Happy 250th America!

Hey guys I'm up on the Blogger with my very first card as a Guest Designer for July.  Since it's July 3rd and tomorrow is America's 250th Birthday I really wanted to make a card to celebrate that!  I remember being a kid in 1976 when we celebrated America's 200th Bicentennial Birthday and there was such a buzz in the air leading up to the big day!  I just remember being in awe of so much that was going on; the parades, the fireworks, the cookouts, all the neighbors out in the streets shaking hands and really celebrating our 200th birthday!  It was AWESOME.  So I am dedicating this card to America and her 250th birthday!

I started out with a patterned base card that picks up that blue in my color scheme.  It's filled with colorful stars that was perfect for this card! I layered that with a white card stock and then layered red foiled card stock on top. That red really makes everything pop!  For the "HAPPY" I used a Karen Burniston "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" DIE SET.  I die cut in a heavy white card stock and inked it in red, and leaving some white of the card stock and then blue.  I adhered it to the top and moved on to my focal point.

I'm not going to lie, for those flags, I cut up a 4th of July store bought card my sister sent to me years ago. It was in a bunch of unused store bought cards she no longer wanted.  I mean who doesn't like to recycle...so I fussy cut them and adhered to the card base.

The coffee cup is from one of our Super Sponsors and a fav of mine, Crackerbox Stamps.  This is from their Coffee 1 collection.  I stamped the cup out and used a couple of Vickie Boutin color wheels (blue/greens and the red orange set) to bring the RED, WHITE and BLUE colors our flag is known for.

After stamping out and inking the cup, I stamped another one on that star pattern paper...it was the packaging from HOMETOWN SUMMER by Renne Lonney, again, recycling at it's best😋😊😊  I fussy cut the lid and the sleeve and adhered both to the cup, popping up the lid with some foam tape for some added dimension.  I die cut the 250th, which are both from Karen Burniston, and added it to the sleeve and then adhered the cup to the card.

I reached into my American Crafts Thickers FLAGS & FRILLS and found the word AMERICAN so I cut the "N" off so I could use it as the word AMERICA.  

Lastly I added some glitter stars from my stash and called it done.

Are you sending out any 250th USA Birthday cards this year?  Are you as excited as I am to celebrate our 250th?  I can only hope it is as FABULOUS as the Bicentennial 200th birthday celebration I remember as a kid!

Thanks for hanging out with me today and I hope I inspired you to get into your crafty space and make a handmade card for someone and put a smile on their face.

Stay crafty my friends,

Kimberly

 

Halloween Layout Featuring (new to the shop) Flair BUTTONS from Scrappin Happy Studio!

Hi Guys, Thanks for stopping by and checking out something brand NEW from Scrappin Happy Studio!  These cute Flair Buttons are super durable, cute as a (I'm going to say it) button, has a metal back to them, which means you can use any adhesive to adhere them to your layout, and they are brand NEW to her shop!

She sent me a pack, before she even has them in her shop, to try.  These Halloween themed (she will have other themes to choose from as well) are super cute and the colors are awesome for any Halloween themed layout.  There is even one that is versatile enough to use on a layout that isn't Halloween themed! 

I was so excited to get them yesterday that I just had to do a layout.  Here is a picture of me and my mom on a Halloween that we decided at the last minute to dress up and go out so we spent the day trying to find last minute outfits.  I'm not sure what she was...kinda of a Phantom of the Opera meets dental man? I have no idea to this day😆 I chose a black cat and found leggings, a black top and a cat eyes mask and some black gloves.  It worked and we had so much fun that night with people trying to guess who we were.

Ok, so back to the layout.  It came together pretty quick with these Halloween themed buttons and one of her Halloween epoxy flairs.  As I'm sure you can tell by now (because I'm sure I told you before) I'm all about color!  I see color, pull all colors I think will match both in paper and embellishments and making sure everything matches the theme.  So with these buttons being Halloween colors and themed, it came together quick!

Everything I used is listed below.  Thanks again for stopping by and checking out these super cute and brand new to her shop...Flair Buttons!

Collections I used:

Scrappin Happy Studio - Epoxy flairs - Halloween Words

Scrappin Happy Studio -  Flair Buttons - Halloween

ms.  sparkle & Co - HALOWEEN TEXTURES 6x6 paper pad

American Crafts Thickers - SPOOKY glitter foam  

K&Company - Dimensional Stickers (Halloween)

Echo Park Paper - SPOOKY  chipboard stickers

Bo Bunny - 12" Fright Delight Dingbat cut-a-parts

Adtech Glue Runner Permanent adhesive 

Leave comments below and let me know what you think about her new Flair Buttons.  Come follow me on IG (link on blog), and head over to Scrappin Happy Studio to see her newest collection of handmade epoxy flairs...she does a new collection about every 2 weeks!

