Butterfly Invitations

A while ago I created some invitations for a little girl's birthday party.  She's not all that much of a girly girl (read: no pink or frills) and the theme of her party was butterflies, specifically monarch butterflies. 

May 2011 issue

The butterflies are all colored with alcohol ink, paper and rhinestones.

The base paper is embossed in my Cuttlebug.  Don't use it often but LUV it when I do.

The flags are glitter, prismatic, and alcohol ink-colored pieces on which I wrote You Are Invited and stitched them on.

May 2011 issue

I'm not a big fan of cardmaking but sometimes I actually like what I make. 

I'm currently reorganizing my craft room.  I share the room with the kids' playroom.  I have sooooooo much stuff I'm sure there's no way I could ever use it all myself.  So, as I'm organizing, I'm setting aside stuff for donating, some for possible future giveaways, and a lot for the kids to use.  I've told them that this stuff will be available for their use but for now only with my supervision.  I want to make sure they learn to respect the product.  Inks must be closed tightly, and stamps cleaned between colors and uses so as not to mix colors.  Patterned papers are special - not to be used for confetti or "wrapping" action figures in the course of a fight scene.  You get the picture.  I've told them this summer they can start their own scrapbooks.  Cute!

So this is kind of where I started...

Yes.  I'm a HUGE slob.  Actually my scrap area has usually been really organized and reasonably neat but over the last few months (as I'm sure you've gleened from my occassional blog rantings) I've just been so busy that I'd been grabbing, scrapping, and dumping.  NOT a great idea. 

Hopefully I'll feel confident with the outcome to share those pics with you, too.  LOL

OOH!  OOH!  Yesterday before my son's basketball game my husband made a deal with him.  We would go to one of his favorite restaurants for lunch if he did ONE of the following during the game: 

* get a rebound

* dribble down court past the foul line

or

* made a basket.

He did ALL THREE in his first possession!!!!!!!!! 

Of course, I've been taking video and pictures of every other game and thought I'd give the camera a rest and just watch the game with my eyes (as opposed to on the camera screen as I'm filming) so I MISSED IT on film!  Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!  I swear if you look up Murphy's Law in the dictionary there's a giant picture of me next to it.  (Someday I'll tell you about my TPIR 3 Strikes game theory.) 

So the above action shots are from an earlier game.  (My son's #15.)

Hope you are having a great weekend!

Heidi

Discover Nature

I love digital cameras.  They allow you to take obscene numbers of pictures with reckless abandon.  I figure for every 25 - 50 pics I take, I'll luck out and get a good one every now and then.  For any sort of "event" (school, holiday, milestone, big or small) I tend to take upwards of 100 pics or more. (I took 263 pics of my son's first Valentines Day party in preschool!)  My kids don't even notice it anymore.  

Last year at my kids' preschool they had farm animal visits.  You can just see the thought process on my daughter's face in these pics.

April 2011 issue

"Awwwww...look at the cute little birdie!"

"Uh, yep.  So that's a bird.  Okey dokey." 

"Ummmm...I think he just poo'd in my hand!"

So loving the colors on this layout.  (Didn't I mention that yesterday?  LOL)  

Layout is based on this gorgeous Sketchy Thursdays sketch:

This week's awesome sponsor, SRM Stickers, let us play around with a sampling of their stickers, too.  (Didja see mine?  "Discover [Nature]")  See if you can pick out all the SRM stickers on the DT's samples!

Come, play along with us!  Hook up a direct link to your layout to  Mr. Linky in the Sketchy Thursdays sidebar for your chance to win some SRM Stickers goodies!!

Oh, and we're currently in full swing on our June Guest Design Team Challenge.  You just HAVE TO check out the AMAZING prize from Snobby Walrus for the lucky winner (besides getting to play along with all the Sketchy Thursdays sketches for June, of course).  Just lOOk:

Have a great Thursday!!

Heidi

Sassy From the Get Go

The May class this month over on Scrap Freak is "Be Inspired" - a set of 12 prompts to inspire and push your creativity.  Today's prompt is Fashion Trends . 

I made  this layout for the ruffles portion of this challenge:

April 2011 issue

I know they're not exactly what you'd call "traditional" ruffles, but I based them on a gorgeous ruffled t-shirt made by Elizabeth Kartchner HERE.  (I stitched it reeeaaaaalllllly late at night so blame it on fatigue that I somehow allowed the bunched up parts of the ruffles flatten out when I stitched.  Ugh!)

Loving the color combo on here, too.  (It'll pop up again tomorrow, LOL.)

My Pink Ninjas ruffled layout "Mad:Style" is also featured as a sample for the class. 

Check out all the rest of the prompts in this month's Scrap Freak class.  Lots of great inspiration to be had!!!

Heidi

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful moms in my life!!!!

Totally lifted this card from the Scrapbooks ETC June issue, I think.  But it's just so simple and classic.  You can find that gorgeous paper in the May Torendi kit "Color By Numbers".

Hope you are all having a great day!

Heidi

He Doesn't Do Mornings

Happy Sketchy Thursday!

