Good morning and Happy New Year! Im starting the year off right with a brand new layout created for the brand New Issue at Paper Issues! We're Off To A Fresh Start today and hope you are too. Need some ideas to get you going?

We want to see projects about your plans, intentions, or resolutions for the new year. 

Use 2018 on your project

How did you ring in the new year?

Share any project you like, anything goes!

I used the new Simple Stories 2018 collection to reflect a bit on 2017 and declare a literal fresh start for 2018. I cut apart a couple of the 3x4 cards, one with a silly inspirational sentiment.  I layered part of the Top Ten cut file on the blank card. The saying was prefect. I tucked a bunch of scraps everywhere to add more color. I chose to stay simple with stars as the primary embellishments,  adding some flair to soften the edges. that's it. 

No,  2017 was not my favorite year. Too much stress, not enough fun. I'm not sad to see it go. I welcome 2018. It's going to be better. It's a fresh start, a do over if you will. I'm looking forward to taking advantage of what 2018 has to offer. 

Thanks so much for celebrating New Years Day with me and my creative view. Celebrate with Paper Issues too! Join the fun in our Facebook group. Shop using DEVRA at checkout for 20% off your purchase!

Supplies: PP-Simple Stories, Amy Tangerine, Crate paper, stickers-Amy Tangerine, Freckled Fawn, Pink Paislee, American Crafts, Flair-A Flair for Buttons, Silhouette

Toot Toot

Monday Monday! It's New Issue Monday at Paper Issues! Join us this month for all the Holiday Happenings you can think of. Need some ideas? Try some of these:

December holidays, pictures of holiday décor (lights, tree, menorah, etc.), favorite gift, holiday menu, cookie decorating, gingerbread houses, winter activities. 

My page is inspired by a tradition in my husbands family. I don't have the opportunity to make many Christmas pages, so it was a treat for me to play with Pebbles Merry Merry and Crate Paper FaLaLa. I love the Twinkle paper was very excited about that little elf in the die cut package! I did get a bit cheeky with the music notes from the Have a Ball cut file. But oh well, it made my point!

When my husband was a child, every Christmas he had to wait on the stairs until his Dad blew a horn letting him know it was ok to come downstairs. Well, he tried to implement the same tradition in our family. It didn't work so well. Especially when he had to ask our son to blow his own trumpet!

Thanks so much for stopping by my creative view today. Check out the Paper Issues store for all of your holiday paper shopping needs. Everything is always 20% off when you use DEVRA at checkout.

Supplies: PP-Pebbles, Crate paper, die cuts & stickers-Pebbles, Buttons-Crate paper, flair-Fancy Pants, twine-Doodlebug Design, Thickers, sequins

Family Matters

Hey there Hi there! Just a regular old Monday here. Nope. Scratch that. It's New Issue Monday at Paper Issues called Home is Where the Heart Is .  Need some ideas? Well here you go:

Create a project about your home (favorite room, neighborhood, new home, renovations, favorite spot in your town/state); use heart embellishments; share November activities, family gatherings, Thanksgiving traditions and/or favorite recipes.

Me? I went with the Family idea. Ive had this photo sitting our for a very long time. Just couldn't decide what to do with it. Well, now that I have Carta Bella Welcome Home, this made perfect sense. I love this chalkboard framed aper and challenged myself to use it. I came across the Leaves & Laurels cut file and well, this is basically the result. I wanted to hand stitch the title. It seems to gp with the feel of the page.  There really are no embellishment on the page, it didnt seem to need them. I think this needs too go on the wall....

It is getting harder and harder to get family all together. Celebrating Dad's birthday is a good excuse don't you think? Nothing makes him happier than having all his girls around. Glad we could make that happen for him.

Thanks so much for stopping by my creative view today. Come back gain soon. I will have something new to share. See more about this cahelllenge on the Paper Issues blog. Join us in our Facebook group for chit chat and all our monthly challenges. 

Our Love of Books

Good morning! I love the beginning of the month. I feel like there is so much time in front of me to get all the things done on my crafty to do list. Fortunately, I have Paper Issues challenges to inspire me all month long.  Today we have our new Issue, Witch Kraft?

