Stitching Things Up

Oh my gosh, I was so excited when I read the challenge at Heart 2 Heart this week...it's all about adding stitching to a project! I have been adding hand stitching lately so I knew this was really going to inspire me to create something fun. I was an avid quilter before I started scrapbooking and haven't used my machine much so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to dust it off.

I really wanted to make a layout this week so I could add one more to the completed pile. One of my favorite sets of pictures are the self portraits my husband took with he and my son. They were just having fun and being silly.

I was really out of the box for me and I combined three different paper packs, Grace, Moon Doggie and Majestic. Who would have thought those would be good together? I added tons of machine stitching. I first did straight stitching around the base cardstock and then added zigzags in several areas. I even made the "equal sign" by stitching. On the title I put stitches on the letters with the Circle Around stamp set image. So I have some machine and some faux stitching. I love the layout and can't wait to add it to the book...one more done, many more to go!



Desert Sand Cardstock
Bamboo Cardstock
Grace Level 2 Paper Pack
Moon Doggie Level 2 Paper Pack
Majestic Level 2 Paper Pack
Color Me Ready Alphabet
On the Edge Stamp Set
Star Struck Stamp Set
Alphabet Stamp Set
Love Letters Rub Ons
Dimensional Elements
Olive Ink Pad
Cranberry Ink Pad
Honey Ink Pad
Indian Corn Blue Ink Pad

Get School Inspired

I am so excited to announce that last week I made the Top 5 in the Heart to Heart challenge! I was picked by the design team and am so honored and pleased. I hope you all stop by to check out the work from last week (click here to check it out) which will be used for the 2nd grade page in my sons school album! Ironic that this week is a school challenge at H2H.

This weeks challenge at Heart 2 Heart is to create something that is inspired by going back to school. I know I've waited until the last minute to post but wanted to be sure to make something that really inspired me. With all the talk about going back to school I have been working on my sons School Album. The thing I get stumped with on albums is coming up with a first page. I want it to show what the album is all about. I thought this was the perfect challenge to get me moving on a title page for the album.

I decided a great way to show the purpose of the album was to put together a page that had a small picture of each of his yearly school pictures. It will really display how he continues to grow each year. I went with a classic "School Days" title. In order to get all the pictures in I needed more than the bottom portion of one 12x12 sheet so I decided it would be a perfect place to add in one of the new 4x12 flip flaps. I will put 4 pictures per row and will end up with 3 rows to display 12 pictures. I was still one spot short in order to get K-12 so I left room at the top of the page next to the title where I can put his senior picture.

To really add to the page I decided to use the antique copper embellishments but putting brads on the "S's" in the title, the bigger brad and photo clip on the long ruler and then a series of brads to make a quarter circle in the bottom left corner. Add some stitched stars a bit of twine and several stamped images of common school items and the page is complete. To highlight the pictures I've added in a small tag labeled with the school grade for each photo. I know the page looks empty but as the years go by it will be filled up!

I hope you all like the layout, I know I do! I can't wait to add the 2nd grade picture this fall.


All items used are CTMH (It's a Guy Thing Level 2 paper pack, Honey, Outdoor Denim and Bamboo cardstock, Rustic Alphabet and In the Month of August and Shining Star (template for stitched stars) stamp sets, Antique copper embellishments, twine, large flip flaps, neutral embroidery floss).

Gettin' Sketchy with H2H

This weeks challenge at Heart to Heart was a sketch challenge. These are some of my most favorite challenges because I love to see what one sketch can inspire in so many people. Although the sketch was published on Monday it's taken me until Saturday afternoon to get it done and posted. I had originally started off planning to make a back to school card to send out but as I started creating I decided it would be become the title for my son's school album. I managed to fit in a ton of embellishments, techniques and papers. The colors are from Jeanette Lynton's Color Me Monday challenge.


Products: Black and Honey Cardstock, Moon Doggie (red strip) which I folded like Roman Shades and sewed down, Back Country paper (plaid behind school bus), Vellum paper, Olive, black and Cranberry inks, embossing powder, dimensional elements (stars from the snowflakes DE), Olive floss for sewing, In the Month of August and Solo 2 stamp sets.

In the end this will be a great title for a school book. Now I can even coordinate his outfit for the first day of school with this!

Tag You're It!

From the title of the post you might have guessed that the challenge I'm participating in this week involves tags. This week the challenge at H2H is to create a piece of artwork that includes a tag. It can be a tag or have a tag on it. I've decided to give you all a sneak peak at two of the new paper packs for the fall catalog and to show you a bit of interactive art. The interactive art is featured in the new How-To layout book called Magic that is also in the fall catalog.

My first tag is a Christmas gift tag. I sanded the cardstock to give it the antique look to match the feel of the Santa and Merry Christmas. I added a hinge for embellishment and function. The Santa is on a flap that can be lifted to revel who the package if for and who it's from. All items are CTMH: Evergreen, Cranberry, Mistletoe, St. Nick.

The second tag I made is a unique birthday card. I went all out and stitched and used dimensional elements too! When closed it looks like it has a tag inserted. When you pull the tag out it reveals a secret message. What a fun way to say Happy Birthday! This fun technique is great for cards and on layouts! Find out how to make yours with the new Magic book in September! All items are CTMH: Gypsy, Pear, Hooligans, Sunset mini medley, Dimensional elements stars, and my favorite...Hooligans fuzzy monster embellishments.