Hey there and good morning! I'm on the Paper Issues blog today with my project for the This or That challenge. Have you played along with this one? I think it's pretty fun. It is definitely the most challenging for me. As soon as I have to choose, I can't make a decision!

Let me tell you about the first mistake I made...  doing a Christmas page! I know, I know, It's almost February and I don't do a lot of Christmas pages anyway. But I needed to do this page about my husband's attempt at being festive.  You see, I purposely bought the PinkFresh Holiday Vibes papers because of the blue in it. It wouldn't be so red and green Christmasy 

So wait, what? Green or blue is first on the list?!?!? Yeesh. Well, As you can see, I went with green. Why? I paired the papers with Fancy Pants Cottage Christmas embellishments, and there was way more green!  

Moving on, here is how the rest of this played out. I used 1 photo, 25+ words in my journaling which is held down with staples, layers upon layers of paper and ephemera, then stickers for the title. Doodling came next around that awesome PI card, and enamel dots decorate the tree that is topped with that chipboard star. Phew. I did it! Ok, really, it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be!

This was an odd holiday season for us with our family not being all together.  I kinda had to document this not even half asked effort to put up the tree on Christmas eve. 

Well, there you have it. Thanks so much for stopping by my creative view today. Ive got a lot going on next month too, so I hope to see you back again soon. Shop the Paper Issues store for all of your Christmas, Valentines and everyday Paper needs using DEVRA at checkout for 20% off your purchase. See you next time.

Express Yourself

Hey there! I'm sharing this project on The Cut Shoppe blog today. I used the new Spin Out cut file. This is such a great cut file. I couldn't wait to use it.

We listen to a LOT of music in my house. All kinds of music. This particular night,  my husband put on this Madonna album. It's not one we listen to a lot. It reminded me of when I first listened to her, and how many good songs she has.  Anyway, I thought this cut file was the perfect choice to share this little story.  I love that I could give it a literal interpretation, but still have it be fun and quirky.

I backed some of the circles with Amy Tangerine Shine On patterned paper to add extra color and pattern, some I left alone. Since I used only patterned paper, they still have a smaller pattern behind them.

I layered a few embellishment clusters, including Rock On 3 flair from A Flair for Buttons as well. The cut file is such a statement on its own, I didn't want to over do it.

Thanks so much for stopping by my creative view today. Come back again soon, I have more to share.

Crazy 8

Hey there. I'm on the A Flair for Buttons blog today. I have a really simple project to share, but I have to tell you, the flair made all the difference in it!

Yes, I'm still working my way through my holiday photos. I love this Happy Hanukkah paper collection by PhotoPlay. The colors are wonderful, the patterns are fun, but it doesn't have a lot of embellishments. Let me tell you how thankful I am to have this completely incredible Hanukkah Flair set! My page is very linear. The flair not only gives it dimension, but they made the whole page pop!

My husband and I got into the Pajama Party spirit at my work holiday party. Matching PJ's were the way to go.  Comfy and Crazy for sure!

Look how well the colors work together! The star and gift flair are a fantastic match to the papers.

This flair set is great and can be used for more than just Hanukkah.

Thanks so much for stopping by my creative view today. Come back again soon, I will have more to share!

Good Vibes

Hey there and good morning! It's Scraplift Sunday at Paper Issues and I'm on the blog sharing my
take on Kat's phenomenal page!

Oh I became giddy as soon as I saw we were lifting this page. I may have even squealed! I love the original so much I didn't wasn't to stray too far from it. Well. that was my intent anyway.

I decided to do some stashbusting, mixing some Crate Paper Good Vibes and Wild at Heart. I stayed with  black & white for the triangle pieces, adding color with the embellishments. The triangles are so large they don't need much else! 

My guys were digging' in the crates so the good vibes and high vibes sentiments fit this page well! 

Thanks so much for stopping by today. There is all kinds of new stuff in the Paper Issues shop. Hop over there to get some goodies for yourself. Use DEVRA at checkout for 20% off your purchase!  See you again soon!

Exhale

Hey there! I'm on The Cut Shoppe blog today sharing a layout I made using the Freebie FriYay Diamond in the Rough  cut file.

I've been eyeing this cut file for a while, really wanting to stitch it. I decided it was time to use it! All I had to do was figure out the rest! Which I eventually did. I'd also been wanting to play with this One Canoe Two Goldenrod collection. It wound up being a pretty good match. Nice muted, calming colors to go with a photo of me relaxing.

I resized the cut file to 10"x10" hoping the 'holes' would be smaller. No such luck. I doubled the embroidery floss which helped fill the space and add more color. I like that there are still gaps between each stitch. Layering a whole sheet of paper behind it fills in the gaps nicely. 

This background came out so beautifully, I didn't want to cover it up. I layered a few pieces of paper under one photo, adding minimal embellishments so it would be a focal point of the page. The Let Them Eat Cake (aqua) and Lovely Words 7 had the same calming feel as the rest of the page and added the perfect finishing touch. 