Need some ideas to get you started? How about these: Anything having to do with Halloween or October outings, use kraft elements (paper, embellishments, etc.), add some texture by using burlap or cork, create a project about crafts you do, use witches' hat/broomstick/cauldron/black cat, etc. embellishments, etc.

I had a completely different idea when started this page. Then it took off in an entirely different direction. I mean photo and everything changed. So this version features some of my favorite papers from Fancy Pants Dream Big mixed with a little bit of Creekside embellishments and a bunch of little bits from my stash. I played on the natural colors by adding cork letters and embellshments as well as a kraft doily. Like I said, this is far different from where I began. 

This page isn't so much about the book in the photo. Its about the meaning behind it. Ive been reading with my son since before he was born. Books and reading have always been our thing. As he's gotten older, I've been able to suggest some of my favorite books for him to read.  Throughout his high school years, we haven't had as much time to spend talking about books or reading together, but he still finds time to read. For Mothers Day this year, he bought me this book and asked if we could read it together, like our own book club. I waited until school ended to begin, so he could read with me. I love that he wanted to do this and hope we have time to do it again.

Thanks so much for stopping by my creative view today. Since its the beginning of the month, it should be pretty busy around here. Come back again soon. 

You can find these items and so much more in the Paper Issues shop. Bouns! Get your purchase for20% off using DEVRA at checkout.  

Supplies: CS-American Crafts, PP-Fancy Pants, One Canoe Two, Die cuts-Fancy Pants, Stickers -One Canoe Two, doily-Recollections, cork-unknown, Alphas-American Crafts, Cosmo Cricket, Arrow Cut file , Paper Issues, Silhouette

Squashed

Well good morning to you this fine Labor Day Monday. Its a new month which means it's time for a New Issue at Paper Issues. Let's Give Them Pumpkin to Talk About why don't we?  Our Issues are so fun. There really are many many ways to interpret the themes. Here are some ideas to get you started:

anything to do with fall (apple picking, fall traditions, pumpkin patch)
favorite thing about fall
use a fall collection for a non-seasonal page......and the list goes on!

I was inspired by fall in general. I had the new Carta Bella Hello Fall to play with as well as some Simple Stories Hello Fall from last year. So that's pretty much where I started. After thinking through some ides, this one kept growing. I altered the Patchwork Pumpkin cut file by erasing the horizontal lines, filling it with larger pieces of patterned paper. The photos were originally one 4x4, but after finding that 'favorites for fall' in the Tags & frames, I cut them apart. I layered some other bits, then added some green for a bit of contrast. I love it and it screams of some of my fall favorites.

There used to be this cute little farm near us that had a fall festival near Halloween time every year. One of my favorite things about it was they had several new varieties of squash I had never seen before, complete with description of flavor and how to prepare them. They were so colorful and unique in shape. I not only took photos, we bought some as well. 

Thanks so much for stopping by my creative view today. This is a super fun Issue theme and I hope you play along with us, Too can find all of our September challenges in our Facebook group. You have until Oct 2 to enter your projects.

You can get this beautiful  Carta Bella Hello Fall and so much more in the Paper Issues shop. Use my code DEVRA at checkout for 20% off your purchase. See you again soon!

Supplies: CS-Paper Accent, PP-Carta Bella, Simple Stories, photo corners-Queen & Co. die cuts-Carta Bella, clip & enamel dots-Simple stories, twine-Doodlebug Design, flair-A Flair for buttons, spray mist-Studio Calico, Heidi Swapp, Silhouette

Boom!

Hey there and good morning! Welcome to the Paper Issues  new Issue : Summer In, Summer Out. 

What is Summer in, Summer Out? Well, here are some ideas: Show us your favorite summer activities, indoor and out; vacations/sight seeing/staycations, use the PI flamingo card.

It may be August, but it's never too late to share a 4th of July page! Fireworks are such a major part of  summer activities! So, this page came about because I got this song stuck in my head! It went from there to Pink Paisle Sweet Freedom, which led to the Boom! Fireworks cut file. Which led to this! I laughed at myself the whole time I was working on it. I was having way too much fun!

