inspired by the upcoming arrival of The Sampler owner Holly’s new daughter, whom she will be naming Penelope (SO CUTE!)…

we are proud to present this month’s The Sampler kit, Oh Penelope!  this kit is just absolutely STUFFED with amazing goodies for you to play with.  it includes facets of Valentine’s, Fun, Family… and some delicious Echo Park / Hambly / etc / etc / etc. goodies for you to play with!!!

so fabulous!  jog on over to Scrapbooking Supplies R Us to see more pictures of this amazing kit.  here’s what you get:

* (1) sheet Core’dinations – Kraft-Core #6
* (1) sheet Core’dinations – Kraft-Core #16
* (1) sheet Core’dinations – Snowflake
* (1) sheet Core’dinations – Stormy Gray
* (1) sheet Bazzill Dotted Swiss (butter)
* (1) sheet Echo Park “Times & Seasons – Spiffy Moustache”
* (1) sheet Simple Stories “Year-O-Graphy – Simple Basics Blue/Newsprint”
* (1) sheet My Mind’s Eye “Love Me – Doilies”
* (1) sheet My Mind’s Eye “Love Me – Stamped”
* (1) sheet Jenni Bowlin “Red Black Extension – School Dress”
* (1) sheet Crate Paper “Random – Victorian”
* (1) sheet Hambly “Mini Graph Overlay” (pink)
* (1) sheet Hambly “Little Hearts on Kraft” (red)
* (1) pkg KaiserCraft Pearls (latte)
* (1) pkg Lily Bee Design “Memorandum – ABC Cardstock Stickers”
* (1) booklet Fundamentals Petites Alphabet sticker (kraft)
* (4) FabScraps Metal Butterflies
* (1) pkg Hambly Remnants Rub-ons (white)
* (1) pkg My Mind’s Eye “Kraft Funday – Everyday Fun Wood Banners”
* custom hexagons in gray velvet & canvas
* (3) FabScraps fabric brads (red)
* (1) pkg Lily Bee Design “Memorandum – Index Journaling Cards”
* (3) lengths May Arts ribbon (twill w/ olive stripe, twill w/ blue stripe, white grosgrain)

SO. STUFFED!  there are about a million different ways to use up this kit, and i’ll be back throughout February to share some ideas and tips with you!  look for my Thursday posts over on The Sampler’s Blog as well as here on my blog for more ways to work with “Oh, Penelope”.  i’ll be back ASAP with a picture of the first layout i created with this kit, as well as our card challenge on the 10th!  so you’ll definitely want to check back in soon!

now for today’s Life.in.Lists:

I “HEART” FLAVOR.

Tami relates a story about Baskin-Robbins to open up today’s post.  unlike Tami (who shockingly chose vanilla!) i have always been a bit adventurous.  i remember going to BR myself as a kiddo, and the first thing i wanted was mint chocolate chip (since it was green, and, at the time my favorite color was green)… that started a love affair that has never ended.  my grandparents will tell you that i would go as far as ordering mint chocolate chip with pineapple or strawberry topping every time we went to Friendly’s for a sundae.  i’ve always been the weirdo that likes fruit in my salad and dessert as a part of my meal.  i will try anything – at least once – but i’m so fond of food that it doesn’t really even matter anymore!  so today’s post will be a fun one for me:  Today, some of my favorite flavors are…

* Mint.  anything and everything mint, preferably peppermint but definitely NOT spearmint.  it’s my favorite flavor AND scent.
* Chocolate.  nuff said.
* Coffee.  any kind, iced or hot.  i’m down.
* Raspberry/Blackberry.  my dad started this one with blackberry picking when i was a kid.
* Beef.  is that allowed? lol.  i love beef in all its many forms – especially stroganoff
* BACON.  baconbaconbaconbaconbacon.  i love bacon.  especially if mayonnaise is touching it.  i actually thought to make a bacon and mayo casserole once.  yeah i know it’s gross.  and prob REALLY bad for you.  but i’d eat it

allrighty, well that’s all for me for today!  thanks for taking the time to stop by – i’ll be back soon with some great inspo for The Sampler’s February kit

peace, love and stickers -

it’s here!  February’s Paper Lovelies kit is just overflowing with romantic, shabby goodies – just in time for those Valentine’s projects and layouts

it’s really gorgeous!  there is really a lot of stuff in this kit, too – even stamps!  here’s what you get:

★ KaiserCraft “Sweet Nothings” 12×12 double-sided papers (2 each):  Dozen Roses, Devoted, You & Me, With Love, Sincerely, All Yours, Silver Lining, Cupid’s Arrow, Love Letters, Memories