Although he has rarely ever slept past 7am ever in his life, my son isn't exactly a ray of sunshine in the morning.  And to make matters worse (or, rather, more hilarious for us) is that he's a sweater when he sleeps and his hair coifs into the most amazing styles.  It's hard to see in the little blog pic but I think if you click on the pic you can see this particularly amusing style better.  We affectionately refer to this particular pic as his Gary Busey shot. 

This week's Sketchy Thursdays challenge is sponsored by {ippity} stamps by Bonnie Rose so I used an {ippity} stamp from the Life's Little Moments set.  The title circle is half of an {ippity} stamp.  (The other half is a calendar.) 

I told you I am obsessed with ruffles and crepe paper now. 

Sorry about the bad quality of this pic.  Aren't the patterned papers on this layout awesome??  They're from Torendi's May kit "Color By Number". 

Check out what the Sketchy Thursdays Design Team made for your inspiration this week.  Of course, everyone has outdone themselves again.  We'd love for you to play along with us.  Just hook up your layout to Mr. Linky in the Sketchy Thursdays sidebar by 10pm EST next Wednesday 5/12 for your chance to win some awesome {ippity} stamps by Bonnie Rose.

Thanks for stopping by today!!

Heidi

Mad Style

Had so much fun with today's Pink Ninjas prompt.  Lots of yummy things all rolled into one:

Prompt - stilo  (pronounced "style-oh")
Technique - crepe paper
Pink Twist - paper

January 2011 issue

 

When I saw that we had to use crepe paper I was all, "Awwwww...how the heck am I going to use that??"  Well, slap my ass and call me Fanny, I LUV crepe paper now!!!  Oh, you KNOW this stuff is going to start showing up all over the place now.  Goodness knows I have enough of it from all the birthday parties we've thrown.  I always keep everything left over from parties "just in case" and I ALWAYS overbuy so I ALWAYS have lots of party stuff.  Heck, if you showed up on my doorstep right now and said you needed to throw a fully decorated birthday party in 30 minutes, I'd just need to know what theme.  I got your back, baby!

Can't go wrong with pink houndstooth and crowns, now, can ya?

Everything other than the crepe paper and the alpha stickers are from the Ninja Addicts' kit "Carousel". 

So much girly goodness it'll make your teeth ache.  But in a goooood way.  There are THREE of these gargantuan felt and fabric flowers in the kit made by Ninja Master Ally.  They're sooo pretty.  (I'm just wondering what it's going to do to the scrapbook, lol.  No joke, they're about 1" tall.)

Hop on over to the Ninjas blog to check out what the rest of the Design Team made for your inspiration.  Some truly gorgeous stuff!!!! 

Do you remember last week when the Ninja Addicts held a little ol' blog hop with some cutie pie little stuffy owlies made by Ninja Carrie for prizes?   And I said even though there were 2 owls shown there really was only one up for grabs because I was going to win the other one??  Well...

Say hello to Josie Myers!!

She's MINE, all mine!!!!  I can't wait to hold her in my hot little hands.  Yea!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll be sure to take pictures of her arrival and settling in.  LOL.

Have a great Wednesday!!

Heidi

1 Week In April

This month's prompt over on Category Stories is "A Week In The Life Of...".

We've had a jam-packed April.  This one week mid-month was no exception. 

Last Sunday we had the best dinner.  The kids made pasta with Daddy, we had a mesclun and radish salad from our new garden, and I made my Kick Ass Rotisserie Chicken (aptly named).  There was a basketball game for the boy, ballet for the girl.  Basketball practice occurs at twilight so I got some gorgeous sun-kissed pics.  The girl learned to ride her bike without training wheels.  There was goofy golf, fun time with Auntie K, dinner at Arriba with the family that yielded a parking lot surprise (a full-sized Stormtrooper statue sitting on the flatbed of a truck - weird!), and plenty of snuggling time for the kids.  It's a wonder I still manage to get them to school, let alone do anything else! 

Be sure to check out what the rest of the Category Stories Design Team made.  I love seeing how different our styles and interpretations are.  And if you play along with us you had a chance to win an awesome prize from Country Papercraft, an online and brick-and-mortar store in Australia.  Check out the Category Stories blog for all the details.

On a side note, I have two little rants:  1) OK, so yes, thank you for giving me 20  or so "e"'s in the alpha sticker set.  (I can't remember the manufacturer on this one...it's the black stickers I used above.)  But that set has 400 total letters so comparitively 20 "e"'s IS NOT ENOUGH!  and 2) Has anyone had trouble with the Cosmo Cricket tiny alphas?  They're not cut all the way through!  And it's not just one sheet.  It's been every single sheet I've gotten and I have 5 or 6!!!  Grrrrrr!  OK, back to our scheduled programming...

Have a great weekend!

Heidi

To Infinity and Beyond!

Happy, happy Thursday to you!!!  I'm so excited because this week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch was made by ME!  Woohoo!  Starting to get the hang of this...

My son has been a die-hard Buzz Lightyear fan since he was 1 but I don't recall ever scrapping any of his Buzz pics yet.