Thanks for stopping by my creative view today. Have you checked out the new shop yet? You can shop for all of our cut files there. Share your projects with us in The Cut Shoppe Scrap Spot Facebook group.  See you again soon.

Let's Do This

Hey there! I'm on the Paper Issues blog today sharing this project for Scraplift Sunday. This week we are lifting this amazing layout by McJen.

Mine? It's totally different. I don't follow directions well. I took inspiration from the grid design. And I love how each space is embellished. From there I went my own way.  I do have the nine little spaces, But I filled then with the Webster's Pages Changing Colors  Smile cut apart paper. Some of them I layered, some I embellished with bits and pieces from some of the Monthly Kits, one houses the title, another the journaling, and oh yeah... one is the photo! Tying it all together is the Stripes paper backing the whole thing. 

For the past few years I've started the year with a 'fresh start' type of layout. This page really spoke to me. Everything fell into place easily. Small sentiments, big reminders.

Thanks so much for stopping by my creative view today. This is the first of what I hope is many posts this year. Check back again soon for more.  In the mean time, The January kit as well as several new items have hit the Paper Issues shop. Get yours now for 20% off when you use DEVRA at checkout. 

2018 Favorites

Hey there and Happy New Years eve! Wow.  On the  Paper Issues Blog today, we are sharing a year end round up of our favorite projects of 2018. No, this is not the same as the instagram best nine. These are 9 of my favorite layouts I created in 2018. 

They are filled with all different manufacturers including Crate paper, Fancy Pants, Shimelle, PinkFresh, Carta Bella , Pebbles. and of course, our amazing Swag Bags. Clearly I am not loyal to any one, and use what suits my mood. I love them all. 

Thanks so much for spending time with me here at my creative view this year. I look forward to creating and sharing more again in 2019. Hope you will follow along. 

Happy Hanukkah

Hey there and good morning! I', out on The Cut Shoppe blog today sharing a fun holiday project. I used Happy Hanukkah portion of the FriYay Freebie Celebrate the Season cut file. 

This file is so fun I wanted it to shine on its own. I used Photoplay Happy Hanukkah paper, cutting it it pretty large using as both a title and embellishment. Cutting it in darker paper then backing it in lighter paper really makes it stand out! Lastly, I used pop dots so it really looks like its jumping off the page. The rest of the page is really simple. A few PinkFresh embellishments and a piece of hanukkah A Flair fir Buttons flair and it's finished. I love it. 

I love that he still likes spending time with his grandparents. And that he likes to travel by himself. It was a pretty special hanukkah for both of them. 

Thanks for stopping by my creative view today. Share your project  with us in The Cut Shoppe Scrap Spot facebook group. We love to see what you are creating with cut files! 

Stix are for Kids

Hey there! I'm on the Paper Issues  blog today sharing my project for the Rolling with the Punches challenge. 

Guess what. I wasn't feeling the punches. Nope. I was intrigued by the rolling part. I've used straws for something like this, but had never rolled my own paper. What a better time to try!  I grabbed some more Crate Paper Hooray. I mean really, it's not just for birthdays anymore.  I cut a bunch of strips out of several different paper, rolled them upon then glued them down. So easy. Time consuming yes, but easy nonetheless.  They look just like the candy sticks in the photo don't they. Secret? I did that on purpose.  In the end, I did break out one of my punches. It's a border punch that makes holes all the way across. I threaded the twine through it at the top and bottom of the page. 

These candy sticks remind me of my childhood. We used to get them at Disneyland and a local candy store. My sister and I loved them. We tried all the flavors and had our favorites. We weren't allowed a lot of sweets when we were little, so these were favorites because they lasted a long time. 

Thanks so much for stopping by my creative view today. Ive got a couple more posts before the end of the year. Come back to check them out!  Head over to the Paper Issues Facebook Group  where you can find this and all the other December challenges. Shop the store for new products including the upcoming January kit. you wont want to miss it! Use DEVRA at checkout for 20% off your purchase.

Birthday Balloons

Hey there and good morning! I'm part of today's Get It Scrapped blog article talking about different ways to scrapbook your favorite subject. 

I love to scrapbook my children. I used to scrapbook the things they did as they were growing up, such as going to the park, visiting the zoo, or playing with their friends. Now that they are older, there are fewer of these opportunities. I try to capture unique pieces of their personality through feelings and emotions.

Here I'm showing the pure joy these balloons bring my son year after year. The look on his face hasn't changed. I could share his joy in other ways, but his smile and reaction is genuine. I love to look at his beautiful smile knowing that is truly how he feels.  

I used the new Crate Paper Hooray collection emphasize the birthday event for this layout. The For You paper is a great foundation for all these photos! This also enabled me to play along with this months Take 5 challenge at Paper Issues . I used stripes, mint, stickers, wood pieces and fussy cutting. Patterned paper is a given! 😀

Every year on his birthday we buy our son a dozen balloons. Each year we do this, he realizes more and more it's a special day for him.