★ KaiserCraft “Memories” die cut sheet (1)

★ Jillibean Soup 12×12 corrugated alpha – white (1)

★ KaiserCraft pearls – blush (1)

★ small red felt heart (1)

★ Maya Road mini ruler (1)

★ Jenni Bowlin bingo card – red (1)

★ Prima mini bouquet – color varies (1)

★ Maya Road wood spool (1)

★ Maya Road game pieces (2)

★ Hug Snug seam binding – white (24″)

★ May Arts rosette ribbon – red (12″)

★ KaiserCraft “With Love” mini stamp set (1)

so very exciting

to get you started with some inspiration, you can check out my samples below, or visit our other designer’s blogs to see their creations:

★   AMBER   ★   ILENE   ★   KASSIDY   ★   LISA   ★   SARA   ★   CARRIE   ★   NANCY   ★

and here are mine:

this kit absolutely has a bazillion possibilities!!!  you definitely need to check out Paper Lovelies before they sell out – they go FAST!!!  don’t forget to stop by the Paper Lovelies Facebook page from time to time to participate in giveaways and see other creations made by the Paper Lovelies fan club!

thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today.  make sure you stop by The Sampler’s blog tomorrow to see the ultra-fabulous-super-amazing layout i made to finish off this month’s kit!

peace, love & stickers 

SUPPLIES:

“Tiny Toes”

• Patterned Paper – KaiserCraft “Sweet Nothings – You & Me, Sincerely, Cupid’s Arrow” (from Paper Lovelies Feb. 2012 kit)
• Alpha – Jillibean Soup (from Paper Lovelies Feb. 2012 kit)
• Flowers – Prima (rosettes from Paper Lovelies Feb. 2012 kit; petaled from personal stash)
• Pearls – KaiserCraft (from Paper Lovelies Feb. 2012 kit)
• Mini ruler, game piece – Maya Road (from Paper Lovelies Feb. 2012 kit)
• Hug Snug seam binding (from Paper Lovelies Feb. 2012 kit)
• Rub-on – Basic Grey (personal stash)
• Metal charm – ??? (personal stash)

“With Love”

• Patterned Paper – KaiserCraft “Sweet Nothings – You & Me, Sincerely, Memories, Silver Lining, With Love” (from Paper Lovelies Feb. 2012 kit)
• Pearls – KaiserCraft (from Paper Lovelies Feb. 2012 kit)
• Stamp “With Love” – KaiserCraft (from Paper Lovelies Feb. 2012 kit)

hooray!  finally able to share The Sampler’s January kit with you this kit is so packed full of awesomeness; you are really going to love everything this kit has to offer!!!

Ready, Set, GO! – January 2012 The Sampler kit

each kit contains:

CARDSTOCK (12×12):

* Core’dinations “Begonia”
* Core’dinations “Marsh”
* Core’dinations “Jillian Small Dot Cityscape
* Core’dinations “Snowflake”

PATTERNED PAPER (12×12):
* Lily Bee Memorandum “Payday”
* My Mind’s Eye KRAFT Funday “Lollipop Dots”
* My Mind’s Eye KRAFT Funday “Patchwork Party”
* Lily Bee Head Over Heels “Dreamy”
* Simple Stories Live Life “24-7″
* My Mind’s Eye Lime Twist Out of the Blue “Playful”

SPECIALTY PAPER (12×12):

* Hambly Mod Circles Screen Print (aqua)
* Hambly Lattice Screen Print Overlay (aqua)

EMBELLISHMENTS:

* Simple Stories “Yearography Expressions” cardstock stickers
* Pink Paislee Woodshop Alpha * My Mind’s Eye Stella & Rose “Hattie” trims
* My Mind’s Eye Lime Twist Fly a Kite “Genuine” journaling card
* Kaisercraft square border rhinestones (copper)
* My Mind’s Eye KRAFT Funday Happy Days chipboard embellishments
* EK Success Calendar SMASH Pockets (4)
* vintage Weekly Report Time Cards
* October Afternoon Boardwalk Sticker Alphabet (licorice)
* The Sampler custom large hand-stamped jar (black and sepia)
* The Sampler custom Quickutz Polaroid frames (3)
* The Sampler custom glittered 2012 Die Cut