Have a Scrappy Day😄

Bashing my stash!

I dug deep into my stash to find this gorgeous, beach vibe paper I almost forgot about.  Most of you know that I got into scrapbooking through a neighbor (who turned out to be a really great friend) back in 2008.  We did a couple of albums together and then I ended up moving and life got in the way.  I stopped scrapbooking after that year and didn't get back into it until 2018!  

So needless to say, when I tell you this is old paper...it is!  I absolutely love the colors in this paper...they just pop and scream summer vibes!

I started off with this amazing aqua/turquoise (ish) bright blue.  I took the beach vibe paper and cut about 1" off the sides and did the tear technique and separated the 2 pieces (tearing out a big gap in the center to make sure that blue really popped)!  I backed the photo with some scrapes from a multi colored pink paper leaving just enough showing through to give that pink a little pop.

Then I grabbed my stash and started picking the pieces I wanted to go on this layout.  I'm not sure if you are like me but I go through ALL of my stuff and grab what I THINK may look good on a particular layout.  Then once I start with the paper and the photo I start going through what I pulled from my stash all over again to see what actually works.  This makes it so difficult to do YT videos😱...I keep watching other scrappers do YT videos and wonder how they just know what to use from one pick🤷🏻‍♀️

I pulled a lot from American Crafts (3 different collections I will list below) along with 2 flairs from Scrappin Happy Studio and some cute sayings and hearts from Me & My Big Ideas.  The blue heart is actually the background peaking through after I punched the paper with my Heart punch.

Well, there you have it.  This layout came together quick for me.  It's a simple layout that looks like I spent a lot of time doing.  The best layouts aren't always the once that take hours or days like some of my mixed media ones do.

Collections I used:

Scrappin Happy Studio - Epoxy flairs - Beach Vibes Collection

Scrappin Happy Studio - Epoxy flairs - Be Strong Collection

American Crafts - Thickers - Adventure Collection

American Crafts - Thickers - Colorful Collection

American Crafts - Thickers - Summer Lights Collection

Me & My Big Ideas - Mambi Chips - I love us Collection

Thanks for coming along on this blog.  Leave comments below and let me know what you like best about it.  Come follow me on IG (link on blog), and head over to Scrappin Happy Studio to see her newest collection of handmade epoxy flairs...she does a new collection every 2 weeks!

Happy Scrapping🤗

Summer layout featuring Scrappin Happy Studio Flairs

Hi guys,  I'm here putting together this cute layout featuring Scrappin Happy Studio Epoxy Flairs! Her Ice Cream Collection was perfect for this layout🍦

I started with creating a background full of Summer colors using my mini cubes of Tim Holtz distressed inks.  How amazing are these colors😱 (I will list them below).  

I used a heavy white card stock (no gesso required for this mixed media).  I swiped each cube directly on to the paper leaving a little of the white showing through...I love this effect🌈. I decided to leave some space at the bottom and put a very cool, summer vibe printed card stock that pulled all the colors in.

After I finished backing the printed card stock onto the background I took my picture and one of my Circle dies (size 3 3/4") and put it through my die cutting machine leaving just a little of the bottom sticking out so it was straight and I could line it up with the bottom of the page.  I also did the same thing to a bright yellow piece of card stock I used to back the photo with just to give it a little pop!

As you can see by the above picture I had already gotten into this, oh so cute collection of epoxy flairs for another layout.  So I pretty much used the entire rest of the set on this layout.  I also went into her  Pool Fun Collection and pulled this cute flair with sunglasses and since this is my sister (his Aunt) I had to use this super cool Aunties are like moms only COOLER flair!

I had this SUMMER word cut file I got from Kreative Cuts Club that I hadn't used yet and was perfect for the Ice Cream themed layout, after all Summer and ice cream go hand in hand don't they?

I just so happen to have been at Joann's last weekend (unless this is my husband reading this, then I was no where near Joann's😬) and found these amazing chipboard Thickers from American Crafts and they all had an accent I wanted to use, I mean look at that HAPPINESS accent😱 and since my sister is into hearts I wanted to make sure I had some of them and I think every Thickers pack I purchased had some in them.  All of the chipboards were from AC with one exception...that THIS MAKES ME SMILE arrow is a puffy sticker from the PinkFresh Studio BE YOU collection.I decided to do the SUMMER at an angle and then started laying out the accents.  I wanted the colors to really stick out so I did most of the accents, flairs and puffy stickers at the bottom with just a few of them on each side of the layout to make sure those colors really showed through!  Quick tip: I love, love, love my sticker maker which is what I used for each of the letters...easy peasy!

