Wrapping Up Project 100 {Baby Cards and Crafts}

I started PROJECT 100 back in January as a personal challenge to use up my "stash" by creating 100 different projects before buying any more paper, buttons, stickers, etc.  In retrospect, I made a couple of exceptions to the rules.  When Scrapbook Steals had Silhouette accessories available, I bought the starter kit for fabric (along with all the fabric paint) and rhinestones.  I've purchased some random stamps and stickers (like two $3 stamps and five packs of $1.50 thickers) from TJ Maxx and Marshalls.  But for the most part, I've stuck to the original rules of only buying supplies as needed for specific projects or Vanlikethecar Design orders.  I would give myself a B+ for following the rules. 

It took me almost four months but I am now exceedingly proud to announce that I have successfully completed PROJECT 100!!!!  As of the last blog post, I had five projects left in my countdown.  So here they are (plus one) - all super cute ideas for the little baby in your life.

1.  Baby Bib Cards.  Addie B Designs released three new bibs for their summer collection.  (Make sure to check out their Facebook page for super cute bibs, booties, hair accessories, and everything else adorable and monogrammed for baby!) 

So, new baby bibs means new baby bib cards!  Here are the cards (4) I created inspired by Addie B's adorable bibs.

Supplies:  Patterned Paper (My Mind's Eye); Cardstock (American Crafts); Stamps (Lawn Fawn, Unity Stamps); Brads (Oriental Trading Company); Digital Files (Lettering Delights); Other (Silhouette Cameo, Tim Hotlz Distress Ink, American Crafts Zing Embossing Powder, Versamark Ink, Memento Black Ink).

2.  Painted Baby Onesie.  To go along with this adorable bib I ordered from Addie B Designs...

...I made this hand painted onesie featuring a design from the new Lawn Fawn Critters Ever After collection, my Silhouette Cameo and Silhouette fabric vinyl. 

3.  Button Monogram.  Here is a button monogram I made for a client.  I seriously need to make one for Charlotte - so cute!!

Here is a link to the blog post with another button monogram I made a few weeks back.  And if you want to make one yourself, here is a link to the tutorial by the oh so fabulous Jana Paddington on the Scrapbook Steals blog.

So, we have a total of 6 project (4 cards, 1 onesie, and 1 monogram) bringing our grand total to 101 PROJECTS!!!!  

Thanks so much for following along and encouraging me to craft my way through this goal.  I'll probably restart a similar challenge once we get settled back in California for the next few months.  I still have way too much paper.  :)

As always, thanks for stopping by!!

{Hoppy} Birthday Party Themes - Easter/ Bunny

I am constantly amazed by the creativity and hard work that parents (moms, especially) are able and willing to put into throwing their kids the most amazing, fun, and beautiful birthday party celebrations.  It's even better when I get asked to help make some of the amazing paper products that tie the party together. 

Yesterday, my dear friend Laura hosted this super cute Hoppy Birthday Party for her two kids.  I don't think I've ever seen Charlotte so excited at a birthday party before!  There were bunny tails, bubbles, Easter eggs...everything was beyond adorable and kid friendly.  Here are all the details...

Banner.  Laura hung this bright and spring-y "Hoppy Birthday" banner right at the entrance of the community center to welcome the guests.  I cut the banner pennants to look like eggs to echo the Easter theme. 

Supplies:  Patterned Paper (We R Memory Keepers - Hippity Hop); Ribbon (American Crafts); Cricut (Create a Critter); Font (Elephants in Cherry Trees).

Laura also made this adorable photo banner that strung across the counter with the "adult" favors. 

Table Decorations.  Laura put together these vases filled with jelly beans, peeps and marshmallows to decorate the tables throughout the community center. 

She also printed and framed this Easter subway art print from eighteen25.

Food.  Sugar galore!  There was bunny themed food everywhere and it was delicious!  Charlotte especially loved the bunny bait (which kept her so quiet I got a bit worried for just a second).  I also made the food labels by hand stamping and coloring these adorable bunny stamps on white cardstock and mounting them on patterned paper.

Supplies for Food Labels:  Patterned Paper (We R Memory Keepers - Hippity Hop); Cardstock (American Crafts); Stamps (a muse, Lawn Fawn); Other (We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Copic Markers).