SOOOO MUCH STUFF!  a great collection of goodies that play so well together, and a great price too!  if you subscribe for 12 months, each of our kits are only $29.99 + $5.00 shipping!  of course, you will pay a little more for a shorter subscription or a one-off kit, but the cash you will spend is SO worth it.  if you are wanting some new supplies and you like variety then this kit is definitely for you

head over to Scrapbooking Supplies R Us to pick up your kit – and don’t forget to browse the rest of the store while you’re there, because there are plenty of great products in stock that will go with this kit fabulously!  stop by The Sampler’s blog today and every day throughout the rest of the month for more inspiration from our talented designers on what you can do with this kit – everyone came up with some really great examples to get your creative wheels turning.  stop by their individual blogs as well, to see more:

★  AMY C.  ★  AMY S.  ★  NANCY  ★  HOLLY  ★  AMBER  ★

and of course, yours truly

i am SO PROUD of my first two creations!!!  my second scrapbook page in forever, and i LOVE how it turned out!  i really try to keep it equal with my kids when it comes to scrapbooking but lately all i’ve wanted to scrap are the pictures from my stepdaughter’s photo shoot in downtown Ft. Worth… they all turned out so good and she looked so cute that day that i can’t resist.  originally had one of them on thus layout as well, but in the end i took to sticking different pictures from my pile in the spot for the photo trying to figure out if there wasn’t a more perfect fit for this collection – and OMG this picture was the best choice by far!!!  i love that picture of my son and i, taken on Mother’s Day 2011 – it’s total proof that he’s 100% mine and shows off our personalities so well.

everyone around here loves the card, too, as it is proudly on display on our bar counter – everytime someone walks past it, they shout “HEY YOU!” lol!

i will be back throughout the month with more creations and a tutorial on how to make the cute little rose from the card, so stay tuned here and over at The Sampler’s blog for more inspiration and maybe a fun giveaway   we will also be hosting two challenges this month featuring this kit, so make sure you stop by on the 10th and the 20th for more information!  thanks for stopping by today, hope everyone else is staying warm and cozy wherever you might be (even if it’s California and you’re not freezing to death like the rest of the world!)  Happy New Year to all as well, since i didn’t say that before.  so far, i have had no resolutions and the ones i was considering are already a fail… there’s always next year!

oh!  in other news, i have been plugging away hardily at my family tree for MONTHS AND MONTHS and i can say that the fruits of my labor are finally paying off.  last night i discovered my Scotch and Irish roots and i couldn’t have been more excited!  as far as i can tell, i am descended from Clan MacBean through the Bane family of Scotland and the Burk(e) family of Ireland – very exciting!  i have a tartan i can call my own (finally)… next step – A KILT!  i have also been working hard behind the scenes to put together a public Family Tree website that will be an extension of this site when i am done, so that anyone who wants the information i am putting together can gather it all up without paying for an account on one of the pricy genealogy sites.  so i will have more information about that soon!

take care everyone, and stay crafty

just popping in with a quick sneak peek at The Sampler Kit Club’s January 2012 kit!!!

it. is. fantastic.  let me just tell you.

there is a really spectacular range of products included in this month’s kit, including Pink Paislee, My Mind’s Eye, and more!  we will be premiering the kit sometime in the next few days, so be sure to stop by The Sampler’s blog and the main Scrapbooking Supplies R Us website soon for more details.  of course, i will be posting here as well as soon as the kit goes live – so please come back and visit me too – i’ll be sharing my projects and some tutorials and other goodies throughout the month!!!

there will also be a card challenge for the kits starting on the 10th so i will be back with more details about that then as well.

exciting times around here!  can’t wait to share this kit with you

okay, first of all, let me just say this:

i. am. freezing.

WHO ORDERED THIS WEATHER? i live in Texas, for crying out loud, it should not be this dang cold!  it’s 40 degrees (feels like 35) with light rain here, and i’m freakin’ out!!!  i guess it could be worse – i could still be in OHIO (currently 28 feels like 28 there with 0 precip…), or in SPOKANE, WA, with my BFF Ryan (currently 20 feels like 20 with snow in the forecast for tomorrow), or in beautiful WASILLA, AK, (currently a completely, utterly nasty 7 degrees with 0 precip!) where Carrie and Paper Lovelies are spreading some Christmas cheer with their latest kit!  i don’t know how you do it up there, guys, but i have respect for you – i would love to come see Wasilla… in the summer… 

beautiful segway, right?  yeah, i worked on that for a while

so the new kit is out as of the 23rd!  super duper excited about this kit – Carrie has such beautiful taste and the kits always come together so well!  this kit has a little bit of everything you need to do some shabby / vintagey winter pages, packed full of Webster’s Pages “Winter Fairy Tales” line.