4th of July is one of my favorite holidays to celebrate. It's a true celebration of history and family. Its warm outside, the sun is usually out and the day is lazy and casual. What's not to love? I love fireworks and always have.  Our city does it's fireworks display a week later, which is ok with me. It's always a big deal to me to go see them. But this year no one wanted to go see them with me. I wanted to go anyway, so I went with my friends. 

Check out the blog for more great ideas of Summer In, Summer Out. Then check out the shop for new releases that you can buy for 20% off when you use DEVRA at checkout. Thanks =for stopping by my creative view today. Come back again later this week. I have more to share!

Supplies: CS-American Crafts, PP, stickers, die cuts- Pink Paislee, wood-Studio Calico, mist-Heidi Swapp, transparencies-Bella Blvd, Silhouette, alphas-Bella Blvd, Thickers

Clausterphobia

Good morning! Today begins round two of our  Let's Taco 'bout It Issue! Wow do I love our Issues. The topics are broad and well, puns! 

Here are some idea to get you started:

-use speech bubbles and/or phrase stickers 

-make a page about funny things kids say 

-4th of July/patriotic

-tacos and food in general

-use the PI taco card

I went with the idea of funny things kids say for my page. I started with my title, working our from there. So something Christmas maybe? Well, I have nothing Christmas themed. Next, ok, red and black? Bingo. How about some Fancy Pants Sweet Nothings. Check. What else can I add. Well, Im quoting what he said, show about a speech bubble and some punctuation. Check. Hmmmm, How about a bit of green to round out the traditional Christmas colors. Also check. Finished!

This would be an example of my love/hate relationship with Facebook. This popped up as a memory form 2013. And yes, He really did say this. He has come up with some doozies, but this is one of the best!

Thanks so much for stopping by my creative view today. There are some great LO's on the blog. Check them out, then join us in our Facebook group for more challenge and inspiration. The more challenges you enter, the better your chances are to win prizes!  Keep your eye on the shop this week for new American Craft arrivals. Use my code DEVRA at checkout for 20% off your purchase.

My Tribe

Hey there and good morning! Today at Paper Issues, we are kicking off part two of our June Issue Friends-Aversary. This is such a great theme for an Issue, but what does it reall mean? Let me give you some ideas to get you started. 

Suggested ideas: There's always a reason to celebrate, so create a project about friendship, wedding, anniversaries, birthdays and more or make a page about your best friend.

There are a  number of pages I could do for this theme! Knowing that my page would come later in the month, I had time to think about my topic. My first thought was to do something from my birthday, which was right before the deadline.  I stuck to that general idea. I narrowed down my choices of photos, then started looking through my stash and cut files. This kinda came together that way.  A photo of my fiends and I at my birthday party. My Tribe for sure. 

I went with PinkFresh Studios Live more and the Your Vibe Attracts your Tribe cut file, which became the title of my page. I honestly couldn't decide what tone I wanted this page to have, serious or silly, so it has a bit of both.  I may have to do this page again, so I can show our other side!

It took a long time, but I have made wonderful friends here. These ladies are my tribe. Or My Squad as my husband calls us. I do not know what I would do without them, and hope I don't have to find out! We eat have our own stuff going on, but somehow we manage to be there for each other, no matter what. 

Thanks so much for stopping by my creative view today. I have so much going on the next few weeks, I hope you'll come back often. In the mean time, stop by the Paper Issue shop and stock up on all the new goodies that have come in this past week. Pink Paislee Summer Lights, Simple Stories and Pebbles Girl Squad to name just a few. Use my code DEVRA at checkout to receive 20% off your purchase. 

Pushin' Pedals

Good morning! This month Paper Issues is packed with great challenges! Let's start this fine Monday with our New Issue, Put the Petal/Pedal to the Metal/Medal. There are so many ways to use this theme!  Here are a few ideas for you:

-Use metallics and/or metal embellishments
-Create a project using flowers or about gardening and spring
-Share something about transportation like bicycles, motorcycles, cars (your first car or current ride), toy cars
-Show us a project about awards and/or accomplishments

My page comes from Put the Pedal to the Metal. I've had these photos for a couple year and just hadn't taken the time to get them onto paper until now. I figured I had several bicycle embellishments in my stash, but chose to play with the newest Dear Lizzy collection, Lovely Day.  This line has so many different motifs in it. There is soft & sweet, sarcastic and inspiring. I put a bit of all of that into this page. I had some scraps of More Friday, which I used both sides of, as well as a small piece of the Oh Hello paper. Th rest are pieces of chipboard phrase Thickers and ephemera. As Ive been in a stitching binge. I stitched part of the title, setting it onto a shelf of the scallop background cut file. 