This cake was delicious - a classic chocolate and vanilla cake from Katrina's Bakery in downtown Newport, RI.

Laura made these cute utensil rolls.  Just brilliant!!

Favors.  There were favors for both the adults and children.  Adults got bottles of local Delaware beer adorned with some favor tags I made using Photoshop and my trusty Silhouette Cameo.  The kids got bags filled with pinwheels, sunglasses and other goodies that they also used to fill with Easter eggs later during the party.  

Supplies for Favor Tags:  Patterned Paper (We R Memory Keepers - Hippity Hop); Digital Files (Bunny Silhouette - Lettering Delights, Font - Bosshole).

I also made these bunny ear props that the kids played with while running around outside.  SO CUTE!!!

 

 

Supplies for Bunny Ears:  Cardstock (American Crafts, Core'd'nations, Martha Stewart); Digital Files (Lettering Delights).

Laura also created these adorable carrot party hats and bunny tails.  I nearly died watching all the kids run around while wagging those cotton tails!

Activities.  The kids were busy the entire party blowing bubbles, searching for Easter eggs, beating up all the dads...

Birthday Boy and Girl.  And to end this post, here's a photo of the perfect birthday girl and boy. 

Laura, thank you so much for letting me be a part of this special celebration!!!  And to everyone else, as always, thanks for stopping by!

Project 100 Update:  92 down (I'm counting all the projects I made for the party as 12), 8 to go.

Take Twelve Project - March 12

March 12 was just one of those days.  Things seemed to start against me and wouldn't let up as the day went on.  From disappointing doctor visits to breaking cameras, it was the last type of day that I would want scrapbooked and shared with the masses.  However, I think that is the beauty of Ella Publishing Co.'s Take Twelve Challenge - it encourages us to document our lives as they are - the good and the bad, the bright and the dismal.

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The design inspiration for the layout was actually a JCrew store window in Cambridge, Massachusetts filled with accordion rosettes of various shapes and sizes swirling against a black backdrop.  There is additional meaning behind this design, however.  For the most part, March 12 felt like a really dark and dreary day filled with black and gray clouds hanging over me.  However, despite my own self-pity, there were the bright moments of sunshine that made me remember that my life isn't that bad and that I too can overcome this day.

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The array of yellow accordion flowers in my layout represents these moments of sunshine on my gloomy March 12th day - lunch with dear friends, Charlotte's silliness, watching her play with Justin.  And so, even though it wasn't the perfectly balanced day that I wish every day was, March 12 was a reflection of my life and I think is definitely worth remembering.

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Supplies:  Patterned Paper (Echo Park, My Mind's Eye, Crate Paper, Sassafras); Letter Stickers (American Crafts); Buttons (Basic Grey); Other (Fiskars Punches; We R Memory Keepers Floss).

You can find my other Take Twelves layouts here and here.

Remember, you have until midnight EST Sunday, March 18 to upload your project here to win the awesome prize given away at Ella Publishing worth $50!!  Hope you get to play along!!

Project 100 Update:  80 down, 20 to go.

Project Life - Week 5 & 6

It's amazing how quickly life (and Project Life) just sneaks up on you.  I'm still playing catch up but just ordered a ton of photos for Weeks 7, 8 and 9.  But I'm still loving how this simple format really allows me to keep current on journaling about our lives.  Here are the pages for Weeks 5 and 6.

Project Life - Week 5.  I continue to use the 8.5 x 11 page protectors when I want to add additional memorabilia to the page.  This time, it include two art projects that Charlotte and I did.  I find that if I don't include them in some sort of album, these types of things just pile up in a dark box in the back of the closet.  For the papers, I relied primarily on my Simple Stories Year.O.Graphy kit.  That company seriously makes it super simple to create fun yet simple albums and layouts.  Still loving them a lot.

 

Week 5 Highlights:  Home Depot Workshop, Road Trip to Asian Market and Costco, Superbowl Party with the Welsch Family.

Project Life - Week 6.   Again, I used Simple Stories Year.O.Graphy for this layout.  Sadly, what I realized is that if I don't write down what we do on a daily basis, I easily forget.  So there isn't too much journaling on these pages.  Hopefully that will change.