i mean, absolutely. gorgeous.

so many fun extras too!  i especially loved playing with the bling strip – it was so hard to figure out where i wanted to incorporate it because i wanted to use it for too many different things!  it’s so fun!!!  this kit is PACKED, too, i mean… stuffed.  the box was really heavy!  you really can’t beat this deal – you will definitely get more than your $15′s worth!  the January 2012 Paper Lovelies kit includes:

• 12 sheets double-sided Webster’s Pages “Winter Fairy Tales” patterned paper
• 1 Webster’s Pages “Winter Fairy Tales” die cut paper
• 1 Webster’s Pages Storytellers alpha
• 1 Webster’s Pages 8″ bling strip
• 2 Webster’s Pages “Winter Fairy Tales” Sentiment fabric tickets
• 2 Webster’s Pages 12″ Bloomer trims
• 2 Webster’s Pages Feather Flowers
• 2 Webster’s Pages Pins

i really enjoyed working with this line – it’s definitely a different spin on Christmas/winter themed pages, and the elements all work really well together whether you have a card or layout in mind.  this would probably also make some fabulous Christmas gift projects

here is what i came up with to inspire you for this month’s kit:

okay, so i like seriously have not done an actual scrapbook page in FOREVER.  this was huge for me.  i’m really surprised at how it turned out, not my typical style at all but it has grown on me the more i have looked at it.  i just hate that i’m not a big journaler though.  i know that’s the point but i guess i do a pretty good job of telling the story the way i see it as art on a page.  i guess that’s why i tend to lean toward cards so much more often.

well at any rate… just wanted to share that and wish everyone a Merry Christmas from our family to yours – Happy Holidays, Hannukah, Ramadan, Kwanzaa… whatever it is you do, do it BIG and enjoy the time with whoever you’re with wherever you are.  God bless.

DON’T FORGET – Perfect Sentiments challenge is observing the holiday this week and you still have until Tuesday to get those Anniversary Inspiration cards in!  keep ‘em comin’, people!

peace, love and blessings.

PPS – my apologies for the heavy, unnecessary overuse of animated GIFs in this post.  i couldn’t help myself.

SUPPLIES:

Card

• Patterned Paper, Die Cut Paper, Feather Flower, Fabric Ticket – Webster’s Pages “Winter Fairy Tale” from Paper Lovelies January 2012 kit
• Pearls – Hobby Lobby (personal stash)
• Glitter Sticker Borders – Doodlebug
• Roses – Prima “North Country”

“there was a girl named COURTNEY”

Patterned Paper, Bling Strip, Rosette Trim, green/purple alpha, Feather Flower – Webster’s Pages “Winter Fairy Tale” from Paper Lovelies January 2012 kit

• Gold Alpha – American Crafts
• Roses – Prima “North Country”
• Buttons – misc.
• Chip Hearts – K & Co.
• Chip Clouds – Studio Calico
• Label / Tab stickers – Crate Paper “Random”
• Gold Uniball
• Heidi Swapp edge distresser

well, i have TWO bits of amazing news to share today! 

#1 – i have been selected as a 2012 Design Team Member for The Sampler Kit Club!!! !!!!!  really excited about this opportunity!  The Sampler Kit Club is a part of Scrapbooking Supplies R Us.  their kits are fantastic – every month’s kit is chock-full of an assortment of the latest and greatest products out there, with a little bit of everything (tons of embellishments!) to help you create fabulous scrapbook pages, cards, and other paper crafting projects.  i am joining five very talented crafters to work with The Sampler’s kits and blog, and i know we are going to ROCK their kits and there will be lots of great inspo for you each month – in addition to some fun giveaways, contests, challenges, and more to come in 2012!  i was FLOORED when i got the email from Holly (the owner) the other day, it totally made my day!!!

i will not be working with their kits until January, but in the meantime you can stop by their store and check out this month’s kit – it’s LOADED with Christmas-y goodies from some of the hottest collections right now – American Crafts “Father Christmas”, Crate Paper’s “Peppermint”, MME, Core’Dinations, Hambly… and so much more!  SO AWESOME!  i almost want to order it for myself!!  (too bad, hubby has me on a spending freeze… i went a little crazy last month and spent this month’s allowance… okay, i went a LOT crazy…)  you should definitely click your way over to their site and check it out – and grab one for yourself before they run out!