I'm insistent about my son having access to typically learning children while at school. The best way we found to do that is to have him attend a GenEd PE class. Best decision we ever made. He has a bike that he rides almost every day. Twice a year, the PE class has a Bike Safety unit. It was really the first time that he cold do the exact sane thing as everyone else. He may not have been able to go as fast or fluid as them, but he was so happy to be with him it didn't matter. 

Thanks so much for joining me along my creative view. I think this is my 5th LO with the  Lovely Day collection. I guess I really like it. That means that you will too. You can get that and so much more in the Paper Issues shop. Use my code DEVRA at checkout for 20% off your purchase. We love to see what you create. Please join us and share your work in our Paper Issues {Friends & Fans} Facebook group.

Supplies: CS-American Crafts, PP, chipboard, ephemera- Dear Lizzy, doilies-BoBunny, Doodlebug, enamel dots-Freckled Fawn, MME, puffy stickers-Freckled Fawn, cut file-Paper Issues, Silhouette, mist-Studio Calico, Dylusions.

So Very Lucky

Good morning! Today at Paper Issues we are revealing the second half of our Anything goes Issue. So the funny thing is, it took me forever to decide what to do! 

Then one by one, things happened, ideas formed, and this page came together. First was the March free cut file. I honed in on the word lucky. Then came the photo and the Instagram post that went with it. Lastly, I'm obsessed with the Hazelwood collection. I cant get enough of it. 

I cut and stitched the cut file. I have just about scraps left of the Hazelwood papers. I used them to back the photo. The washi tape in this collection has been one of my favorite items to use. The strips add just the right touch to the page. Really, after I finished stitching, I added some ephemera pieces, stickers and cork pieces, finishing the page other quickly.

I took the journaling straight from my Instagram post. Every moment has two directions. I chose to take this as a grateful moment. There are many struggles in having a child with special needs, snuggles and smiles are not one of them

Thanks so much for stopping by my creative view today. I cant say enough about this Hazelwood collection. You can get some and so much more in the Paper Issues shop for 20% off when you use my code DEVRA.

Supplies: Cardstock-AMerican Crafts, Hazelwood collection by One Canoe Two, Silhouette, DMC thread.

SaveSave

S.W.A.K.

Good morning and welcome to round two of this month's Issue Let's Play Post Office at Paper Issues! Haven't played along with one of our Issues yet? Here are some ideas to get you started

-Use office supplies like binder clips, tags, push pins, postage stamps and envelopes. -Alter a clipboard. -Include stamping on your project. -Document a piece of mail or a love letter. -Create a layout about your latest Paper Issues package (either a photo of the box and/or contents). -Show us your kids, grandchildren, etc. at play. -Share something about Valentine's Day/love.

I was mostly inspired by these photos and the story they tell. So I went with the envelope/love letter idea. This Fancy Pants Sweet Nothings has been staring me in the face. Especially when I saw that SWAK in the ephemera pack! I love the variety of embellishments with this collection. The tags and puffy stickers are the best! I have them mixed in each of my embellishment clusters. I love that there are other patterns and colors in this line so I can use it for other purposes than Valentines.

My son is affectionate as they come. He will hug, cuddle and snuggle, but has never given us kisses. For some reason, this time when I said "give Dad a kiss", he did! It was a big, sloppy, wet, toddler like first kiss, but we didnt care! The funniest part about it, was when We asked him to 'give Mom a kiss", he shook his head NO. 

Thanks as always for being here with me and my creative view. I loved playing with  Fancy Pants Sweet Nothings and am happy we had it as one of our Product Spotlights this month. I'm also happy to play along at Scrap Our Stash this month and their tic-tac toe board. I used the top row: red, polka dot paper and tags. 

You can play with us too when you purchase some from the Paper Issues Shop. Use my code DEVRA for 20% off your purchase too!

Supplies: PP, ephemera, puffy stickers, tags, alphas- Fancy Pants Sweet Nothings