Week 6 Highlights:  Mel's visit over the weekend.  It's always a blast when she comes!

Some other announcements.  Remember, today is MARCH 12th which means that it's time for another TAKE 12 CHALLENGE!!  For more details, visit Ella Publishing Co. here.

Also, there is still time to enter my GIVEAWAY for some Basic Grey Buttons and Brads.  Just make sure to comment on this post here.

Project 100 Update:  79 down, 21 to go.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Project 100 - Catching Up

I usually don't post photos of all my crafty projects.  Let's be serious - not everything is worth blogging.  But since I have committed myself to Project 100, I want to be accountable to y'all by showing that I am actively creating my way through 100 projects.  I know it's a bit of a modge podge of projects, but I need to get caught up with my online tally!!!


1.  Charlotte Thank You Cards.  For some reason, it is so hard for me to throw away Charlotte's drawings and paintings.  I know that to most people, they're nothing special.  But to me, the process of sitting down and creating art with her is so precious.  So instead of keeping every.single.piece.of.paper, I decided to repurpose many of them into her embarrassingly belated thank you cards.  ::hanging head in shame::

I cut down Charlotte's watercolor paintings and various pieces of cardstock/ patterned paper down to 4.25" x 5.5".  Next, I ran the paper through an embossing machine with a journaling embossing folder to create writing lines on the backside of the card.  Glue the artwork onto the patterned paper.  I stamped a "thank you" sentiment directly onto the artwork.  To finish the card off, I just machine stitched around the edges.  Super simple but I really like them.  


Supplies:  Stamp (Paper Smooches); Embossing Folder (Sizzix).


2.  100th Birthday Card.  This card was custom ordered through my facebook/ esty shop.  It was such an honor to make something for such a momentous celebration.  100 years - wow.

Supplies:  Patterned Paper (Crate Paper, Sassafras); Cardstock (American Crafts); Brads (American Crafts); Stamps (Lawn Fawn); Other (Silhouette Cameo, Jenni Bowlin Inks, Uniball Signo White Gel Pen).


3.  San Francisco Birthday Wishes.  Here is another custom birthday card for a San Francisco recipient, also ordered through the facebook/ etsy shop.

Supplies:  Patterned Paper (Echo Park, American Crafts); Cardstock (American Crafts, Core'dinations, Martha Stewart); Buttons (My Mind's Eye); Stamps (Lawn Fawn, Paper Smooches); Digital Files (Silhouette Online Store); Other (Silhouette Cameo, Fiskars Cloud Punch, Provo Craft Embossing Folder, Jenni Bowlin Inks).


4.  Blueberry Birthday Party.  I've been helping a friend with the paper products for her daughter's Blueberries for Sal themed birthday party.  Here are some sneaks at the banner, favor tags and invite I made for them.  Can't wait for the actual party next week!

5.  Nursery Name Decor.  An Addie B Designs customer requested some custom artwork to match her son's nursery decor.  I really love how the handstitching turned out on this one.

Supplies:  Digital Files (Silhouette Online Store); Other (Silhouette Cameo, We R Memory Keepers Floss).


6.  Bib Baby Card.  You've seen these before but I still love how adorable they are.  Here is another baby bib card made to coordinate with a custom Addie B Designs bib and burp cloth set.  

Supplies:  Patterned Paper (Echo Park, American Crafts); Cardstock (American Crafts); Embellishments (Sassafras); Stamps (Lawn Fawn); Letter Stickers (Cosmo Cricket); Digital Files (Lettering Delights); Other (Silhouette Cameo, We R Memory Keepers Floss).


7.  Superbowl Cupcake Toppers.  This was one of my first attempts using the print and cut feature on the Silhouette Cameo.  LOVE!!!  I even had a customer purchase a set via our facebook page!

8.  Glass etched glass.  I think I might do a tutorial on this at some point.  I'm slowly getting obsessed with glass etching and the Silhouette Cameo lets me do it with such precision!

9.  Face Die Cuts.  And finally, someone saw my hairclip cards on etsy and requested some face die cuts.  I was so excited to get a "random customer" and ended up making her 50 of these die cuts with various colors and hair styles!  Here's a sample.