[ photo via The Sampler ]

isn’t it exciting?!?  browse over to the kit’s page by clicking the link or the photo to get the entire list of what this kit includes, and then hop on over to their BLOG because they are also having a pretty sweet giveaway!  FIVE (5) complete Crate Paper “Peppermint” Collection kits (+ a few extra goodies!) are up for grabs – all you have to do is leave a comment on the 2012 Design Team Announcement post, and for an extra chance to win, share the link with your friends and leave another comment letting us know!  spread the word – this is BIG!!!

speaking of “Peppermint”, this is a great opportunity to segway into the next part of my news!!!

B.)  I WON!!!!!!!!!  (me, who never wins anything!)  on a whim, i decided to participate in the Two Peas in a Bucket Blog Hop last month, and i’m excited (SUPER EXCITED) to say that i actually won the entire “Peppermint” collection from Crate Paper!  after a snafu resulting from my not having correct address info on my Two Peas profile, and the package being shipped to my old house, rerouted, finally returned to Two Peas, then shipped to my new house… on Saturday, i came back from a Walmart trip to my hubby announcing that a package from Two Peas showed up while i was gone!  i had been waiting anxiously for this prize ever since i found out that i won!

[ photo via Kristina Nicolai-White ]

 i had to steal Kristina’s pic of the prize, since it has been rather gloomy around here and there is no getting any good photos of anything!  i may attempt to do that, if the sun ever decides to show back up!  but, really, pictures won’t even do this collection justice.  vintagey, cute, Christmas-y goodness…  buttons, brads, TONS of papers and stickers… i can’t wait to have a chance to sit down and make something with this stuff!  i really think this is the first time in history that i’ve had an ENTIRE collection all at the same time.  i’ve been really partial to collections lately, it just makes everything so much easier when the supplies you have to work with all coordinate.  i’m extremely grateful to Kristina for all the extra work and stress that she had to deal with throughout the package being lost, then finally returned, and for selecting me as a winner!  maybe i should just decide to play along with stuff more often, on a whim!

YOU COULD BE NEXT!!! get your hiney over to The Sampler’s Blog and comment on today’s post for your chance to win one of FIVE “Peppermint” collections!!!

i’m really excited.  i don’t know how many other times i have said that throughout this post, but i really can’t say it enough.  i’m excited about this new opportunity, excited to get to know the talented ladies i will be working with next year, and excited to get to work with “Peppermint” and all the Christmas photos we’ve taken so far, and those yet to be taken!

as always, thank you so much for stopping by and for sharing in my joy over this good news!!!  i’ll be back on Wednesday with another Perfect Sentiments Challenge for you — don’t forget to stop by Perfect Sentiments Blog and check out our winner and “Perfect 3″ for last week – plus, you still have until tomorrow night to participate in this week’s challenge and enter for a chance to win an A|Muse Studio gift certificate or join the ranks of the “Perfect 3″!!!  good luck to everyone, and happy crafting!

back again with another Paper Lovelies kit !!!!

i’m really pleased to present December’s kit to you – this month we are featuring Prima’s “North Country” line, and let me tell you - i. love. it.  LOVE.  the papers are all gorgeous and very unique compared to many other “Christmas” and “winter” themed collections – not to mention all the extra goodies that come with it!  Carrie did a fantastic job with this kit and you will definitely want to snatch one up for your stash before they are all gone (did i mention they’re $15?!?  that’s SOO CHEAP for all the amazing stuff you get with these kits!!!)

absolutely stunning!!!  there are sooo many pretty Christmas-y goodies in this kit, you definitely won’t want to miss out!  it includes:

• (2) sheets each double-sided 12×12 paper from Prima Marketing “North Country” — Forest Notes, Icicles, Snowfall, Glacier Roads, Wonderland, Red Deer, In the House
• (2) sheets Core’dinations cardstock in Cream
• (1) pkg. Prima Marketing “North Country” Antique Mirrors
• (1) pkg. Prima Marketing “North Country” flowers (set of 6)
• (1) pkg. Prima Marketing “North Country” tiles (set of 6)
• (1) pkg. Kaisercraft Sparklets in Royal
• 12″ Webster’s Pages Silver Garland
• (1) pkg. American Crafts Thickers (red)

SOOO MUCH STUFF!!!  it’s really a steal at $15 – i couldn’t do better than that at my local scrapbook store or even at any of my fave online retailers, for all this stuff!  i was really inspired by this month’s kit and although i only made two cards with it so far, i am definitely planning on cranking out a few more Christmas cards with this kit, as well as including it in my December Daily project that i’ll be sharing soon

and when i say that i was inspired, i mean i ABSOLUTELY LOOOVE the cards that i came up with for this month!

