Fresh Fish

Halloween Hybrid Boo Package

2011-09-23T09:09:00.002-04:00

Yeah for the first day of Fall!!!! It's my favorite time of year! To celebrate I put together a little Boo package to give to a co-worker to kick of the annual giving of a little Boo gift around the office (works great in neighborhoods too!)

This project was very simple to create! I used Lliella's Designs Halloween Doodles digital kit to create the card on the top of the box and the "I've been Booed" sheet inside. Using Photoshop Elements I created the outside and inside card panels which were affixed to a orange cardstock card on the top. I create the "I've been Booed" sheet on the same print sheet (also in Elements) so I only needed to print one time. Here's what my print sheet looked like:

After printing I trimmed, mounted and was ready to fill my recycled product box. Inside the box I tucked a bag of the Brach's Autumn mix (a classic Fall treat in my book) and some homemade ginger cookies tied with white sheer ribbon. To tie the box closed I cut two slits in the front of the box and slid the ribbon through the holes and tied. The black ribbon and button were hot glued on.

Here's some more pics of this fun project. I hope you will give it a try!!!

Let's Camp Invites

2011-08-01T14:31:00.000-04:00

This is my daughter Hannah. She is my baby, little sporty girl, THE ultimate daddy's girl and she's turning 9 in a few weeks. (I can't believe it!) After spending months talking about what kind of birthday party she wanted to have this year, she finally settled on having her first sleep over party at our house. She chose a camping theme and we agreed on only inviting 3 friends to keep things civil. (I've learned from experience that with sleep overs less is more!)

Now it's my turn to think of ways to use the camping theme to turn this into a really fun party for my special girl, her friends and my two assistants (my older daughter Katie and Katie's BFF Nikki). Hannah hired Katie and Nikki to be her personal party assistants. They are in charge of treating Hannah and her friends like gold while providing lots of fun and entertainment - certainly seems like a good deal to me. $15 for two party entertainers for a whole night....wow!

I've been scouring the Internet for ideas for the party and while I did come across some pre-made invites that were kinda cute I can't pass up the opportunity to make her invites. I can't remember the last birthday party we had where I didn't make the invites. It's a tradition! I'm now looking for party supplies, games, activities and more activities so that the girls will stay entertained throughout the night. Check back in over the next few weeks more details on the party - for now...enjoy these cute little invites I came up with. Who wouldn't want to come to party with a fun invite like this?

Theme: Camping Sleep Over
Colors: Turquoise, Pink, Yellow and Purple

Here's how I put this together.
Supplies:
Happy Camper digital scrapbook kit by Jenn Barrette at Sweet Shoppe Designs
Photoshop Elements 7
White Printer paper and inkjet printer
Fiskars paper trimmer, scissors, Scotch tape, tape runner
12 x 12 yellow card stock
Pink ribbon (Michael's)
Martha Steward Score Board

1. I opened Photoshop Elements and created a 3 in x 3 in canvas to design on. I started by designing the front and back panels at 3 in square each. I then designed the inside panels at 2.75 in x 2.75 in each.
2. Copy each panel and layout on 8.5" x 11" sized canvas in Elements. Repeat for how many invites you need. I ended up putting all the fronts and back on one piece of paper and all the insides on a seperate piece of paper. (see my print sheet below)

3. Print out using a color printer on to white printer paper.
4. Cut out all the panels using a paper trimmer and set aside trimmed panels.
5. Use the paper trimmer to cut a 3" wide x 12" long piece of cardstock from a 12 x 12 piece.
6. Use the Score Board to score at 3", 6" and 9" along the 12" side. (see pic below)

7. Fold the cardstock strip to create 2 peaks and 1 valley (see pic below)

8. Adhere inside panels on to the folded invite using a tape runner or your favorite adhesive.
9. Before adhereing the front and back panels I adhered a 12 in. piece of pink ribbon using Scotch tape to both panels.

I made sure that the ribbon lined up so that when the invite is closed the two pieces will come together on each side to tie the invite closed. (see pics below)

10. Adhere the front and back panels over the ribbon using tape runner or your favorite heavy duty adhesive. (You don't want the force of tieing and untieing of the ribbon to rip off your decorations.)
11. Tie each side of the invite closed, slip into an envelope and you are set to delivery a party invite that is sure to get your guests excited about their upcoming adventure!

More pics

Treat Bags and Boxes Part III

2010-10-06T06:36:00.001-04:00

Today I have two more cute Halloween themed treat boxes for you. I'm having so much fun creating these...I'm going to have to find some new friends so I have enough people to hand these out to when this is all done. LOL!

My first box is actually one I created last year and it's one of my all time favorite hybrid projects.

My not so scary Dracula fang teeth box, uses a simple coffin box template I found HERE. I printed the box template and constructed the box out of SU Basic Black cardstock. I then worked from the template to create the box cover in Photoshop Elements. I cut out the bat and bent its wings a little before adhereing to the box front. I then created a slim card to slide in side -he,he...love the saying! I filled the box with some Carmel Apple Candy Corn that looked like bloody fang teeth (well at least a little). What a cute little box to give to someone with a little sense of humor!

My second project for today using a cutting file for a box...the only thing is I didn't use my Cricut! That's right. A lot of the cutting files you can purchase for electronic cutting machines also .PSD files that can be used in Photoshop Elements (or other photoeditting software).

I used The Cutting Files' Gift Basket template/cutting file to create this cute little party cup. The digital kit I used is called Scary Confectionary by Julie Billingsley and Traci Reed available at the Sweet Shoppe. I love the fun colors in this kit!!!