Thanks so much for stopping by my creative view today. Check out the Get It Scrapped blog to see more examples as well as the Paper Issues Facebook group to see all the December challenges. See you again soon, I have more to share.

supplies: Paper, stickers, die cuts, alphas-Crate paper/American Crafts, wood pieces-Studio Calico, Pen and adhesive-EK Success

Beautiful Life

Hey there and good morning.Im on the Paper Issues Blog today with a project for the Odd Man Out challenge. This is a new challenge for us and I kinda like it!All you have to do is use odd numbers of things on your page.  So this is what I did. 

First, I grabbed some more PinkFresh Indigo Hills 2. I really, really wanted to do something with those chipboard frames. After about, ummm, 50 tries, I got them into a good design. All 5 of them. After that, the rest wasn't so bad!  There are 9 die cuts, 3 hearts, 5 stickers, one piece of paper, one piece of twine, 3 colors of mist and 5 total Nuvo drops! It was totally fun to plan the page out this way!

See! Here's one of the Nuvo drops !

And some of the layered stickers & die cuts

I couldn't have been happier to have my family together for Thanksgiving. It's been a season of change for us with one of the boys away at college. This just made me feel even more grateful for everything I have. 

So you know what I'm going to say now. Thank for stopping by my creative view today. Ive got lots of ideas floating around in my brain so come back again soon to see what becomes of them. Remember, we want to see what you make and after you do, we want you to join our Facebook Group, where you can see all the December Challenges . Head over to the Paper Issues shop to stock up on all your holiday needs. Use DEVRA at checkout or 20% off your purchase!

Rock the Year

Hey there! I'm sharing this layout on both The Cut Shoppe and A Flair for Buttons blogs today. First, I want to show you how I used one of the Traveler's Notebook cut files from the Story Teller group on a 12x12 scrapbook page. It was super easy!

One of the things I like to do with all of my scrappy supplies is to use them in ways that suit me, and that's not always as there were intended. Well, this cut file is no different. I loved the Alphabet one from the minute I saw it. I thought it would be great for a back to school page, which is what I did today. All I did was enlarge it. Yep. I didn't change the proportion or anything. Then I centered it on my page, using it as a back drop for my photos.  See? Easy! Its big, stands out and looks great!

I stuck with the school theme using some Simple Stories School Rocks collection. I was so excited to use the new Back to School2 flair! The books one fit perfectly on top of that green notebook don't you think? How about that ABC-123? Yep. Goes perfectly with this cut file and paper!  Sometimes its fun to go super themed. Today I'm glad I did!

My son loves school so much. It keep him on a routine which is good for all of us, but besides that, he knows it's his place to go to be himself. He likes his teachers and his friends. I'm so happy knowing he wants to be there.

Thanks so much for stopping by my creative view today. Im starting off December right, and plan to crate the whole month. Come back again to see what's new!

Home Sweet SLOme

Hey good morning! I'm up on the Paper Issues Blog today with my project for the Pinspire Me challenge. I love this month's board. It's so different!  Well, if you know me, you now I probably  took a different approach today....

So I know you are looking at my page thinking what does this have anything to do with the Pinspire Me board? Well, I was inspired by the brick wall and that became the design of my page.  I cut apart the Kitsch Fall paper from the Fancy Pants Yellow Door collection piecing it across the page to look like bricks in a wall. It was that easy! umm, maybe not that easy. I had to arrange them so it didn't look too busy. I wanted to use the die cuts , and stickers, especially that owl! How cute is he?

I know this is a fall line, but it goes so well with my photo! Bricks for the brick wall, the house for my son's new home and the wise old owl within coffee cup to help him study! See what I did there?

Yes, this is his new home, I still cant believe he's there and not here. I sincerely hope this quickly becomes his home sweet home.  

Thanks so much for stopping by my creative view today. Come back gain soon, I have more to share. Head over to the Paper Issues shop to get some Fancy Pants Yellow Door  of your own. You'll be happy you did. You'll be even happier the you use DEVRA at checkout  and receive 20% off your purchase, See you again soon!

Halloween Things

Hey there! I'm on The Cut Shoppe blog today and I'm super excited to share my project with you! Why? Because this is one of those rare times when my page turned out almost exactly as I saw it in my head. 

I'd been wanting to use the Halloween Things cut file since I first saw it. But I didn't have a photo! Lucky for me, I got this gem of a photo of some friends and I dressed up at work. It couldn't be any more perfect for this cut file if I'd tried.

I cut the file out of black cardstock, backing each letter with Vicki Boutin Field Notes patterned paper. Yes, it took some time, but yes, it was also well worth it!  Want to know how I got them placed so well? After I sprayed and dribbled paint down the page, I laid the negative cut space over the white, then placed each letter back into it's original place. I added more black in some of the embellishments, to make sure the title stands out. this page really didn't need much else. I cut a few circles, added some A Flair for Buttons Halloween flair and called it done. I like using a cut file as a title on my pages. This one especially grabs your attention right away don't you think?

Thanks for stopping by my creative view today. Ive got a few more things up my sleeve score back agin soon. Share your projects with us in our Facebook group, The Cut Shoppe Scrap Spot. See you next time.