okay, so i might be a little biased, but i really *DO* love these cards!  especially that snowflake one – OMG.  i was definitely excited to be able to share that one finally!!!  that idea had been running around in my brain for a few weeks, ever since i saw >this< card on my friend Stacey’s blog a few weeks back!  i don’t have a snowflake embossing plate for my Cuttlebug (yet!) so i figured i could get the same effect by using my good ol’ Silhouette.  i die cut a lace design from the same cardstock i used as a card base, and VOILA!  i really love it, i hate to brag but i really do   i fully expect to use this technique again very soon!!!

but of course, you can’t always just take my word for it.  the rest of the Paper Lovelies Design Team came up with some great – i mean AMAZING – projects using this month’s kit as well!  there’s a little bit of everything in this month’s design gallery – home decor items, cards, scrapbook pages… you really should go check it out, >here<, on the Paper Lovelies website, or go visit the team’s personal blogs for more inspiration.  i am so privileged to work with this talented group of ladies!

★   CARRIE   ★   LISA   ★   SARA   ★   KASSIDY   ★   AMBER   ★   ILENE   ★

i definitely need to get crackin’ and get some more projects going with this kit!  there are a few home decor items i’d like to do with it, and probably a few cards… of course, i’ll be including it in my December Daily as well, so that’s really exciting  i’m so stoked for this December Daily.  i have never participated before but i need to do something where i can literally force myself to work on one little thing per day for at least 25 days… i’m so bad about doing that!  our Young Adult pastor gave the sermon this weekend and he talked about how since we are so connected, literally, to everything now, that we have trained our brains to have a very short attention span.  i completely identified with his message this weekend and realize that he put the final piece in an epic puzzle i’ve been working on in my head about the degradation of society and why we are where we are as a culture today as a result of the access to technology and information we have is like none other before… and he said exactly that.  it was pretty powerful.  and Jed is a great speaker (very funny!) so you can go check that out >here< via Milestone Church as soon as it is available (most likely sometime monday!)  :)  but to back up to what i was saying about the December Daily and why i’m excited… i always intend to create something every day, but somehow fail to because i get distracted by crocheting (well, i guess that is creating too but… not scrapbooking!), or video games… or Pinterest (ahhh the devil!) when i do have free time to devote to something i enjoy.  so i think the December Daily will be a good thing for me because it will help me to stay focused on something simple every day and it will be something beautiful our family can share for years to come and put a little nostalgia and family back into Christmas for a change!  for more info about the December Daily, click the banner below:

wow that was totally a tangent there.  i apologize for that.  please forgive me for rambling.  i’m still pretty pumped about that message this weekend!  it’s definitely something that is going to stick with me throughout the holiday and the creation of this project.

anyway…

don’t forget that ALL proceeds from this month’s kit are being donated to Katie Renz and her family.  Katie passed away on Monday, November 7, after less than a year long battle with Gastric Cancer.  Katie was a devoted crafter, mom, and wife, and it’s really heartwrenching but almost peaceful to read the posts on her blog.  her husband kept things up all the way to the very end and says he doesn’t know how long he will continue to update her blog, but you can always go read the posts that are there – Katie was truly a beautiful person.

well, that about wraps things up for me this week.  i’ll be back on Wednesday with a new Perfect Sentiments challenge – stop by the blog and check out the Perfect 3 and winner of last week’s challenge!

thanks for stoppin’ by

SUPPLIES:

CARD #1 – JOY

• Cardstock – Core’dinations (from Paper Lovelies Dec. 2011 kit)
• Patterned Paper, Joy Circle – Prima Marketing “North Country” (from Paper Lovelies Dec. 2011 kit)
• Bling – Kaisercraft Sparklets (from Paper Lovelies Dec. 2011 kit)
• Red glitter glue

CARD #2 – LET IT SNOW

• Cardstock – Core’dinations (from Paper Lovelies Dec. 2011 kit)
• Flowers – Prima Marketing “North Country”
• Alpha – Cosmo Cricket
• Ribbon – ? (was tied on outside of DT package, lol!  it was too cute not to use!!!)
• Bling – Walmart
• Die Cut – Snowflake Lace by Lori Whitlock – Silhouette Online Store
• Silhouette SD

i am so excited to be back with another Paper Lovelies kit release!