To create the little treat basket I just opened the cutting file in Elements and then used it as a clipping mask to create the final project. I made sure I used large shadows to keep the elements/decorations looking realistic. I then printed out on to presentation paper and score, folded and assembled my box. I chose to fill my little treat box with the yummy Ghost Marshmallows (which look oh so cute floating in hot cocoa!). I think these are perfect little cups to put on a table for a party!

I'm working on part IV of this series, so check back with me closer to the weekend for the next installment. Until then...happy hybrid crafting!!!

Treat Bags and Boxes Part II

2010-10-01T08:41:00.001-04:00

Today I have a quick and easy trio of treats that are pefect for slipping in a little fun sized candy bar or a small bag of mixed treats. These cute little pumpkins are basically made out of a modified matchbook template that stands up to allow your treats to be tucked inside. These little pumpkin treats are economical to make too - you can get three to a print sheet so there is not alot of paper used to make these babies!

I used Penny Springmann's I Want Candy digital kit to create these projects. It was the perfect kit because she includes lots of cute pumpkin eyes, notes and mouthes to decorate the pumpkin face.

Here's how to make these cute little treat boxes:

1. Use THIS TEMPLATE to create three strips of orange paper to be your base of your pumpkin.

2. In the section marked face, create the face of your pumpkin.

3. Lighten the scoring lines to blend a bit with your paper and delete the text layer.

4. Print your pumpkins, trim, score and fold.

5. I added some felt ribbon for the stem and then some green with white polka dots ribbon tied in a simple bow for the leaves. You could even skip this step if you wanted.

You're done - really it's that easy!

Wouldn't these be super cute to hand out to class full of kids or even at work. You can adjust the width of the bottom fold (where the candy sits) to accomdate a larger or small sized treat. If you are traveling with these I do suggest you adhere your treat to the bottom of the box so that you don't have candy flying everywhere (not that happened to me or anything. LOL!)

If you'd like to see some more cute ideas for packaging....check this out!

Treat Bags & Boxes- Part 1

2010-09-26T11:56:00.001-04:00

I honestly believe that the most simple way to brighten a person's day is by giving them a little note or gift. Over the next week or so I'm going to share some of my ideas for treat bags and boxes. For me little tiny boxes and bags are my favorite hybrid projects. I am a person that likes to "collect" packaging and then upcycle them into little gifts and projects.

Today I used Lliella Design's adorable Boo kit to create two different treat boxes using recycled acrylic boxes. The first box started life as packaging for a 4-pack of tape that my daughter got on clearance at Michael's.

I added a paper band, flanked by some punched edge strips of orange paper. I topped that with a pumpkin that I raised with a pop-dot. The top of the box had a little fap that was used to hang the tape from a display hook. I simple covered that with a larger piece of white cardstock and then a simple wrap around that says sweet treats. I filled the back of the box withe some white tissue and then put the Tootsie Rolls in the front so I didn't have to use so many to fill the box.

My next project is a recycled party favor box.

I used the same Boo kit but this time chose a black damask paper and a cute little owl. I created a rounded text box in Elements and then stroked the outside with a hot pink. I used Darcy's Coffeeshopped Buzzed font in different colors to type "Save the Hooters". Inside are "red" Starburst as a little "pink" reminder that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and it's time to "check your hooters"!

Check back in with me tomorrow for some other kinds of little treat bags and boxes sure to put a smile on your face (and someone elses).

What's New?

2010-08-12T07:55:00.000-04:00

I've been a busy little beaver lately! Lots of layouts, lots of projects and some good news. I was super excited to be selected to be a Hybrid Babe at The Sweet Shoppe. This is a dream gig and I'm still in shock that I was selected due to the talent there. My head has been spinning all week with project ideas and trying to figure out how I'm going to juggle all my other creative teams and SSD.

I've also been busy creating layouts and projects here are some newer projects I've worked on -

Beach Fun featuring Down By the Seashore by Jennifer Fox at The Digichick

This is a pic of Katie enjoying Ft. Myers beach just a few minutes after we arrived. Jason's mom decided to treat the girls to a night at the beach to start off their vacation with his family. The girls didn't know where we were going to meet grandma so they were super surprised and excited to find out they were going to get to stay at the beach for a night.

Gorgeous View featuring Summer Days by Zoe Pearn at The Sweet Shoppe

This is an older picture of Katie from when we camped at Ft. DeSoto last fall.

Let's Fish featuring Beach Bound by Eva Kipler at The Sweet Shoppe

Another picture from our Ft. DeSoto camping trip last Fall. Hannah really enjoyed fishing by herself for the first time. She caught a cute little fish thanks to a kind stranger that baited her hook with some squid while Daddy was out paddling in the kayak. (Mom prefers not to touch any kind of bait other than bread balls. he,he)

I Love You More Hybrid Wall Hanging featuring I Love You More by Traci Reed at Sweet Shoppe

Full instructions and up close photos are availalbe on Traci's Hawt Mama Blog - check it out!

A little sneak peek of Chelle's Creations new Element Pack coming tomorrow -

hint: check out those cute stars!

Game Time featuring Batter Up!, Doodley Do Frames (coming 8/13) and Doodley Do Shapes (coming 8/13) all at Scrap Matters

The Girls featuring Old Summer by Madame Wing at The Digichick (8/12) and a cluster template by Susan Robinson from her August Grab Bag at The Digichick

Come back by tomorrow - I'll have some sneak peeks for you and a super cute birthday party idea and invite. My little Hannah is turing 8! Wah!!!!

