Day 349: Love You Frog Card

I think I am in love with this teensy colorful polka dot print in the Penelope paper packet. And this adorable little frog in the coordinating pocket scrapbooking cards...swoon! 

This card was inspired by the new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches. I trimmed the PML card to fit the card sketch, then matted it with the green pattern from the reverse of the polka dot print. I added a fussy cut Thistle heart onto his cute little tummy. The stamp set is called Share the Love, and it's an Operation Smile special available only this month.

I topped off my little frog with a couple of wiggly eyes. Now it's back to unpacking for me!

Day 348: Penelope WYW Pocket Scrapbook Layout

Oh my golly, I wish I had already unpacked my Shot Box. Or even knew where it was. I could not get rid of the glare on these cute Penelope pocket scrapbook pages. 

I love that the new Workshops Your Way kits come with these Pocket cards to cut apart - though I do often opt to use them in card making instead of the Pocket Scrapbook layouts as intended.

I think this adorable frog is my favorite of the Penelope cards. The cards are all printed with one orientation on one side, and the other orientation on the back so you can mix them and use them in any direction your pictures require.

I take a lot of square photos, so I just cheated out the rest of the 4x6 pocket using pieces of other cards, scraps of Penelope paper, and washi tape to hold it all together!

Day 329: So Happy Birthday to You Card

I've decided that I love cleaning out my studio. As I discover bits and pieces of beloved past lines I'm feeling inspired to craft anew and use it up!

First I found this 1/2 inch BIRTHDAY strip trimmed from a PML pocket scrapbooking card that apparently I just couldn't throw away. then I ran across my Simple Stories I AM 6x6 pad, and I realized the colors worked together pretty well. Next thing I knew, I had a card!

I used bits and pieces from Crazy Good to fill in my sentiment. Then I added some gold sequins topped with pale grey enamel dots.finally I went back and added the stitch detail, which would have been easier to do before adding the sentiment...sometimes you gotta step back in to define the edges, you know?  The packing is going on in earnest now with the movers coming a week from Tuesday, so who knows what I'll find this week! I'm linking this card up to the Seize the Birthday Clean and Simple challenge. 

Day 323: Charlotte Workshops Your Way Layout 3

Here's the third layout we completed from the Charlotte Kit. Look how cute that title sticker treatment is!

There's also a bunch of PML cards to make pocket scrapbooking pages! I couldn't believe how many projects we made out of just the one kit. Don't forget, you can download the free instructions and cutting guides for this kit HERE by clicking "Download Guide"!

Day 312: Planners Gonna Plan

Can you say, "Squee!!"? My new CTMH Planner bundle arrived today, with a few goodies from the new Seasonal Expressions, and I couldn't wait to dive in!

The beautiful planner cover is a bit bigger than 9x8 and features this pretty gold foil design.

The planner pages include 12 monthly tabs, a pocket folder with gold foil designs, a pretty bookmark, and 4 sheets of planner stickers. I love the variety of different designs they used for the monthly dividers. 

Each month includes a two page spread for the monthly calendar as well as two page weekly spreads. 

I also got the January special Live Your Day PML cards (sneak peek) that coordinate and the sweet washi tape and roller stamp. Just until the end of December 31st you can get the CTMH Planner Bundle for a nice discount! 

I just started working on my January layout today. I added a few bits from the Penelope Complements (which goes live January 1), plus some extra washi tapes. I'm going to use my planner as an actual planner plus I'll be adding stamping, quotes, life planning, and more to the monthly pages. I plan to use the weekly pages to organize my blog posts and ongoing CTMH projects. I just LOVE my pretty new planner!

Day 306: Celebrate Love Card

Tonight I filled my little mason jar with love!

The sketch is from the current Freshly Made Sketches. I was inspired by the teacher mason jar gifts we gave this December. I adhered a Through the Year PML card to my card base. I outlines it with a shimmer gel pen and then dotted all around it with a fine tipped journaling marker.

I added some strips of Simple Stories I Am paper and a water colored mason jar.  A few glitter hearts floating our of the jar finished off this quick and simple design. I'm linking this card up to the Seize the Birthday challenge.

Day 239: Seasons Greetings Raccoon Card

This adorable raccoon is one of the images in the White Pines Picture My Life pocket scrapbooking card set. He WAS holding a sign with a December date on it...but that wasn't going to do! 

So I stamped a sentiment banner using Seasons Greetings and popped it up with thin foam tape. I layered that over the trimmed down PML card, which is mounted over some retired timberline Woodgrain B&T and  a strip of green shimmer trim. 

I was working from the new Freshly Made Sketches challenge, so I added the presents around the bottom right of the raccoon in place of the extra rectangle. I added bitty sparkles, red enamel gems, and a bit of clear glitter gel to finish off this festive greeting card!

Day 236: Christmas Love Card

I've got another White Pines Picture My Life card project today. I love all the varied coordinating patterns in this card set.

I based this card on the new Retrosketches challenge. I cut the background from a White Pines PML card, and the blue banner from a scrap of White Pines paper. Then I added the pen detail and the sentiment from Seasons Greetings.

Then I layered a clear acrylic printed White Pines Complement onto a black scalloped circle, and topped it with the Christmas Love circle from the October SOTM. A few red enamel gems finished off this quick holiday card!

Day 233: Noel Moose Christmas Card

I loved this week's sketch over at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge so much I had to hop in and join in the fun!