We stalked Buzz at Disneyland.  We found out where and what time he would be appearing for autographs and then perched there until he showed up...and THEN Momma made sure her babies were first in line.  Man, autograph hounds at Disneyland can get nasty!  And their wranglers are ruthless.  They can look a hysterically crying 2-y-o dressed up like their favorite character clutching said favorite character paraphernalia right in the face and tell them they can't have an autograph and push right past them.  I mean, I guess I understand where they're coming from but COME ON!  (We had to make 3 attempts to get Woody's autograph one year...)

Anyhoo, I loved the base paper so much and thought it already looked like a shaped featured sheet atop a base sheet so I just went ahead and stitched on the label shape. 

Finally broke into my Pink Ninja Addicts' "Accidentall Kelly Street" kit and got to play!!!!  Perfect colors!  The green behind the letters is tulle.

Lovin the rad fabric and felt flowers made by Ninja Master Ally!!!  Thought they looked sufficiently like a rocket ship. 

Hop on over to the Sketchy Thursdays blog to check out what the Design Team made (with MY sketch, tee hee!) for your inspiration.

Got a very cool surprise from the Mr. today!!! 

Can't wait to play!!!

- Heidi

Pink Ninja Addicts Blog Hop

OK, so maybe my mojo has gone on vacation but it sure hasn't for the amazingly talented chicks over on the Pink Ninja Addicts!  Just check out the super rad blog hop they're holding right now. 

AND, if you hop along, comment, follow, and spread the word, you could win one of THREE amazing prizes.  (Although gotta say I'm gonna win one of the owls so technically there are only two to win, LOL.)

Accidentally Kelly Street kit

Or you could win an adorable owl made by Ninja Star Carrie:

They even come with their own birth certificates!!

Jump on over to the Pink Ninja Addicts blog to get in on the hop.  You will be inspired beyond belief! 

Heidi

No Mojo

Sorry I've been a bit random on posting lately.  I just don't seem to have any creative mojo. 

Thought I'd just quickly post a card I made a while ago. 

See that super cute flower there in the center???  That's made by the talented Miss Diana.  Check out her etsy store Design By Diana for more of the goodness.  And she's having a giveaway for her blogerversary...check it out!

If anyone finds my mojo, could you send it on back to me?  I miss it.

Heidi

Happy Earth Day

Welcome to Thursday!  This Thursday is extra special because not only do I have this week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch to share, but I'm also participating in an Earth Day blog hop with the Torendi team!!!   I'll start with the Sketchy Thursdays stuff so that when you get to the end of the Torendi blog hop part you can immediately hop off to your next destination!

Update - The I ~heart~ San Fran layout can be currently seen in its entirety in the July 2010 Scrapbook News and Review magazine. 

I can see myself using this week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch over and over again for multi-picture layouts:

I incorporated the current These Are a Few of My Favorite Things challenge into this one:  favorite city. 

I love everything about San Fran.  The food, the weather, the food, the various cultural areas, the food, the fun attractions, did I mention the food?  Interestingly, all of these pics were taken on our trip that began August 31, 1997 - the day Princess Diana died.  Needless to say, the beginning of that trip was pretty surreal. 

With the exception of the "San Francisco" base paper, all the other embellishments and papers on here are from the Crop Suey "Gelato" kit I won a few months back.  I felt like the mist in the upper corner didn't quite stand out enough so I drew in a little flourish. 

This week's Sketchy Thursdays challenge is sponsored by Crop Chocolate.  The prize up for grabs for this week's winner is a 36" Ribbon Organizer by Simply Renee!!

Isn't that AWESOME???!!!!! 

Please check out the Sketchy Thursdays blog to see what the Design Team made for your inspiration and to play along with us!!!  Entries are due by 10pm EST next Wednesday, 4/28.

**  OH!  Don't forget!  The May Guest Design Team Challenge is still open until Saturday night!!!  You know you wanna play with us! **

OK, now on to the Torendi Earth Day Blog Hop!

If you've arrived here by any means other than BR-T's blog, please CLICK HERE to hop back to the Torendi blog to start the hop from the beginning. 

Be sure to check out each of the Torendi Design Team's blogs and COMMENT on each one for a chance to win an awesome prize.  (See the Torendi blog for official details.) 

I'm sure you'll all agree that when you get scrap kits, you invariably end up with a few extra things.  I had some solid cardstocks left over from various Torendi kits, as well as a bit of the Cosmo Cricket paper from this month's "Fresh Mix" kit.  In the spirit of Earth Day, I dove into my leftovers rather starting up on some new paper. 

I also used a couple of papers from the 6x6 Sassafrass Wee Bundles Apple Jack and Nerdy Bird from the Torendi store.

The base of the layout as well as the trunk of the tree are made from the shipping box my current kit arrived in.  I tried to give the whole thing a bit of dimensional interest so I used many different colors of Delta Texture Magic which have been sitting in my craft room for years.  Truthfully I was surprised they were still usable.  I expected them to be all dried up.  (Texture Magic is basically colored spackle.) 

I hope you enjoyed my little ode to Earth Day.  CLICK HERE to hop on off to Jenn's blog for your next bit of Torendi Earth Day goodness!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Earth Day!!!

- Heidi