Happy Birthday Chelle of Chelle's Creations!!!

2010-07-27T19:57:00.000-04:00

Today is the fabulous Chelle's birthday and to celebrate her CT is throwing a birthday blog hop just for you loyal fans. Aren't you lucky?

I decided to whip up some cute little bag toppers using Chelle's Celebrate bold and Celebrate brite kits. The "To: From" layer and the "Thanks for coming" layer are seperate so you can take them out or change them to fit your needs. The are sized to fit over the standard sized snack or sandwich zip top bag.

You can download this freebie HERE.

Looking for some more birthday freebies - then hop on along to these other great blogs to see what other goodies you can find. All of today's freebies use the same kits so they coordinate for the perfect birthday bash!
Chelle's Blog (Stacey's freebie)

And don't forget...

10 for Tuesday

2010-07-13T06:56:00.000-04:00

I've got an 8 am meeting at work this morning so this is going to be quick.

Today's 10 for Tuesday is...
THINGS THAT MAKE ME GIDDY

1. Back to school shopping
2. Hybrid Mini Scrapbook albums that have a clean design
3. When my kids sing the quacamole song and shake their hips
4. The thought of buying my laptop bag from a place call Big Bad Bags (Can I get one that is pink and black with a skull on one side and then orange with a pretty flower on the other - I need something to help me define my two sideness)
5. Quilting fabric with neat designs
6. Craft fairs/farmers markets
7. Pedastal cake stands (preferably in white)
8. Homegoods (period - the whole store)
9. The sound of Hannah and Katie laughing
10. When my husband gives me a compliment

Okay - so here's hoping early morning meeting plus mid-afternoon meeting (no lunch) means getting to come home early today. Keeping my fingers crossed - this house needs some cleanin'

Monday...Rainy Monday

2010-07-12T07:32:00.000-04:00

Well I had good intentions of walking this morning, but the rain is back. Figures... the pool is finally blue again. I think that rain and the pool supply store might have a conspiracy going on...can't prove it yet but I'm working on it. LOL!

Since I couldn't walk this morning (well I could have if I cleaned out hubby's office enough to put down the treadmill - but really that's just too much to think about first thing in the morning) I got caught up on my blog posting in the digiworld. You can check out posts about some awesome Paper Bag Hybrid Projects on Traci Reed's Hawt Mamas Blog or you can check out the July Customer Spotlight over on Zoe Pearn's Blog.

Yesterday we took the girls to Ft. Myers Beach to meet Jason's mom and grandmother for the great kid handoff. It's time for the girls to spend two weeks with Jason's family in Miami. Now, we've had lots of complaining the last few days about this trip. It's not that the girls don't want to go...it's just they don't want to be away from Mom and Day and Katie's first cell phone is being delivered tomorrow so she's really bummed she has to wait to get back to use it. Keeping that in mind, I thought for sure that the drive down to Ft. Myers was going to be somber and there were going to be tears. I was so wrong!

First of all Jason did a great job with keeping the girls guessing on where we were meeting his mom. They knew we were driving to Ft. Myers and it had something to with the beach (because it's hard to hide sand toys in an SUV). They kept guessing Daytona (which is pretty far from Ft. Myers). So when the girls weren't trying to get Jason to give them more hints, we played "The Car Game". The Car Game is when someone picks a number and then the referee (Me) picks what we are looking for - so 4 yellow cars, 2 motorcycles, etc. For some reason yesterday everyone was giddy and super chatty and we played the Car Game for over an hour and it was FUN! Hearing the girls giggle and try to distract each other so they could find the type of vehicle they were looking for was hilarious. My girls are certainly inventive! Jason got in on the game so then it became goofier - there is nothing better than a car full of giggly and happy family. Sigh - good times!

When we finally got off the highway and started our journey towards the beach the girls were "eye spying" 7/11's. Since the date was 7/11, 7/11 the store was supposed to be giving away free Slurpees. You would think there were giving away a million bucks with how excited my kids were. We finally found a 7/11 and Jason agreed to stop and fill up the tank so the girls and I jumped out for a potty break and searched for a free Slurpee. Now Katie thought that there was no way it could be true...but sure enough we found the 7.11 oz (insert eye roll here) cups and each made our own drink and headed back on the road. I couldn't resist snapping a few pics as I knew this would make a great layout.

The picture of the Slurpee on the dashboard is my favorite. The whole time I was taking it Jason was making sarcastic remarks about putting a Slurpee on the dashboard was a goofy idea. Well, it's a darn good pic and it's fun and that's what makes me happy - so there!

To finish my story - when we finally got over the bridge and on to Ft. Myers beach the girls were super excited. As they exited the car they were saying thank you over and over...I breathed a sigh of relief. They were going to be fine going with Jason's mom...no tears or anything. When we left they had just finished eatting ice cream and the girls were playing shuffle board as their break from the surf and the pool. Life is Good!

I am...

2010-07-01T07:08:00.000-04:00

- trying to become a blogger
- someone who loves to make lists
- a mother, a wife, a daughter, an employee,a sister, and a friend (pretty much in that order)
- seeking something to add to my life to feel more fulfilled (and I don't mean a new husband or another child! ha!)
- a woman trying to get healthy and fit (not thinner and more beautiful)
- working on learning how to use all my camera's functionality

I am...a work in progress!