this month’s kit is G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S !!! !!! !!!  we are featuring the “Western Romance” line from Webster’s Pages this month – this kit is just stuffed with soft, floral-ish, vintagey goodness!!!  there’s also a smattering of Studio Calico papers in there as well, and they really coordinate so well with the Webster’s Pages.

isn’t it lovely?!

the photos really do this kit absolutely no justice – Carrie is an amazing kit photographer, but no matter how she lays everything out you still just don’t get the full effect!!!  the papers are all double sided, which makes it really hard to choose which side you want to use because they are all so pretty – the colors are stunning in person, the vintagey details and fun extras really make this kit worth the $15 (+ shipping!) !!!

with this kit, you will get:

• (1) sheet each double-sided 12×12 paper from Webster’s Pages “Western Romance” — Gratitude, Sweet Romance, Date Night, Country Fresh, Diecut, Line Dance, Love Letters
• (1) sheet each double-sided 12×12 paper from Studio Calico “Classic Calico” — Woodgrain One, Letterset, Star, Folio, Newsprint
• (1) artisan pin from The Girls Paperie
• (1) Princess Petals from Webster’s Pages
• (1) Say it in Crystals swirl from Prima
• 16″ (in) gold trim from Webster’s Pages “Western Romance”
• 16″ (in) sheer rosette ribbon trim from May Arts (olive)

SOOO MUCH PAPER!  and some really great embellies that ice the cake!!!  they may already be sold out by the time this post goes up – it seems like they always go SO FAST!!!

oh!  and there’s a surprise bonus, too!  from now until the end of the year ALL proceeds from Paper Lovelies’ kits will be donated to help Katie Renz and her family.  Katie is a fellow scrapbooker/cardmaker who was diagnosed with Gastric Cancer last December.  she has a beautiful family and an AMAZING husband who updates her blog for her regularly, keeping her crafty friends up-to-date on how she’s doing.  some of the posts are absolutely heartwrenching to read about what she is going through – but she is such a fighter and is surrounded by so much love!  you should definitely check out her blog: Katie’s Paper Haven.  and yes, ALL (100%) of your kit purchases will go toward Katie and her family.

now on to the cards i made with this kit!  oh, i should mention, you need to visit our other designer’s blogs for more inspo!  they are all so talented, and everyone came up with great examples for this month!!!

** ILENE **   ** KASSIDY **   ** CARRIE **   ** AMBER **   ** SARA **   ** LISA **

so purty!!! 

the second was made for Travis’ coworker, Mike, and his new wife, Erin… this paper really invokes a “wedding” theme really well!

i really enjoyed working with this kit this month!!!  i still have TONS left, too, and i keep trying to figure out what i’m going to do with it!!!  my friend Amber said, the other day, “You always have some project going on, don’t you?”  yes, YES, i have a problem with too many projects!  i really hope to be able to use more of this kit on some of the stuff i’ve been cooking up!  stop by Paper Lovelies and see if you can still snag one!!!

also, the Perfect 3 are up over at Perfect Sentiment – along with the random prize winner!  go take a peek and see if you are the lucky winner  i’ll be back tomorrow with another Perfect Sentiment Challenge!!!

thanks for stopping by

SUPPLIES:

Card #1 – “You’re My #1″ 

• Patterned Paper – Webster’s Pages “Western Romance” from Paper Lovelies Nov. 2011 kit
• Flower – Webster’s Pages Princess Petals from Paper Lovelies Nov. 2011 kit
• Button – Webster’s Pages designer button from Paper Lovelies Nov. 2011 kit
• Bling – Kaisercraft from Paper Lovelies’ Aug. 2011 kit
• Doily – Dollar Tree (personal stash)
• Sentiment – K & Co. (personal stash)
• Ribbon – Offray (personal stash)
• Gold Uniball pen (personal stash)

hi everyone!  the Paper Lovelies kit for October was released on Friday the 23rd this month, since the 25th fell on a Sunday, but i wanted to take a minute to post about this month’s kit, though, and share my creations with you all  i would have posted on Friday, but we had an EXTREMELY busy weekend – today is my hubby’s 40th birthday, and we threw a HUGE surprise party for him Friday night so the weekend has literally been a blur for us… it’s such hard work putting something like that together, and then cleaning up after!!!

we got to work with Graphic 45′s “An ABC Primer” this month – really fun!!!  i have always just admired Graphic 45 from afar, since i always end up buying this kind of vintagey stuff and then never really using it… but fortunately since I’m working with Paper Lovelies, i get to try it out anyway and see how far i can expand my creative borders!  it was really hard to decide what to do with this kit since it has so many fun elements – the paper, the glitter, the tulle – i couldn’t believe all the goodies that this kit came with!  i wanted to be able to use them all on every project

here are all of the goodies you get with this fantastic kit:

