photos on my phone in order to see what projects I have already shown you guys, and what still needs to be shown. I found this card that I made in May 2014 for one of my mom's coworkers who is graduating with her masters degree.

Now, I know a lot of you were wondering why I chose to use hello kitty for an adult graduation card. And, the answer is simple, because I wanted to LOL. I know my mom's coworker pretty well, well enough to know that she would appreciate Hello Kitty and think that it was cute. Plus from the moment I saw this image on the cartridge I knew it was what I wanted to use, and I simply don't know anyone else who will be graduating in the for seeable future. It was now or never. Since I made this card so long ago I have forgotten the sizes for the cuts. But what I can tell you is that she was cut from the Hello Kitty Greetings Cartridge. 

I also used some homemade "enamel dots" on this card. I made them by melting down peerler beads. I found the instructions for this on YouTube, there are a ton of videos if you're looking for how to do this. I love how they turned out, the only potentially negative that I found is that glue (at least Scotch quick dry) does not like them so it is hard to make them stick. 

Well, that is all for today. I will see you back on Wednesday with a new card.

Valentine Cupid Layout

KHey guys, here it is my layout from Friday. I decided to stick with the Valentine's Day theme, mostly because the stuff is scattered all across my desk. 

I use pattern paper from two different 12 x 12 paper pads. The first was from Pebbles and the second from Recollections. I punched out to border strips from white card stock using the Martha Stuart lace heart punch, I seem to use this one a lot around Valentine's Day, it's one of my favorites. 

Next, I grabbed my favorite Cricut cartridge, Teddy Bear Parade, and cut the Cupid bear out at 4 1/4 inches. I ran the white piece for the "dress" through my Xyron create a sticker upside down in order to apply glue to the front of the dress, then I glittered the entire thing so it has some sparkle and shine. It took me a while to figure out what else I wanted on this layout until I "rediscovered" that I have the Victorian Romance cartridge that I have yet to use. This cartridge has some great images on it, the only negative that I can say is that it doesn't come with any cutting guide or handbook to tell you how to layer each image or even which cuts belong to which images. But, all in all I'm definitely going to be reaching for this cartridge again. Btw, I cut Love at 2 inches. 

My photo much are the standard 4.25 x 6.25 for the red mat and 4 x 6 for the photo mat. In case I've never stated it, because let's face it my brain isn't working properly this week, I like to use photo corners on all of my scrapbook layouts. It makes it so much easier weather I keep the way out for myself or give it to someone else. I started doing this when I made albums for family members, as gifts, because none of them had photo safe adhesive on hand. I wanted them to be able to use the layout without having to go out and buy glue to adhere the photos. 

I don't really know what else I can say about this layout except for I really like the way that it turned out and hope you all do as well. If you have any questions, comments or feedback feel free to leave it in the comment section below. 

News announcement

Hey peeps! I am so sorry that I haven't posted in a while, I have been sick with extreme sinus congestion and pressure. It is taken me about a week to get over it, but finally I feel like I can breath and I have a little bit of energy. Now, just because I was sick didn't mean I didn't get anything done it just meant that it took six times longer and I had no energy. I managed to complete my Friday layout sometime Sunday morning, but at the time it felt like posting would've taken too much energy. 

So today my plan is to upload everything they've missed plus today's so that I'm a caught up. That's going to make for a busy day for me LOL. 

But, in other news I am super excited today! Tonight my mom, my aunt and I have tickets to go see Wicked! I have wanted to see Wicked for so long and finally I get to! I am beyond excited.

As I read back through my post I realize it's not that exciting or funny, two things I've been trying to make sure I include in every post. I guess my funnybone must still be sick. But, I did realize one funny thing this week. The dictation feature on my iPad absolutely hates my voice when I'm sick and can't understand a single word. I was feeling a little bit better on Saturday and thought that I would do a post to let you all know why I hadn't posted the Friday layout. Because I didn't feel like typing out everything, I figured I would use the dictation feature (The little microphone button located next to the space bar on an iPad or an iPhone, a.k.a. my best friend) but after five minutes of laughing my butt off for what it actually wrote in regards to what I said I was too exhausted to continue.

Well days, I think that's all for the news and announcements. Stay tuned for the rest of my posts today. 

Valentine Starburst Plus Bonus

Hey crafty peeps! Since Valentine's Day is coming up in just a few short weeks, I need to make several card so that I can sent some out (hopefully they will actually make it to the mail lol) in enough time for the recipient to actually get it before Valentine's.  And, as a special treat, I have made two different cards to share with you today. 

Alright, for those of you that care (lol) the patterned papers came from an older paper pad from ???. The heart trim in the center was some that I found at Walmart and it was only a dollar, I LOVE it! I used Thickers from AC in the font Journal, one of my new favorites. Lastly, the hearts on the front were hand cut and the embossed with the Cuttlbug Swiss Dots embossing folder(my most used folder.)

The inside I kept very simple. I added a leftover strip of patterned paper and accented it with a embossed heart from a Sizzix die. 

These are all similar as you can tell, just a difference in paper order and center embellishments. I included all of them so you could see that the design can be adapted for multiple uses. The papers are from a new 2016 Recollections Valentine's paper pad. (The cut aparts came fome a Pebbles paper pad)