Well, yesterday turned out to be a pretty good day. My hands, mouth and head must have listened to our little conversation during my walk yesterday morning. Since yesterday was so successful I decided to walk again this morning. I brought along my camera hoping to capture some the of the beauty I witnessed yesterday. I left 10 minutes earlier and the light was awful, and the sunrise not nearly as beautiful as yesterday. Tomorrow I'm going to back to leaving around 6:20 to see if there is a difference in light.

I did capture an image I'd like to share with you. I've been following the Poppy Talk's Summer Colour Week project where pictures featuring the color of the day are highlighted and then everyone is invited to submit their own photos to share. Today's colors are red and white. I found a great sign to photograph on my walk which I hope to share here tomorrow. I've got some lunches to pack and a shower to take before I leave for work. Bleh!

Before I forget...Today is release day at The Digichick. If you are a digital scrapbook addict, I mean fan...you should check this site out. I really love the diversity of kits they offer and the forum is really friendly. I have been honored to be on the site CT for over 2 years now and I have to say that every week I'm blown away at the kits and the layouts I find there.

Here's what I made this week with Dani's Vacation Bible School Kit. This kit has lots of great bright colored papers and elements. If you are into Sunday School or VBS there is some really cute word art included in the kit!

I also got to work with Girl Friday's lovely Minty Popsicle kit (oh how I love her tone on tone papers!)

New releases are 20% off today and tomorrow so go check it out and while you are there pop in the forum and say hello!

Wednesday? I thought it was Thursday.

2010-06-30T07:13:00.000-04:00

I started my day with a conversation with Jason that went a little like this.
Me - It's Wednesday isn't it?
Jason - Yes (in a are you going mad tone)
Me - Damn! I thought it was Thursday...I'm really hating work right now.
Jason - I think it feels like Sunday. I'm so tired.

Yeah, life has been feeling that way of late. I think our little trip to Savannah in a few weeks is going to be a good thing for us both!

After that non-inspiring conversation I pulled myself out of bed, looked at the clock and decided to actually go for a walk. I think I'm going for a walk every morning when I wake up...but today I actually did it. I have some online digiscrap friends that are working on Couch to 5K (which I'm trying to get my 11 yo daughter to try)...here I am working on bed to 1 mile walk. LOL!

My mind was all over the place this morning during my walk but I managed to focus long enough to come up with a list of 5 things that made me smile today -
1. The sound of water rushing through the storm drains - this means no drought this summer and everything is so green and beautiful because of it.

2. A gorgeous pink and purple sunrise peaking through the roof tops of my neighbors' houses. (Is this out here every morning? Maybe I should walk more often?)

3. The lake behind my subdivision looked like a vacation get away with white ibis feeding in my neighbor's law and white egret flying by. The gorgeous sunrise was reflecting in the still water - it was so pretty and peaceful!

4. The partial rainbow peaking through the clouds as I walked to the West.

5. Little birds jumping from limb to limb having a cute little conversation with each other. Tweet, tweet.

I've gained 4 pounds in the last week so I'm really glad I got up out of bed today. Something has got to give! I tried having a conversation with body while I walked. It went a little like this -
Hands - I know you have the need to stay busy and that along with the rest of my body you are not totally in to work right now, however, it's time for you to find something else to do other than giving food to mouth. Please take up knitting or even finger tapping and stay away from food.

Mouth - Just because hands gives you something to eat does not mean you actually need to eat it. The hands don't ever get fat so they don't care about the rest of the body. You are supposed to be the goal keeper - so help out the team and stop chewing already.

Head - I know you have this issue that you feel the need to make me dizzy if we don't eat constantly. Stop. It. Now. I promise we aren't going to starve and that eatting little bits of heathier food will make the whole body feel better. I'll get you some head massages courtesy of thighs and butt if you'd knock of the dizziness and let us all go longer without eatting.

We'll see where this goes - I have been eating much healthier this week. Unfortunately I'm just adding the healthy foods to my normal consumption instead of swapping out...but I'm working on it. One moment. One day at a time.

Note to self: Refer to things that make me smile list above when you are hating life at 2:30 today. The inspiration and drive to work has to come back...maybe it's just on vacation right now.

Tie One On for Father's Day

2010-06-18T10:28:00.005-04:00

Not sure what to give your Dad or your honey for Father's Day? My favorite gift to give is a gift card (especially to my step-dad!). For the man that has everything - here's some money to go buy something fun to tinker with - really, is there a better gift? I don't think so.

Finding a unique way to give a gift card can be a daunting task. I like to be creative and find something different so the reaction is - oh, a card...great I bet there is a gift card in there...how thoughtful. Bleh! Inspired by some bags I saw at Twig and Thistle, I create these tie bags using my digital scrapbooking/digital hybrid supplies. I just know these are going to be a hit!

Supplies -
He's The Man digital kit by Traci Reed and Dani Mogstand at Sweet Shoppe
Fancy Bag template by Kelleigh Ratzlaff at The Digichick
Ruler, scoring tool
Scissors
Double stick tape
Gift Card

1. I opened the Fancy Bag template in my photo editting software. To make the collar looking flap I modified the wavy flap edge by creating a basic rectangle to go over the flap. I merged the rectangle to the base template layer to make a new template.

2. I placed the tie element from He's The Man on to the bag to size. Once I had the tie sized correctly I rotated it and placed it in the open spot above my bag template so it could print on the same sheet of paper with my bag.
Here's a little peek of what my revised template looked like:

3. I used my newly revised bag template created in Step 1 as a clipping mask. I used the papers from He's The Man for the base of the bag and chose patterns and colors that would compliment the ties I chose.