Well, there you have it...my SUMMER layout. I hope you enjoyed this layout featuring Scrappin Happy Studio Flairs.  If you haven't had a chance to see her collections head over to her Etsy shop (here) and check her shop out! 

I will leave details and some links below on what I used...it may be the middle of Winter but looking at this layout I feel Summer calling my name!

Items used
Epoxy Flairs: Scrappin Happy Studio (Pool Fun Collection, Ice Cream Collection, Auntie Life Collection)
Cut File Letters (SUMMER): Kreative Cuts Club
Distressed Inks: Tim Holtz (in Cracked Pistachio, Peacock, Picked Raspberry, Abandoned Coral, Squeezed Lemonade)
Chipboard Thickers: American Crafts (Colorful, Confetti Wishes, Pick Me Up, Summers Lights)
Puffy Sticker: Pinkfresh Studio, BE YOU collection
Circle Dies: Spellbinders, Nestabilities - Standard Circle LG

Thanks for taking the time to read about this layout and the products I used.  Please come follow me on IG (ScrapbookingForNewbies) or on FB (ScrapbookingForNewbies)

Happy Scrapping!

Kimberly

Scary Cat Halloween Layout using Scrappin Happy Studio Flairs

Hey guys, I'm back with a Halloween layout which is pretty much an "old school" quick and easy layout.  

When I first got into scrapbooking in 2010(ish) my neighbor and really good friend, Jessica got me into it.  Back then we did a lot of Cricut cutting (the old "dinosaur" Cricut), stickers and paper tearing, which I deemed "old School".  

I got away from scrapbooking for a few years when we both moved away.  I only recently got back into it and wow have things changed! So many new things like dies, die machines, Flairs, Nuvo Mousse, mixed media, shaker cards/backings, new and improved Cricut machine that doesn't even take a cartridge, puffy stickers, chipboards...oh my!

So when I say old school layout I basically mean some paper tearing, maybe some stickers and alphas.  This Halloween layout is basically just that with some added flairs and chipboard stickers!  

I teamed up with Scrappin Happy Studio because I fell in love with her epoxy flairs! They are super thin so they don't bulk up your layout like the buttons do!  She also has so many different collections and adding more every couple of weeks that I never get board of her stuff!  If you are looking for that extra pop to you layout, head over to her shop and check out all of her collections.

For this layout I started with some American Craft Thickers (Spooky collection), some chipboard autumn leaves and pumpkins, and of course a brand new collection from Scrappin Happy Studio called "Scarey Halloween" (one of my favs this season for sure)!

I took a heavy black 12x12 card stock with a nice sheen to it and used that for the background and another 12x12 piece of Halloween paper,  tearing one side of it into a quarter of a sheet, leaving an edge off to the other side to put the little pumkin's and leaves (I have a cute die set that cuts those) and adhered them down the side as a boarder.   

I backed my photo with orange card stock, tucking a small bit of it it under the Halloween paper.  I cut a background out of a slightly different orange card stock for the word "HALLOWEEN" that I used from the SPOOKY words collection from American Crafts, just to make it pop off the black background. 

I have this cute little spider die I got off of Amazon (not going to lie, it was a  lot smaller than I thought but I don't hate it).  I cut 3 of the spider dies from a halloween paper I had that was black and orange and I backed 2 of the epoxy flairs from Scrappin Happy Studio's, SCARY HALLOWEEN Collection. 

I added the "SPOOKY" epoxy flair from the "HALLOWEEN WORDS" collection on the bottom of the photo for that extra pop!

I then added the pumpkin and fall leaves chipboard stickers to the bottom and Bam! Done!  So simple, quick and easy.  This layout literally took me 15 minutes from start to finish!

What do you think about her new SCARY HALLOWEEN COLLECTION?  To see more of her collections click here.

Thank you guys for taking the time to follow my posts, I hope you enjoyed this old school Halloween layout!

Happy Scrapping,

Kimberly

Puffy Heart Shaker Card, #47 of the 365 scrapbook challenge and what lessons I learned with this layout

Hi Newbies, 

I'm here working on #47 of my 365 page layout challenge for 2019!  - and yes I do include cards and 8x8 mini albums as part of my layout challenge - -just saying😬 

I will try to link all of the items used (and possibly where I bought them) just in case you decide you like any of it.

