Calypso Popsicle

Today I am playing along with the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches. The side layers in this sketch were just calling for the fun colors and patterns of Calypso papers. Adding a popsicle with sprinkles as the focus made it extra yummy! What says summer more than that!

 Where is this cute popsicle from? It is actually one of the stickers included in the Calypso Complements. It doesn't get more simple than splashing a few stamps on the background and popping a popsicle in the center! Whether it's ice cream or fabulous scrapbooking products..."too much of a good thing can be {and is} wonderful".

Order the Calypso collection of papers and complements online today!

Ice Cream Dream Complete Layout

You're probably thinking... "Why is she posting about the Ice Cream Dream stamp set, that was two months ago?!" Maybe you can think of it as a little Flashback Friday!! {tee-hee} Plus, I would hope that it still inspires you by the use of papers, the color combination, using some new and old stamp sets or simply the template (sketch) of the pages.

You will recall that I created a 12x12 page using the adorable Ice Cream stamp set in June. You can see the original post here. I had a couple ideas of possible pictures that I could place on it. I thought maybe we could visit our local ice cream shop this summer or perhaps there would be a chance to visit a favorite stop with my nieces in Lake Tahoe. I was so excited to get to do the second choice! The 45 minute wait in line at Camp Richardson is worth the memories!!

Now I had a main photo for the original page I created, but I couldn't leave out the individual pictures I took of my kids and my 2 beautiful nieces. So, I created a companion page. This page was so easy to put together and was inspired by a layout in the newest Idea Book coming in September!

I loved using the different blocks of paper and photo's to fill this page. If there was not a photo in a square then I used it to build clusters of stamped images and embellishments. This was inspired by the layout I saw in the new book as I mentioned earlier. The stamp set they used however is not brand new, in fact you may already have it in your stash. It's called Documenting Moments and is a super functional stamp set.

 Here are a few close-ups of the clusters in individual squares.

This cute camera is from the new stamp set found in the Zoe Workshop on the Go available now!

 This layout just makes me happy! I hope it inspires you to do some crafting today!!

You can find the products I mentioned in this post online here.

Make a Card Today!

Hey Bloggers! Today is World Card Making Day! There are several blogs out there today celebrating too, inspiration is everywhere! I did a little research yesterday to figure out which cards are the most popular greeting cards. Birthday cards were number one, followed by Christmas. None of the sites I researched really gave the third most popular. Mostly they indicated that major Holidays such as Halloween, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and Father's Day were all close runner up's.

So to celebrate today I created all brand new cards for Birthday, Christmas and a general everyday greeting card that I felt showcased a very hot trend in card making this year!

My first card is a Birthday card. Birthday's can't be sweeter than some colorful ice cream. Here I used the Fanfare stamp set and a fun shape cut on the Artiste cartridge.

For this Christmas card I steered away from the traditional colors and pulled in some beautiful blue papers from the Avonlea papers. I used the Perfect-Fit Holidays stamp set and added some bling to my snowflakes.

Finally, my everyday greeting card. Who doesn't love the surprise of happy mail!! I loved the trend of rainbow colors in artwork this year and those who know me best saw it in many of my projects! and of course I had to throw in a little bicycle {heart them}!!

I hope you get some time to make a card or two today. Better yet, send it to someone you love and let them know you care! Happy Day Everybody!

Calendar Club ~ June, July & August

This month my Calendar Club will not be making just 2 pages as usual. Instead they will be making 3 so that we wrap up this project in time for gift giving at the end of the year.

For June's page they will use the subtle colors of the Miracle papers. They will hang some "glowing" lanterns as the finishing touch to this simple design.

For July's page I "steered" clear of the typical stars and stripes of the season. Instead I've created the scene of a festive bicycle parade!

By the time we reach August we will need to "cool" down. What better way than ice cream and a splash of color!

A "Cool" New Product + {H2H Challenge}

I've been experimenting this weekend with a fun new product in the Spring Idea Book. The Color Ready Kraft Borders are wonderful. Some great features of this product are that the cutting is done for you already as is the adhesive as you simply peel and stick. Love that! They come in a 12" length so they are perfect for scrapbook pages or you can simply cut them down to fit any project you are working on. They are extremely versatile in the ways you can add color also. Here are a few samples I've discovered so far.


This first card was done for the H2H challenge this week. Create something that reminds you of the word "cold". Brrrr! The surrounding mountains look beautiful with a dusting of snow, but quite frankly I'm looking forward to spring and summer. I took inspiration from H2H designer Lisa Stenz this week and opted for a chilly ice cream treat. That's deliciously cold!


For the color ready border on this card I used white acrylic paint mixed with 4-5 drops of Crystal Blue re-inker. I cut the border to the length I needed then painted it and allowed it to dry.

On this next project I directly inked the border on a Cranberry ink pad. I also left it at the 12" length to fit my scrapbook page. This is my end of year pocket page that I have been completing my albums with for a couple years now. I love filling the pocket with special homemade cards and photo's that friends and family have sent for the Holidays.

How cute is this cup cake card? The image is from the same stamp I used on the ice cream cone card. My daughter loved this card when I completed it. My guess is that the border is her favorite color, bright green! Any guesses on how I colored them green? Can you find the other border piece I used?

Here is the other border piece! It's perfect as a little Birthday candle. I left it plain with no added color.

The green border piece was colored with....did you guess it.....CHALK!

Because of the texture of the border, after applying the chalk, the finished piece looks a bit like felt. I experimented with a few chalk colors and really liked the result of the brighter colors. The hot pink really popped, the blue was calming and it even took on a subtle change of color with a really bright yellow. My favorite was the bright green though and I knew my daughter would approve!

Finally, a gorgeous card done with the mellow Miracle papers. I simply left the kraft border in it's natural state. It really adds to the beauty of this card and it was only a matter of trimming, peeling and placing. How easy is that?!

Did I mention there are 50 borders in a package for under $6? Wow, you have to try this product!

Seasonal Strawberries

Summertime not only means sunny hot days and being out of school, but it's the best time for fresh seasonal fruits. My favorite has to be the strawberry! This summer I have enjoyed them sliced up in my cereal, mixed up in a yogurt smoothie and prepared in a sweet dessert! I love to dip them in chocolate and then eat them while watching So You Think You Can Dance. {Yeah, Lauren, Season 7 Winner!} Here is a little card I created for my love of chocolate dipped strawberries. Oh! and it's design comes from this week's sketch challenge over on H2H.

Look good enough to eat? I used liquid glass over chocolate card stock and some prisma glitter on the berries.

So why just stop at chocolate covered strawberries! As Emeril would say "let's kick it up a notch". I got out my cuisinart ice cream machine and made fresh strawberry ice cream according to the directions in the book. At the very end I threw in some milk chocolate chips. I also whipped up some fresh heavy cream. Put it all together, and you have the yummiest summertime dessert!