So now, the grand total as of today (and counting in project speak)?  12 thank you cards, 2 birthday cards, 1 birthday invite, 1 birthday banner, 2 birthday tags, 1 bib card, 1 nursery decor, 2 cupcake toppers, 1 glass etched beer pint, 3 face die cuts.  That's 26 projects in this blog post!!!  Wohoo!!!


Project 100 Update:  74 down, 26 to go.

Take Twelve Project - February 12

I love how the Take 12 Project falls on a different day of the week each month.  This month, the 12th fell on a Sunday while my college roommate and best friend, Melissa, was in town.  It amazes me that even after all these years, we are still such amazingly close friends.  And talk about dedication, this girl has visited me in every city I have ever moved to (including Melbourne, Australia after college).  Love you, Mel.  And if good friends don't help you find balance in your life, I'm not sure what does.

The idea behind this layout was to create a map of the places we visited in Newport, Rhode Island that day.  My inspiration for this layout were the amazing illustrations Oliver Jeffers made for United Airlines.  Using my Silhouette Cameo and Silhouette Studio Software, I created this large diecut of the Newport coastline.  I then tracked the different places we visited with some handstitching and October Afternoon Mini Market stickers.  I also made sure to include a time stamp for each of the little photos.

Supplies:  Patterned Paper (Echo Park - For the Record); Stickers and Embellishments (Echo Park - For the Record, Sassafras, American Crafts); Letter Stickers (American Crafts, October Afternoon, Cosmo Cricket); Other (Martha Stewart Border Punch; We R Memory Keepers Floss).


You can find my January Take 12 layout here.  And don't forget to check out all the other members of the Take 12 Team at Ella Publishing to see their fabulous takes on the challenge. 

Aliza Deutsch
Angela Gutshall
Jennie McGarvey
Lisa Ottosson
Stephanie Medley-Rath
Margie Scarpignato
Monica Bradford
Lisa Day
Janette Kincaid

Remember, you have until midnight EST Saturday, February 18 to upload your project here to win the awesome prize given away at Ella Publishing worth $79.99!!  Hope you get to play along!!


Project 100 Update:  48 down, 52 to go.  


As always, thanks for looking!

Whatever the Weather {a scrapbook layout} and Project Life - Week 4

Whatever the Weather {a scrapbook layout}.  I finally got my hands on the year.o.graphy collection by Simple Stories.  This paper collection is just gorgeous and I love how easy it is to simply cut up and use for Project Life or year/ month-in-review pages.  For my first project using this delicious paper, I decided to go for a more traditional layout.

The inspiration behind this layout is one of Charlotte's favorite board books, Bear in Sunshine.  The story is about a bear who learns about all the different seasons and always finds a way to have fun regardless of the weather.  Specifically, one page of the story reads: "Whatever the weather, come snow, rain or sun, Bear always knows how to have lots of fun."  I thought this was the perfect title.

The title element sheet in the year.o.graphy collection includes these adorable stitched scenes that served as the perfect backdrop for the "snow, rain or sun" photos and words on the page.  

 

  

Because I wanted the photos to stand out, I covered the title strips with some vellum to slightly tone down the colors.  I also used the graphic and letter stickers from the collection kit throughout the layout.  Finally, I added some machine stitching over the letter stickers (yeah...might have gone a bit overboard there), string along the banner, glossy accents on the birds, and some buttons on the stickers.  

 Supplies:  Simple Stories (patterned paper, letter stickers, stickers); Buttons (My Mind's Eye); Brads (Crate Paper); Other Letter Stickers (Sassafras, American Crafts, October Afternoon, Cosmo Cricket).

Project Life - Week 4.  I'm still loving Project Life and how fulfilling it feels to be documenting our everyday memories.  This week I kept everything pretty simple since the layout was so photo heavy, relying on washi tape flags and journaling stickers from my January Counterfeit Kit.

Week 4 Highlights.  Tet, the lunar new year.  Silhouette Cameo.  Charlotte's first potty.  Fort Adams.


As always, thanks for stopping by!

Project 100 Update:  47 down, 53 to go.