• 1 sheet each double-sided Patterned Paper from Graphic 45 “An ABC Primer” – Games & Playtime, Alphabet Soup, Jumping Joan, Grammar School, Happy Go Lucky, Building Blocks, Bedtime Stories, The Three R’s, School Days, ABC Primer, Calico Kids, 1 2 Buckle My Shoe
• 2 sheets Core’dinations / Jenni Bowlin Cardstock (varies)
• 1 Pink Paislee Pixee Stix Glitter (butterscotch)
• 16″ Maya Arts tulle (black/gold)
• 1 6-pk Kaisercraft Ribbon (red)
• 4 Jenni Bowlin chipboard buttons
• 12 mini Flora Doodles (black/red)
• Alphabet Stickers (gold)

i managed to come up with two cards and a {bonus} bookmark, since this kit is just dying to be used for something book related!  so, here’s what i came up with:

i really love these projects!  this kit was really fun to work with, and would be great for someone wanting to scrap back-to-school pics or make cards/gifts for teachers!  you can see more examples of the Design Team’s work HERE.  we had Lisa Wilkinson joining us this month as a guest designer, and she really rocked this kit!

well, i have to get back to my busy-ness (read: still cleaning my house! there was literally confetti on every surface in the downstairs!)  hope that everyone had a great weekend, and definitely get over to Paper Lovelies to check out the kit before they’re all gone!!!!!  thanks for stopping by

SUPPLIES:

Card 1 – Smile

• Cardstock – Bazzill Basics (personal stash)
• Patterned Paper, Sentiment, “U” Stamp, Corner – Graphic 45 “An ABC Primer” (Paper Lovelies Oct. 2011 kit)
• Alpha – EK Success (personal stash)
• Pearl Flourishes – Colorbok (personal stash)
• Ribbon – misc? (personal stash)
• Glitter – Pink Paislee (Paper Lovelies Oct. 2011 kit)
• Flower – Adornments by Amanda (Paper Lovelies Oct. 2011 kit)
• Ink – Ink it Up (antique gold – personal stash)
• Die Cut – doily hearts by Loni Harris (Silhouette Online Store)

yaayyy!!  it’s time for another Paper Lovelies Kit! this month’s kit features fun, summery elements from Jillibean Soup – just in time to help you scrap those memories from this year’s heat wave!

this kit includes a fun assortment of goodies – including some really trendy items like baker’s twine and rose ribbon!  plus some really cute papers from Jillibean Soup’s “Watermelon Gazpacho” and “Chilled Strawberry Soup” lines – there are so many possibilities for this kit, whether you’re making cards or scrapbook pages – there’s bound to be something in here that sparks your imagination!  and for only $15 plus shipping, it’s SUCH A STEAL!  here’s what you’ll get with this month’s kit:

• 1 sheet “Chilled Strawberry Soup” by Jillibean Soup
• 1 sheet “Whipped Cream” by Jillibean Soup
• 1 sheet “Sprig of Mint” by Jillibean Soup
• 1 sheet “Orange Juice” by Jillibean Soup
• 1 sheet “Yellow Bell Pepper” by Jillibean Soup
• 1 sheet “Seedless Cucumber” by Jillibean Soup
• 1 sheet “Ice Cubes” by Jillibean Soup
• 1 sheet “Vanilla Soy Milk” by Jillibean Soup
• 2 sheets Core’dinations Cardstock (color varies)
• 1 Jenni Bowlin calendar card
• 1 package Eyelet Outlet brads (style varies)
• 1 smidgen red/white Divine Twine
• 1 package Jillibean Soup Journaling Sprouts
• 1 package Jillibean Soup corrugated butterflies
• 1 7gypsies Lille tag
• 1 Maya Road pin
• 12″ rose ribbon (red or cream)

mmmmmm yummy!  everything coordinates perfectly & gives you a TON of options for your projects.  the color scheme and elements remind me of a summer fruit salad with lots of whipped cream – and a side of Cream Soda

i’m really happy with the way all of these turned out!  the kit is so cute and versatile that it doesn’t have to be used just for summertime projects – ANYTHING GOES!  thanks for stopping by, and make sure you go to Paper Lovelies website to get your hands on one of these amazing kits before they are gone!  hoping to be able to crank out a couple more projects with this kit – will post those updates as they are finished