I've been seeing all of these shaker cards and decided that I wanted to try to make one.  Well...this layout will have a lot of lessons in it🤦🏻‍♀️

First I want to start off by saying the card makers that make these cards have tremendous talent!  I am in awe of the beautify they create and how easy they make it look...it's not.  You would think making a card would be but, IT IS NOT!

This shaker card turned out to be an inside out shaker card.  I mean, who makes those? 🙋🏻‍♀️  This girl right here does.  Why?  Because when you have used all of the materials up to a certain point and then realize this is all wrong, you are not going to waste all of that money those materials cost and toss it.  So LESSON #1, even if it doesn't work one way, make it work another (and save those materials).

I started out with a pre-made card already scored in plain white.  I wanted to make a card to send to my sister and she LOVES hearts.  I have this awesome heart die that I don't use that often but I love the way it looks so I decided I would be different and use this intricate die to make a shaker card...and here comes LESSON #2, the words "intricate" and "shaker" should not be used in the same sentence.  The "shaker" part of the card needs to have room for the bits to...SHAKE🤦🏻‍♀️

I started off using some Shimmerz SPRITZ, in COTTON CANDY on the white card stock to give it some color and I loved the way that looked.  The shimmer to it was gorgeous!  I some how managed to mess up the fold on the pre-scored card by running it through my Big Shot so I had to be creative and use Washi tape to hide it...and here is LESSON #3, make a mistake, try to cover it up before tossing it and starting over.  This worked, the colors, the design...it all worked for this card so I went with it.  

I always like trying to be different and decided that I would cut the heart die again but this time out of adhesive foam that I have in this amazing pink (see the theme here).  I couldn't believe that my Big Shot cut it...who knew (apparently everyone because it says that it cuts different material right on the directions on how to use it).  I was super excited!  

I then opened the card and added the foam strips (like I've seen all the YouTube how to make a shaker card tell you to do).  After that, I placed the foam hearts into the die cut I made on the front of the card and it fit perfectly.  Once that was in it wasn't coming out and that's when it hit me...those bits were not going to shake at all in those hearts.

So now I have used some Shimmerz SPRITZ, Washi Tape, die cut the card, die cut my pink foam adhesive (purchased from Michaels.com) and had already gone through my stash  (some Vicki Boutin, ephemera pack and some Ink Road Stamps sequence), and pulled what I was going to use and even heat embossed some vellum with one of my Stamps from the set HAND MADE ESSENTIALS that I got from scrapbook.com (that was a freebie that you had to be at the right time and place to get because they went fast....LESSON #4,  follow some of your favorite scrapbooking and card making companies on IG and FB because they love to do giveaways)! 

I was at a cross roads.  What to do, what to do...through all of it out, waste my materials and time it took and start all over?  I decided to continue instead of tossing it.

I had already put the foam tape on the inside and there was no getting that off without tearing the card so I put a backing on from a scrap piece of card stock that matched the pinks on the front (it would be showing through the front hearts die cut).  

After that I was still wanting to make this a shaker card, I mean come on, I had went out and bought some bits and sequence and really wanted to try this so I went for it... just on the inside instead of the outside.   I mean when she opens the card...SURPRISE!  Shakers!! Who wouldn't love that!  So I guess this would be LESSON #5 (I told you there were a lot of lessons with this one), just because something is suppose to be made one way, switch it up and make it your way.  No rules...just creativity!  So GO FOR IT!

I followed the directions from some of the YouTube videos and went for it and it worked!  However,  and here comes LESSON #6 for this work of art...make sure you like your background BEFORE you start finishing up the card.

After I made the shaker part successfully, I hated the all white background so I started trying to fix it with a Wonky frame cut from pink scrap I had left over and using Nuvo Embellishing Mousse in Peony Pink I had gotten from Sparklensprinkle.net.  Let me tell you how hard it is to try to use Mousse when you have something you don't want the Mousse on.  I had to cover each side as I used the Mousse and try to get all the white covered.  As you can tell not only did I not get all the white covered...the Wonky frame I tried to use to cover the Shaker part up didn't quite make it around the entire shaker part.  Ugh!

But, seriously I couldn't stop now!  So I stamped the other side with pink ink from Ranger and a really old block stamp I had and really liked it...except for the all white back ground so I got creative with some Lemon Sorbet Nuvo Mousse  PURPOSELY leaving some white around the wording because I liked that look.   

I added the hearts that came out of the die (which is one reason I love this die, not only do you get the see through hearts, you get the cut out ones to use as well). 

