No mojo + weeklong migraine = no blogging!

This month has been tough. I have had no desire to be crafty. Absolutely none. Is it the weather (around here it's at least 90 degrees every day)? Is it my terrible ADHD kicking into overdrive? Whatever the case, I have done nothing!

Add to that the fact that I have had a migraine for a WEEK and you've got one lazy blogger!

June will be better! I have made a promise to myself that I will get my mojo back this month!

New mini-album tutorial

The wonderful website Scrapping Shoebox has posted my tutorial today. In it, I show you how to make a mini-album with just one sheet of 12"X12" paper! I think the project is really cute and it is sooooo easy (and it would make a great brag book for moms or grandmas for Mother's Day -- hint, hint!).

So head on over to Scrapping Shoebox for the full step-by-step project instructions. If you like it, leave a comment!

YEE HAW! It's the April Roundup!

I was inspired the other day by a visit to Katie the Scrapbook Lady. Her site has all sorts of great ideas and I loved this one. It's "The Monthly Roundup" where you "roundup" the memories of your month! This makes it much easier to go back to do journaling for your pages later; it's also cool to see just what you did all month!

1. What books and/or magazines did I read this month?   I read issues of Scrapbooks Etc., Creating Keepsakes, All You, and the AAA travel magazine. I read lots of books including Bossypants by Tina Fey, The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith, and Left Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson.
2. What movies, television shows, plays, etc. did I watch this month? The most memorable things I watched were Michael Scott's goodbye in The Office, the Royal Wedding (of course!), and lots of baseball.
3. What fun things did I do with my family and/or friends? Went to Opening Day for the Atlanta Braves, eating lunch w/my friend Kerry and dinner w/my friend Twhyla, helping my friend Lauren unpack all of her craft crap after a move, going to an all-day crop, having my niece Ashley visiting, a Spring Fling Party (on one of the coldest days of the month!)
4. What gifts did I give and/or receive? Lauren gave me sooooo much craft stuff like a Yudu machine, paper, TONS of adhesive, and more clear acrylic than I can use in a lifetime! Twhyla gave me a cool t-shirt that says "Scrappers are acid-free"
5. What special or unusual purchases did I make? A UTEE melting pot!
6. What illnesses or health concerns did I have? A few days of sniffles due to pollen
7. What were my accomplishments this month?  See my April 7th post! I also got some more cool news that I can't share quite yet.....
8. What were my disappointments this month? Not being chosen as a DT member on a site
9. How did I do on my goals for the month? (Or any current short or long term goals) Very well (again see my April 7th post!)
10. Anything else noteworthy to include? Some of the deadliest storms ever hit the South on April 27. Numerous tornadoes hit places all over MS, AL, and GA (including my hometown).

April is my month!

All sorts of exciting things are happening to me this month!

• I am now a published scrapbooker! I have a layout in this quarter's issue of "Stamping, Stationery, and Scrapbooking." You can find the issue at all Hobby Lobby stores now.
• I am the guest designer of the month at "Scrapping Shoebox", an Australian website. Right now, my bio and a little Q&A are posted on the site; a tutorial will come later in the month.
• I am also the guest designer of the month on a Greek website called "Scrapbooking in Greece." I have a folded flower tutorial posted there that is so cute! There is a "translate" widget on the site so you can read it in English (however, the translation sounds wonky, of course!)

I hope everyone is having a great week!

Using patterned papers effectively

Are you sometimes intimidated by certain scrapbook papers? Do you like the color or pattern but you think,"Wow, that's a little "busy"?  No worries! The key to using patterned papers is to use in moderation.

In my early days of scrapbooking, I would use just one sheet of patterned paper as a background, no matter how bright or busy it was; now looking back, I see that my pictures were overwhelmed by the papers. I have learned that by pairing patterned papers with solid cardstock or with a related but smaller/cleaner pattern, I can use the "busiest" papers around, yet still have my photos be the focus.

A great example of a company that has wild patterned paper is Sassafras Lass. I love their paper and embellishments. It makes my heart sing to look at them. However, I know that I have to use their products in a different way so that my layouts are not overwhelmed. Here's one of my favorite layouts that I made using Sassafras products:

By using a black background and by using the papers as borders and accents, I was able to still get the fun, whimsical look, but my photos are still front and center.