I cut some 1 1/4" strips of patterned bits out of a 4x6 White Pines Picture My Life Card. Then I trimmed the NOEL sentiment out of another PML card.

I added the stitching, then layered on the Moose sticker from the White Pines Complements to help hold up the banner. I can never resist adding wiggly eyes to sweet cartoon animals. Hope you'll hop over to Atlantic Hearts to try out this week's challenge too!

Day 229: Happy Christmas Card

Tonight I'm sharing a quick and easy holiday card made using Picture My Life pocket scrapbooking cards.

I used one 4x6 card (trimmed down to 5 1/4 inches) and one 3x4 card from the White Pines Collection. My card was inspired by the new Mojo Monday Sketch. I really loved the bow on the sketch, so I made mine using the last bit of my gold stitching thread. Guess I'll be off to Hobby Lobby to get more soon! I topped my bow off with a red enamel gem.

I couldn't resist popping some wiggly eyes onto the cute owl from this card. I also glittered up his package bow with some shimmer gel pen, and added ornament stickers down the side. A few more enamel gems and some bitty sparkles finished off this festive quick card!

Day 216: Ellie's Adventure Book

So you may remember that the CTMH convention this year had a Up! theme, and that's like one of my all time favorite movies. I know I was supposed to keep it simple, but COME ON, y'all know simple isn't really my bag. Jill did say I could do a little something if I had time after I finished the pocket pages. So I knew that I HAD to make Ellie's Adventure book. This project was my destiny!

So I got me a Kraft Mini Album that hold either 4x6 or (2) 3x4 Picture My Life cards. I wet some Chocolate Cardstock, then carefully crumpled it up, smoothed it back out and hit it with my iron (which basically only irons craft projects...you know, perler beads, cricut iron on vinyl, paper, etc...). Then I trimmed my panel to the correct size for the front cover of my book and sanded my already distressed cardstock gently but heavily to get the right look. I hand stitched the gold detailing on the "cover" using 2 strands and then 8 strands of gold sewing thread. The letters are cut on my cricut (Art Philosophy font at 1/2 inch...can I just take a moment to say thank goodness I got an explore last spring?) and colored with alcohol markers and coated with layers of Liquid Glass. I got the little globe from one of the Going Places Picture My Life cards and added some gold shimmer trim to "tape" it on. I added a sanded and embossed strip of Sorbet Cardstock on the left edge to simulate the cover of Ellie's Adventure Book. 

Just keeping it simple, right? Ok, the cover was a lotbit of funwork...but it wasn't too insane, and I was totally a good kid on the inside, sliding in the cards and pics without any fuss at all. I got to work with my friend's photos from her trip to Europe (Thanks, Bonnie!), so with amazing pics like that, who needs more embellishments? Me, ok, me, but I was still creatively fulfilled from making the cover so it was all good. 

I have GOT to go somewhere cool so I can make my own adventure book, because these Going Places cards need to be going someplace... This was one of my favorite projects I've made all year, and I hope y'all love it as much as I loved making it!

Day 214: Beautiful You Pocket Scrapbooking Layouts

I did just two more pages with these Beautiful You cards for my convention album. 

Especially with this set of cards I felt that just pics and a few cards was enough. 

Tomorrow we get to have a look at my favorite projects from my convention presentation. Jill said I could maybe do one or two things beyond the simple pocket pages they were looking for... and if you give a crafter some leeway... 

Day 213: Beautiful You Pocket Scrapbooking Layout

Whew! Now we are onto my absolute favorite of the new Picture My Life card sets. I literally squealed with happiness when I opened my set of Beautiful You cards.

Black and White with touches of gold foil - just my cup of tea! Of course, I added some of the metallic clear overlays when working with this set too. 

Don't you just love his sweet little bald spot? His hair still grows like that in the back, swirling off to the left no matter what we do to it. I can practically smell his sweet baby scent when I look at these pages. Ugh, the toes! 

The new card sets come with each design printed both horizontally one one side and vertically on the other side of each card, making the card sets much more versatile in my opinion. I love being able to make the card orientation shift to fit my pics every time! Even with 56 cards in the packet, I'm going to need another set of these, if only to get another Oh Snap! card. 

Day 211: December Through The Year Pocket Scrapbooking Layout

Last day of Through the Year pocket pages...

Did you realize that we have 5 designs of 12 x 12 pocket page protectors plus standard protectors in top load, side load, and strap side load? I especially like the pages with all vertical or all horizontal pockets, to fit with how you typically take photos.

I added some more of the metallic clear overlays to these pages too.  Tomorrow it's Atlantic Hearts sketch challenge time!

Day 210: November Through the Year Pocket Scrapbook Layout

I love how in months when you have a bunch of photos you can just leave out the cards and include what you like.

The blue painters tape pic? It's from when I went to Ben's classroom a bit early and had to wait for them to come back from recess. I saw this tape applied in tiny pieces and totally assumed my wiggle work of a kiddo was picking bits of tape off the long piece a few inches away and stock piling them next to his desk from boredom. I set to cleaning up the "mess"...and as I peeled off the bottom layer the entire facing of the laminate fell off.  I realized that he'd actually been quietly fixing his table top, not breaking the tape. So I put the fix back in place and snapped a quick pic to remind myself not to jump to conclusions...and how helpful Ben can be.

I love to grab quick pics of some of the silly drawings the boys make too. You can't save them all or you'd drown in paper. The pics are easier to keep, to remember their baby handwriting and determined marker strokes. One more month to go!