Parade of Pages {Celebrate USA}

Today on my Parade of Pages we're celebrating America! and Yes, that's really a pie that I baked in the picture above! It's a delicious berry pie with cherries, blackberries, strawberries and blueberries! Yumm~O!

My pages today have some older patriotic papers and many older stamp sets! Even the "DREAM" irresistibles chipboard was from a promotional kit over a year ago. Like I said though, if I don't use it, then I won't have room for the new stuff! Have a safe & spectacular celebration today!

If you love the Fanfare paper you can get a pack of it paired with the Fanfare Level 2 Assortment. Place an order online July 11-15 of $75 and choose this pairing for free! {a $17.90 retail value} Click here to start shopping!



H2H Lace challenge

This week at the Heart 2 Heart Blog we are challenged to use lace or doilies on a project. I don't have any doilies or doilie stamps, but I have some beautiful lace ribbon. I created this little "thinking of you" card using the same color combination of one of the new paper collections found in the Autumn/Winter Idea book.

Please stop by the H2H Blog to see more lovely artwork using lace and doilies.

Sweet Blessings

A friend's daughter celebrated her first birthday last weekend, so I wanted to make her something special to keep and cherish forever. The photo's were snapped the weekend before when they visited us for a BBQ, so momma never saw these before!

I used 3 pieces from the mix & mingle album connected with jump rings and various ribbon. The yellow paper on the chipboard pieces are leftovers from the You & Me Kit! I combined it with some crystal blue, sweet leaf and cotton candy. Lots of fun details everywhere, take a look~

Here is how I packaged it all together. It is nestled in some recycled Easter grass and I created a little label for the front using the stamp from You & Me.

Lollipop Watermelon

Do you recall when "lollipop flowers" were the hot new trend? Today I bring it back, not as a flower, but as a watermelon!

In July I am hosting a "food themed" card swap. The participants already have their assignments and possibly hard at work. However, if they don't have a variety of "food" stamps to use, this is a great alternative. Use the papers you already have and make it look like food. I will post more ideas all month long, so come back for more inspiration and in July I will post the cards from the swap!

I am also submitting this card into two challenges this week. The first is for Heart 2 Heart's sketch challenge. I really enjoy the simplicity of the sketch allowing the artists to embellish as they desire.

This is also for Ribbon Carousel Challenge this week. Anything goes as long as it contains some sort of fiber that comes on a spool! No problem!

My watermelon has 7 layers. I started with some Tulip B&T papers from a mix of paper packs. These make up the first four top layers. My next layer is from an old children's dictionary. I punched a section out and inked the edges lightly in green. {if you look closely you'll see that I used the section with the watermelon definition on it!} The final two layers are sweet leaf cardstock and clover meadow green B&T papers. By having that little bit of white paper it really makes it look like the rind of the melon. Finally, I added some little black seeds which were free hand cut from black cardstock.

Here's the sketch~

So many favorite products and techniques on this card. First, is the watermelon. Whether it's lollipop flowers or fruit, it's just a simple and fun edition to any project. I also love faux stitching. It really ties the base pieces all together. By removing the guard on the corner rounder punch you can create perfect scallops as I did here on the Tulip cardstock. I {heart} the new CTMH buttons and pearl opaques. My papers are all CTMH. Did you notice the lovely creme brulee paper leftover from the You & Me kit? My fibers include a stitched sweet leaf grossgrain ribbon from CTMH and Peapod green twine from the Twinery.

Last Day of May!

Boo hoo! It's the last day of May and the last day of National Scrapbooking Month. Did you get some scrapbooking done? I was able to get myself a bit more caught up. {Hey, I have to leave some pages to create during the long summer months!} I have one more final layout for you using more products from the You & Me Kit.

I did not follow the instructions in the guide perfectly as it did not quite fit my theme. I improvised my banner with some chocolate twine and lots o' dots irresistibles letters. I did not use all of the chipboard pieces either, so you may see those pop up on other upcoming projects!!

You & Me Kit {plus extra's}

I received this month's You & Me kit last week and started creating! Using the handy instructional guide included I made the first two-page layout for some Easter pictures. It was so satisfying to get some photo's scrapbooked, which is the point of this month...{National Scrapbooking Month}!

I had some little extra pieces left over and simply could not let them go to waste!

With some extra cardstock, including the fabulous new Kraft cardstock, and stamped images from the awesome stamp set included in the kit, I was able to create 8 cards with a box.

The box~

I still have half of the kit leftover! Maybe I'll create a layout, maybe cards, or both. It's not too late to order your kit!!