Another company that I love is American Crafts. They too have some awesome papers that may need a little tweaking.

If I had used an entire sheet of the stripes, my pictures would have been lost. However, by breaking up the stripes with some solid cardstock, I was able to still get the fun pattern but without all of the clutter.

For more examples of patterned paper layouts, go to my "Gallery" page here on the blog!

So don't be afraid of those wild papers! Just use them in moderation and you will have a layout that you are proud of!

Wonderful Wednesdays #2

Today's "Wonderful Wednesday" site is not a scrapbooking or paper crafting site, but a photography site. The photographer, Irina Werning, has taken old photos of regular people and had the subjects re-enact the photos. The concept is so sweet and beautiful and she has done such a good job with recreating the original poses.

This would be a fantastic idea for a scrapbook page, don't you think? Find a picture of yourself as a kid, and then see if you can recreate it now!

New look

The blog has a new look! I decided to embrace simplicity and make my blog a little more open. Hope you like it!

(Thanks to Yummy Lolly for the template!)

"Hoppy Easter" card tutorial

 Since Easter is quickly approaching,  I thought I would share this card and how to make it with y'all! I think that the little 3-D bunny just makes this card adorable. Hope you like it!

(Fair warning -- I am more of an "eyeballer" when it comes to crafting so I don't include many exact measurements in my tutorials.)

Materials needed:

• 8 1/2"X11" cardstock or pre-made card base (any color)
• white cardstock at least 5"X4"
• various colors of cardstock scraps (for sun, bunny, grass, accent piece, and lettering)
• Bunny stamp
• Cricut "All Mixed Up" cartridge
• Pens in various bright spring colors
• black fine-tipped pen
• Glitter Glue such as Stickles
• Adhesives (your choice) as well as 3-D foam "pop dots'
• fine-tipped scissors

How to:

1. Start with the card base. If you do not have a pre-made card base, cut a piece of 8 1/2" X 11" cardstock in half (5.5"X8.5"), then fold that in half.
2. Ink edges of white cardstock if desired. Attach white cardstock piece to front of the card to make the background.
3. Cut narrow strips of card stock to go across the width of the entire card. Place strips with one on top of the other and adhere. Then place stitching over the seam where the two pieces meet. I know that some people like to sew on their projects, either by sewing machine or hand-stitching, but I am terrible at it so I just draw my stitches with a black pen!
4. Cut very narrow strip of green paper for the "grass" to the width of the white background. Then with the fine-tipped scissors, cut notches or fringe into the top of the strip to look like grass.
5. Stamp your bunny image onto a scrap piece of white cardstock. Since my bunny stamp was just the cute little backside, I didn't have to color him in, but if your stamp is a more-detailed bunny you may want to color it in with pens or Copic markers.
6. Using fine-tipped scissors, cut around the stamped image. Then using the 3-D foam dots, attach the cut-out bunny to the card so that he is standing on the grass.
7. Cut a circle and small rectangles out of yellow cardstock for the sun. I did mine free-hand so it would have a more whimsical look. Adhere sun and rays to corner of card and then cover with Stickles (I used clear "diamond" Stickles).
8. Using the "All Mixed Up" cartridge for Cricut (set at 1"), cut out the words "Hoppy Easter". Adhere to card using a fine-tipped glue pen like a Zig 2-way.
9. Get ready to doodle! Hand-doodled little flowers, the "hopping" dashes, and outline the grass using various gel pens.
10. Now enjoy your Easter card!

Materials I used:

Card base -- Die Cuts with a View

Patterned paper -- The Paper Studio (from Hobby Lobby)

Cardstock -- unknown

Letters -- Cricut "All Mixed Up" cartridge

Stamp -- Stampabilities (from Hobby Lobby)

Ink -- ColorBox Cat's Eye Fluid Chalk Ink in Blue Lagoon, Autumn Leaves Stampology in Onyx

Pens -- Sakura Glaze and Gelly Roll, Zig Millennium Writer

Adhesives -- Glue Arts Perma-Tac, EKSuccess 3-D Dots, Zig 2-Way Glue

Glitter -- Stickles by Ranger