Well, it may not be perfect but it was made with love!

There you have it...number 47 of my 365 layout challenge for 2019.  Thanks for following along on my journey of 365 scrapbook page challenge that I am doing, and reading about the lessons I'm learning along the way!

Please leave a comment below and let me know if you have ever made a shaker card and how it turned out.

If you liked this blog, please subscribe and follow me on my 3-6-5 journey to see if I am able to complete it!

Come join our FB page for more challenges and to share your layouts with the group or come follow me on IG!  

Happy Scrapping🤗

Kimberly

It's the Little Thinks in Life - Layout #26 of the 365 scrapbook challenge and what lessons I learned with this layout

Hey Newbies, 

I'm here working on number 26 of my 35 Page Layout Challenge 2019 (and the lessons I learn).  I will try to link up to where you can purchase the items I used just in case you see anything you might like to try!

Today I'm working on "IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS IN LIFE".  This one I didn't use many embellishments.  Some times I use a tone and some times I hardly use any at all.  It depends on which way the layout starts going (or the wind is blowing, which ever).  I mean I can pull a LOT of stuff from my drawers and only end up using a few things like I did with this one.  I wanted the paper to do all of the talking with this layout!

I started out using a pad from the HOT BUYS from Michael's.  HOT BUYS are awesome and they have them every quarter it seems.  You can get beautiful pads for $5.99, regularly $19.99!  I kick myself because this one I L-O-V-E and I only bought one.  I find that going back during another HOT BUY, you don't find the same pads 😒.  So we will use this as LESSON #1, look through those HOT BUY pads you like and take a good look.  Shop around and then re-look.  If you really like it...BUY MORE THAN ONE!

Ok, moving on...I started with one of the 12x12 sheets that has this amazing floral print at the bottom.  Now, for me to say amazing and floral in the same sentence you have to know it is gorgeous because I'm really not a flowery type of girl.  I see all these amazing flowery layouts on IG but I just can't seem to get excited about doing one.  Maybe one day I will but not today.

This one was the perfect color, almost a paper bag brown with white flowers and stems at the bottom that was just enough to make it gorgeous!  There was another page in the pad that is a blueish grey that I had left over from another layout I did.  I did the tear technique (making sure I left it longer at the bottom so it peaked out.  I took another piece of scrap paper in yellow, and cut it at an angle and glued it to the top of it. 

This pad also had 2 pages of cards (think, project life type cards) in the same hues as the paper.  I used one that had gold flakes in it to layer on top of the yellow card stock and then another I trimmed to layer on top of that one and used it as my Title.  So here is LESSON #2 for this layout, you don't always have to use alphas as your TITLE.  Here I am using a card that already had the saying I wanted.  You can use a sticker, project life card, a stamp...get creative!

I decided to do some gold splatters to bring out some of the gold in that first card.  I used Shimmerz VIBEZ in GLORIOUS DAY.  It really matched up well and who doesn't love a good shimmer!

I cut 3 flags in the blue/grey and one in yellow and adhered them under the 1st layer.  I added 2 more smaller flags in a white/grey color for some pop and to bring in the white from those flowers below.  

I have this really awesome butterfly bunch so I punched out some butterflies trying to get some of the gold flakes from the paper in order to bring in some more of the gold accent.  I placed them where I wanted them and used tacky glue to glue them down.  They give a 3 dimensional look to the page that I liked.

I added a wood sticker that says Happy Days Are Here (that's an old piece from my stash) and then added a gold foil flag and stamped TODAY on it and placed it by the photo.  On the photo itself, I backed it with the same papers I used on the other side, leaving a little over hang at the bottom using the tear technique again and added the LIFE IS SHORT, LIVE IT  chipboard sticker from American Crafts - Thickers line, Escape The Ordinary by Vickie Boutin and added 2 butterflies.

Above the photo I added another card from the pad and backed it with a gold foil card and a lighter card on the other side to bring out those lighter colors.

I felt like it needed a little something else so I added stamped dots in different sizes.  Lastly, I added a flair from Scrappin Happy Studios that says "US".

Well, there you have it...number 26 of my 365 layout challenge for 2019.  Thanks for following along on my journey of 365 scrapbook page challenge that I am doing, and reading about the lessons I'm learning along the way!

Please leave a comment below and let me know what you think about this these colors.  If you liked this blog, please subscribe and follow me on my 3-6-5 journey to see if I am able to complete it!

Come join our FB page for more challenges and to share your layouts with the group or come follow me on IG!  

Happy Scrapping🤗

Kimberly