4. I printed my project on to white color laser paper (my printer still won't take a sheet of cardstock -phooey!). I cut using scissors and then scored with a ruler and scoring tool.

5. To make the collar out of the flap, I eyeballed what I thought was half way across the flap and cut up with my scissors about 3/4 the way to the fold. I then made an angle cut from the left edge of the flap up to straight up the middle cut and then repeated on the right.

6. I quickly assembled the box using double stick tape. Inserted my gift card and then attached my tie.

Seriously - it took about 10 minutes to make all together and it's a totally adorable and unexpected little something for Father's Day.

Wishing my life away

2010-03-31T06:52:00.003-04:00

I've found myself wishing the days away this week. You see, it's almost spring break! We are taking the girls on a 7 day cruise and I'm so freakin' excited. I'm not sure if it's the whole being away from work thing, or the no housework or cooking for a week thing...but I really can't wait. It's like being a kid a Christmas time all over again. Makes concentrating at work really hard.

I've been spending my time at Cruise Critic reading the boards for ideas and getting to know some of our fellow passengers. If you are planning on going on a cruise, Cruise Critic is an awesome site to visit before you book and then while you are waiting to cruise - careful, it's addicting!

In between now and our vacation departure it's field trip season. Katie has 3 field trips in the next week and a half. Each one requires her to be at school early or for me to drive her, plus world drum practice every Monday. She's getting to the age where I'm becoming a professional driver for her. (Well, minus the sparkling clean car and drinks and snacks - he,he). I can't believe she is in 5th grade - graduating from Elementary school. Where do the years go? (apparently with me wishing my life away to get to my next cruise)

So in between doing piles of laundry, driving kids, going to work, making dinner, yadda, yadda, yadda - I got some scrapping done this week. Here are a couple of layouts done with some new releases at the Digichick (coming tomorrow, April 1st).

Pool Fun - featuring Seasons of Change by Karen Lewis and an awesome new template pack by Nikki Epperson

Birthday Girl - featuring Cuppycakes by Jennifer Fox and that adorable alpha is by Sarah J - who I am so glad is back at The Digichick!

Stay tuned folks! If you haven't voted on your favorite Hybrid Project for Kelleigh Ratzlaff's Blog Hop then see the post below - hop along to all the blogs and vote for your favorite project. You could win $10 to Kelleigh's store.

I've got a few new Traci Reed hybrid projects coming up next week for you. Off to search for some inspiration. Have a great day!

Blog Hop Monday!

2010-03-28T19:42:00.008-04:00

It's super, hybrid blog hop day! So if you are in the mood for a ton of great hybrid ideas using Kelleigh Ratzlaff Designs' fabulous templates you are in for a great day. Grab a cup of coffee and come hop along! Did I mention there's a prize? Make sure you hop to Kelleigh's blog and comment on which of the projects you liked the best (vote for me!). You can win a gift card to Kelleigh's store at the Digichick and I could win too!

My project features Kelleigh's Toolbox Template (The Digichick) turned into a makeup box party favor. I mixed it up a bit and made it all girly!

I used Traci Reed's and Meghan Mullen's Girl's Day Out (Sweet Shoppe) kit to decorate the box. To make this easier on me - I opened Kelleigh's template in Photoshop Elements and colored the box black. To figure out how big to make each of the paper pieces I used the shape tool to make a template for each section by making the box just smaller than the actual box. I then moved all the pieces to a printing sheet. I printed on glossy presentation paper and trimmed. I pasted the decorative pieces on to the box before assembly (makes things much easier!!! I added a simple ribbon handle, a button and some little bows on the side to make this extra girly. What little girl wouldn't love this as a birthday favor??

For the invite I used my Cricut to cut the 4" scalloped paper for the background. Everything else was done in Elements.

Here's a few close up shots for you.

For more awesome hybrid ideas hop along and check out a few more cool projects on the blogs below.
Kelleigh
Tracy
Sally
Laura
Julie
Christy
Dana
LuAnn
Jacinda
Viva
Dalis
Holly
Sharyn
Karen Lewis
Linda
Alice
Meg
Sunghee
Carolina
Debbie
Kim

Have fun hopping! Oh yeah and as a bonus for my readers today....come check out my post on Eva Kipler's Blog for a step by step on how to make this adorable Chick Candy Dispenser using another of Kelleigh's rocking templates!

Hybrid Stuff!!!!

2010-01-14T11:00:00.001-05:00

Welcome Blog Hoppers and anyone else that happens to stumble on in for some hybrid inspiration today! I have a few projects finished that I've been working on that I'd love to share with you.

Refreshing Soul Birthday Bag

Supplies:
Refreshing the Soul Digital Kit by Karen Lewis at the Digichick
Digital Template - Treat Bag: Pointy by Kelleigh Ratzlaff at the Digichick
DCWV Cardstock (Yellow), Buttons and Lime green paper flower

Basic Directions:
Using the Pointy Treat Bag digital template - create your basic bag using your photo editting software and Refreshing the Soul digital kit. (Brown background paper and the Happy Birthday decoration are all digital) Print on to presentation paper, cut out. Using the cut out bag as a template trace the pointy flap on to yellow cardstock. Cut out using scissors and apply to the folded over flap. Cut 3/4" strip of paper for handle. Attach handle with glue and then adhere buttons over the handle. Attach flower and button on front pointy flap for decoration.

