Xyron and Imaginisce - Hello Cupcake

There is something just so fun and joyful about the products that Imaginisce manufacturers and their brand new Hello Cupcake collection is no exception.  

1.  Happy Birthday Cards.  The papers made these super cute and simple birthday cards a breeze to put together.

Supplies:  Patterned Paper and Stickers (Imaginisce); Ribbon (Colorbox); Punches and Tools (Marvy Uchida, We R Memory Keepers Sew Ribbon); Adhesives (Homemade Foam Tape; Xyron Mega Runner); Uni-ball Signo Broad White Gel Pen.

Supplies:  Patterned Paper (Imaginisce); Cardstock (Neena); Stamp (Imaginisce, Lawn Fawn); Inks and Markers (Memento; Copics, American Crafts); Adhesives (Homemade Foam Tape; Xyron Mega Runner, Xyron 1.5" Create-a-Sticker); Martha Stewart Scoring Board).

2.  Vivi Turns Four {a scrapbook layout}.  The Hello Cupcake Collection was also perfect for scrapbooking photos from my niece's fourth birthday party!

Supplies:  Patterned Paper and Stickers (Imaginisce); Cardstock (American Crafts, Martha Stewart Crafts); Stamps (Imaginisce, Lawn Fawn, American Crafts); Markers and Ink (American Crafts, Memento, Uni-ball, Tim Holtz Distress Ink by Ranger); Letter Stickers (American Crafts); Punch (Martha Stewart Crafts); Embossing (Xyron Creatopia); Adhesive (Xyron Mega Runner; Xyron 5" Creative Station, Homemade Foam Tape).

I paper pieced the balloon snag em' stamp and layered a few in the top corner for some added interest.

I used the collage function in Picassa to make this photo collage for the layout.  I find that just one 4x6 photo is rarely enough for me.  

And in this photo, you can see how I embossed the entire white background stamp using the Xyron Creatopia.  I cannot even begin to tell you how amazing this machine is!!!!

And since I had such a great time playing with the new Imaginisce products, it inspired me to pull out some of my older Imaginisce supplies to make something new!

3.  Custom Dinosaur Book Plates.  Here are some book plates I designed using digital products by Crystal Wilkerson (available at JessicaSprague.com).  I then print and cut them on adhesive sticker paper using my Silhouette Cameo.  The border strips from the Imaginisce Dino Roar Collection were perfect to finish off the packaging!  I paired these custom book plates with a dinosaur hardback book as a birthday present.

Supplies:  Cardstock (American Crafts); Stamps (Lawn Fawn); Border Stickers (Imaginisce); Adhesive (Xyron Mega Runner); Digital Files (Crystal Wilkerson); Photostop CS5; Silhouette Cameo; Adhesive Sticker Paper.

4.  Potty Chart.  And finally, here is a Potty Chart that I made for Charlotte.  This is our Labor Day Weekend project.  :)  I used papers and elements from the Enchanted Collection, which was one of my first scrapbooking purchases a few years ago.  Hopefully this will help motivate Charlotte to use the potty!  I'll have to blog about the details on my Potty Boot Camp another time!

Supplies:  Patterned Paper (Imaginisce); Cardstock (American Crafts); Stickers (Imaginisce); Stamps (Lawn Fawn); Ink and Pens (Memento); Punches (Marvy Uchida, We R Memory Keepers); Eyelets (Oriental Trading Company); Twine (Twinery); Adhesives (Homemade Foam Tape, Xyron Mega Runner; Xyron 2.5" Create-a-Sticker); Digital Files and Fonts (Samantha Walker, Lettering Delights); Silhouette Cameo.

For more great ideas using products from Imaginisce from the Xyron Design Team, please visit their Facebook Page.  As always, thanks for stopping by!

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.

Scrapbook Steals Blog Hop - Basic Grey Buttons and Brads

Welcome to the first ever Scrapbook Steals Blog Hop!  For those who don't know, Scrapbook Steals is your one-stop shop for the BEST daily deals on scrapbooking supplies.  Their blog is also full of awesome scrapbooking ideas and inspiration.  

In case you missed the beginning of the hop, it starts over at the Scrapbook Steals Blog.  And if you're joining me from Charity Becker's amazing blog, Mene Mene Tekel University, welcome!  The product featured in today's blog hop is a gorgeous collection of Basic Grey Buttons and Brads.  They come in all shapes and sizes - the perfect starting point for a variety of projects.

1.  Happy, Adventure, Play {a scrapbook layout}.  For my first project, I used the buttons to embellish a garden of flowers in a layout featuring photos of my daughter playing outside.  

The inspiration for this layout was an illustration from Victoria and Elizabeth Kann's Pinkalicious where the little girl is camouflaged in a garden of pink flowers.  I cut out all the flower shapes using my Silhouette Cameo.  To embellish them, I threaded Basic Grey buttons with string from my Avery shipping tags and then adhered them to the flowers with glue dots.  It adds the perfect dimensional element.

Supplies:  Patterned Paper (Echo Park, My Mind's Eye); Cardstock (American Crafts); Brads (Basic Grey); Stickers (Echo Park); Other (Silhouette Cameo, We R Memory Keepers Floss, Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher, Tim Hotlz Distress Ink).

2.  Ice Cream Anniversary {a card}.  One of my dear friends requested a custom-made anniversary card for her parents with an ice cream theme.  It's amazing how just a few strategically placed Basic Grey buttons really finish off a card.

Supplies:  Patterned Paper (My Mind's Eye); Vellum (Martha Stewart); Brads (Basic Grey); Letter Stickers (American Crafts, Cosmo Cricket); Stamps (Lawn Fawn); Other (Silhouette Cameo, We R Memory Keepers Floss, Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher, Tim Hotlz Distress Ink, Uniball Signo Broad White Gel Pen).

3.  E is for Ellison {a button monogram}.  And finally, I wanted to make something that featured the button in its full glory.  I remember seeing this awesome tutorial by Jana Paddington on the Scrapbook Steals blog last year for a button monogram.  So using her expertise as my guide, here is what I made with the Basic Grey buttons.

And here it is all warm and cozy in an Ikea shadow box frame.  

Thank you so much to Kristy Lee and Scrapbook Steals for the opportunity to be a part of this event.  I am always giddy with excitement to create when inspired by such fantastic products.

Scrapbook Steals Giveaway!  There are lots of talented and inspiring crafters taking part in this Blog Hop so please be sure to visit each one!  PLUS, Scrapbook Steals will be giving away a $20 Scrapbook Steals Gift Certificate to one lucky person leaving a comment on one of the blogs!  So to increase your chances to winning, make sure to comment on each blog by Sunday, March 11th at 11:59PM MST.

• Scrapbook Steals
• Kristy Mackeen
• Staci Jones
• Amber Sheaves
• Cristine Redmond
• Venetia Holbrook
  
• Charity Becker
• Van Nguyen  <--- YOU ARE HERE

Giveaway Time!  I'm also hosting my own little giveaway for two sets of Basic Grey Buttons and Brads!  For my giveaway, all you have to do is "follow" my blog and leave a comment on this post by next Friday, March 16 at 11 am EST.  I'll post the random winner on Friday afternoon!

Good luck and as always, thanks for stopping by!
 
Project 100 Update:  77 down, 23 to go.