Here's a closer look at the side and the flap

Penquin Scalloped Bag

Supplies:
Winter Kiss Digital Kit by Traci Reed and Scrapkitchen Designs at the Sweet Shoppe
Digital Template - Treat Bag: Scalloped by Kelleigh Ratzlaff at the Digichick
Glitter
Season of Joy Cricut Cartridge and Cricut
Purple and Blue paper

Basic Directions:
Same as the bag above, use the digital template and digital kit to design your bag. Print and cut out bag, score on lines as instructed in the template. Use the Cricut and cut out two different shaped snowflakes (1 1/4" and 1 3/4"). Use a glue pen to apply glue to penguin's hall brim and ball - sprinkle with navy glitter. Use glue pen to apply glue to the round ends of the smaller snowflake and apply purple glitter. When dry, glue snowflakes together and attach a complementary button to the assembled snowflakes. Assemble box. Instead of folding flaps over, bend flaps up so they meet, gently bending in the sides of the box - use glue to adhere top together and then attach assembled snowflake.

Here is a closer look at some of the details:

Looking for some more hybrid projects? Check out these fabulous blogs today - you never know what you might find!!!
Kelleigh
Sunghee
Laura
Christy

365 - Week 2

2010-01-13T07:34:00.003-05:00

I'm home from work today recoverying from some outpatient surgery yesterday. I'm feeling way better than I had expected (Yipee!). Seemed like a good time to update some pictures before I start working on some new hybrid projects.

This week's day markers are from Traci Reed and Meghan Mullen's 27365 Kit available at the Sweet Shoppe. Not only are their date markers, but there are some kick butt frames and templates included.

Day 8 - Well, no one is perfect. I didn't take a picture on day 8, quite frankly I forgot. I did go to an old fashioned crop at a local scrapbook shop with my good friend Kirsten. We had fun chatting and I finished all the basic layouts in my mini sisters book. Now I need to journal and embellish but I'm leaving that for this coming Friday. :)

Day 9 - The cold snap continues!
The high was 39 degrees in Tampa for the day. It was the first day Hannah took her new ADD medicine and she did awesome on it. Only one little dizzy spell and she wasn't very hungry - but no other side effects. We took Katie out to visit the IB Middle School to see if she was interested in trying something different next year. I forgot to take my camera, bleh. It's a really neat program and Katie has signed up for the lottery. We're crossing our fingers and hoping for some good luck that she will get chosen to attend. After a yummy lunch we dropped Katie off at her girlfriend's house and Jason, Hannah and I went to Wal-Mart to do some shopping. Jason bought a bread machine (saved me from having to buy it for him for Valentine's Day). Our day rounded out with some homemade chili, Jason and Hannah making bread, and watching the movie Up while snuggled up under one big blanket.

Day 10 - Money, money, money!
Holy Guacamole Batman - Hannah is rich! It seems the ADD medicine has a side effect of liking to organize things (I'm so hoping this side effect stays and I can get Hannah to organize my cupboards in the kitchen - does that make me a bad mom?) So Hannah and I spent the morning in her room cleaning and low and behold I found $50+ in Hannah's closet. So for the next hour or so Hannah counted down to the penny and realized she finally had over $100 in cash. She had been trying for months to get to this goal all because Katie got a $100 bill for her birthday. So, one very excited girl brought all her money to the bank of dad and asked for a $100 bill. Thankfully Jason happen to have the $100 bill Katie got for her birthday in his wallet (it was on it's way to the bank). So here's Hannah with her first ever $100 bill in hand. Now it's time for it to go to the bank where she can't lose it!

Day 11 - Make a Wish!
While helping Hannah study for her spelling test she asked me why we never break the wishbone when we have chicken or turkey. (wishbone is one of her words this week) With a little twinkle in his eye, Jason sauntered over to the sink and grabbed the wishbone from the Christmas turkey breast he smoked. The wishbone has been sitting there drying for weeks but with all the comotion of after Christmas we had forgotten to have the kids break it. So Katie took one end, Hannah took the other and Hannah won - but she forgot to wish before it broke so she was upset. There always has to be some kind of drama! I wonder what she wished for.

Well, I'm off to do some hybrid creating before I have to shower and pick the kids up from early release day. I'll be back tomorrow (I hope) with some projects for you all - finally!

OMG - I lasted a week Thud

2010-01-07T19:26:00.004-05:00

Three more days of taking pictures - it must be a record!!! he,he

Day 5 - Panini's!

I bought Jason and Katie a panini maker for Christmas. I wasn't sure how much they would use it but I really shouldn't have worried. We've used it pretty much every other day since it was opened. It's fun, fast and easy to make a sandwich and we are enjoying trying new fillings. This morning I made Katie two little ham and provolone sandwiches for her lunch with the little pieces of left over bread. I was really tempted to eat one of these for breakfast, but I held off in the name of my child needed a full stomach after lunch.

Day 6 - A New Haircut
After growing her hair out for quite some time. Katie decided it was time for a change with her hair - eeek! The last time she got her hair cut she complained for weeks it was too short. I was really nervous she wasn't going to like the cut she chose, but....she loves it and so do I.

So what do you think of the new Katie? Jason immediately said she looked older and he wasn't letting her out of the house. The days of boys calling is just around the corner - sigh! Where does the time go?

Day 7 - Brrr!
The cold snap in Florida continues. This morning we woke to a heavy layer of frost on the grass (well not in our yard because we don't really have any grass) and the cars. We had to scrape the frosty ice of the windshield of the car so I could see enough to drive. Of course every parent decided it would be a good day to drive their kid to school, with it being in the 30's I guess I can see why. In any event, we are looking at least another week of cold weather and hopefully our herbs and flowering plants will make it through. Thank goodness for heated seats in the car (well at least for the driver.)

Tomorrow night I'm off to a crop...yeah, I know...how old school. LOL! Hopefully I'll have some new hybrid creations to show off over the weekend. With the high only being projected at 39 for Saturday I don't think I'll be leaving the house. Watch out kids - I'll be after your Snuggies!

Picture Pages, Picture Pages....

2010-01-05T08:00:00.012-05:00

time to get your picture pages, time to get your crayons and your pencils. he,he Do you remember that song? You're old! ha! So am I. Wa!

Well Happy New Year! I told myself and several of my digiscrapping friends that this year I wasn't even going to attempt Project 365. I lied. I realized last night that I had taken a picture a day for 4 days in a row without even trying to I mine as well just see if I could keep it going awhile longer. My original goal was to take a picture a week and scrap about that one picture and everything that happened that week. For me that goal in and of itself is huge. So...instead of making a promise or resolution I'm just going to go with the flow and see where this whole Project 365 and Project 52 take me (hopefully not over Insanity Falls, I'm already on a boat headed that way with work and motherhood).

On the to the show....

This week's date markers are from a kit called Spring Anticipation by Karla Dudley coming the Digichick on Thursday, January 7th. She's also releasing 3 new Digital Element kits that are perfect little add ons for any page - check them out. I really like Karla's style (and no, she didn't pay me to say that - but I did get her stuff for free cause I'm on the Digichick CT.)

So what have we been up to...let's take a look and see.
January 1st - New Year's Day
Let's not talk about my sister's dog that stayed over night or my neighbors blaring salsa music - okay? Let's talk about a day in our PJ's, eatting yummy food, playing games and with Christmas toys, visiting with good friends and eating more yummy hubby smoked food (needed a little variety). The Gators won Tim Tebow's last game - it was a great day! My highlight of the day was Hannah taking her new Rescue Pet Swim To Me Puppy for a swim in the pool. Yeah, it was cold here by Florida standards, but that's okay - the puppy is plastic he won't catch a cold.

As you can see yo the left, Hannah was wearing her new favorite boots from Aunt Michelle, her Christmas PJ bottoms from mom and her Philly T-shirt inside out (no idea why). She is trying to fish her swimming puppy out of the pool without falling in. All while Olivia is watching from the swing on the patio. After the puppy was rescued from the chilly water Hannah wrapped him in a towel like any good mom would and snuggled him up. Thanks for the swimming puppy Grandma Sue - she loves it!
January 2nd - The coldest visit to Disney evah!
We met my parents at Hollywood Studios for a day of Disney fun. Hannah was chosen to announce the Voyage of the Little Mermaid before the show - she was nervous and a litte shy, but did a great job. Katie rode the Tower of Terror for the first time and loved it. In the evening my brother and his wife joined us so we could all go see the Osbourne Lights. It's always so nice to have the kids together and to spend some time with my sister-in-law. The picture of the day is of my girls and my two nephews. These cousins really don't get enough time together, but we were happy to enjoy the short visit we had on Saturday!

Janaury 3 - Another cold day at Disney

After a warm, hearty breakfast, we ventured out to Animal Kingdom with my parents. Katie was super excited to ride Exbidition Everest and even got Papa Ken to ride. :) We alternated between trying to stay warm inside by drinking hot chocolate and walking between rides. The picture of the day is of Katie and Hannah in front of a giant snowman in Dinosaur Land. We only made it until 3pm and then we had to head back home because it was so cold (even though we were thoroughly bundled - thanks mom!)

January 4 - Getting back to normal
The girls went back to school. Jason worked from home and I headed to work loathing the fact Jason was working from home (all snuggly and warm). I went and got my haircut after work (yes - I just updated my avatar last week with a new pic and now I look totally different). I came home to find Jason at the kitchen table trying to help both girls with their homework. No dishes done, no dinner cooking...grrr. So while I whipped up some dinner Hannah headed to the couch to do her reading for the night. So instead of a picture of my new hair cut you get a picture of Hannah and Cali snuggled on the couch just as it should be. Life is good!

The Perfect Little Box and lots of new things

2009-11-06T21:35:00.008-05:00

I came across the perfect box today - it's the most awesome size and will fit lots and lots of goodies for the holidays. I can see this decorated in all sorts of pretty papers for just about any occassion.

I used this adorable new kit called What I Like About Me designed by Traci Reed and Eva Kipler over at the Sweet Shoppe. It will be on sale today so go check it out!

I found the template for this cute little box here

Here are some closer shots of the project so you can get the full idea of what you can do with the project.

Now...what can you put inside? It was designed to fit an 8oz canning jar, but I can think of lots of other things that would fit inside like
- Yankee Candle Tarts
- A Small Yankee Candle Jar Candle and some hot cocoa or tea
- Fill it with lots of different kinds of teas
- A little kinz Webkinz would fit inside for a child's gift
- Homemade cookies
- A couple pair of fuzzy socks
- and much, much more!

Don't forget about all the Digital Scrapbook Day fun around the web! I'm hosting the Gallery Hunt Game over at Polka Dot Plum. I'd love it if you would come play along!

The Digichick is having a HUGE sale this weekend. There are some gorgeous kits over there including some kick butt grab bags for next to nothing. Here's what I played with this week.

Using the following:
Kelleigh Ratzlaff's Nov Grab Bag - 3 cool digital templates. I used the silhoutte box to create the project above.

We Can Build A Snowman by Elise and Michelle

A layout featuring a picture from our vacation.
Herbarium by ViVa Artistry

Lots of Digi Treats!!!

2009-10-30T05:45:00.005-04:00

Happy Halloween all you Digi Scrappers! Welcome to the Digichick Blog Hop. As promised I have my Digichick Freebie all ready for you to grab. I've created a small gable box featuring Golden Harvest by Mari K and Danielle E at the Digichick. The Gable Box Template is by Kelleigh Ratzlaff Designs at the Digichick. All the instructions you need are in the file. So download, print, cut, assemble and give to a friend!!! (Or hoard for yourself)The link is below.

Make sure you check out these other Digichick CT and Designer blogs for more freebies!!!
Tiffany
LuAnn
Cheryl
Mel
Kelley
Sinead
Tracy
Pam
Elise
Jill
Jacinda
Jenn
Kara
Heather
Juli
Mari
Julie
Linda
Dani
Cheryl
Kelleigh
ViVa
The Hybrid Chick

Don't forget that Polka Dot Plum is hosting their Halloween Party tonight at 8pm Eastern. Come join the fun!

Now here's your treat - Thank You Gable Box. Enjoy!

Getting Ready for Some Treats!

2009-10-29T08:06:00.005-04:00

I am back from vacation (which was incredible!) and I've been a frantic mess this week. Lots of projects due, a huge test I have to take a work, trying to get the house ready for a Halloween party on Saturday (who's insane idea was that?)...etc. Good news - I get an extra hour of sleep Saturday night and we have zero plans for Sunday - sounds like heaven to me!

I love Halloween (at least the cute stuff). This year there are lots of treats out there for you digi and hybrid scrappers! Come back tomorrow for a little treat here on my blog and make sure you check out The Hybrid Chick because the Digichick CT and the Designers are all handing out treats on their blogs!!! Free goodies for us moms!!! Woot! Woot!

There is going to be some fun things going on at Polka Dot Plum tomorrow too! Hope to "see" you there!

I'm joinging their site CT as a hybrid contributor(thanks for the invite Suzy!) on November 1st. So make sure you come over and say hi.

I have a super cute project for you that's perfect for Halloween. Meet my boy Drac...

Isn't he just adorable? I found the coffin box template here. All the directions you need to assemble are included. I was kind of surprised how thing the box was, but in the end it's perfect for just a little card and treat. Even a gift card would fit inside. :)

The kit I used is call Frankie and Jackie by Traci Reed at the Sweet Shoppe. I'm on Traci's CT and let me tell you... she packs her kits full of great stuff! It's a great kit for Halloween pictures and some last minute crafts (come on you have two days till Halloween).

Finally I'll leave you with some Fall layouts. There are so many adorable kits out there this year...you should go ahead and pick up a few and just take more pictures this year (he,he - scrapbooker rationalization can be fun!).

Pumpkin featuring Penny Springmann's A Little Kooky

Autumn Bliss featuring Golden Harvest Collab by Mari K and Danielle E at the Digichick

Ahoy Mates featuring Spooked by Zoe Pearn at the Sweet Shoppe

So come back tomorrow and get your freebie (I promise it will be a good one) and I'll have some more Fall/Halloween layouts and projects for you to enjoy.

Blog Hop Friday!!!!

2009-10-02T05:00:00.000-04:00

It's time for another blog hop with Kelleigh Ratzlaff Designs Creative Team. The team has been super busy all week working with 3 new templates being released this week.

I had the pleasure of working with two of Kelleigh's new templates this week, her Perfect Pumpking Templates and her Top Heavy Bag Template.

Acorn Box
Made using Kelleigh Ratzlaff’s Perfect Pumpkin Template and Life Has A Story Collab Chapter 1 – The Digichick. I used the medium sized template and I actually have this displayed just as photographed in my entry way because it's so stinkin' cute.

HINT: The trick with this box is to make sure you print the score lines on the box and take the time to score every line accurately so you get good crip folds.

No More Monsters Bag & Monster Spray
Made using Kelleigh's Top Heavy Bag and Traci Reed & Christy Lyle's Silly Willie being released at the Sweet Shoppe on Saturday 10/3 (you get a special sneak peek!)

Front of Box

Back of Box

Now the fun part! Hop on over to the following blogs. When you get to Kelleigh's blog leave a comment about your favorite project (go ahead and vote for me - I don't mind!) One lucky person will be drawn to win a free Perfect Pumpkin Template. Good luck!

- Tracy
- Julee
- Julie
- Christy
- Dana
- Sunghee
- Laura
- LuAnn
- Kelleigh

Hybrid Craziness!

2009-09-26T09:05:00.004-04:00

Fridays and Saturday mornings are always crazy for me. I work with three designers that release on Saturday at the Sweet Shoppe. Heaven and craziness all in one! Friday night dates with a glue stick instead of my hubby, heck I don't really mind.

So here's what I've been up to this week:

Traci Reed's - My 'Magination
Mini Composition Books - the perfect size for my purse!! Love it! I also love this fun and funky paper and the sayings in this kit.

To make the books I simply measured the size of the notebook plus about 1/4" around to have room to trim. The spine is a seperate piece that is about 1.5 to 2" wide. For the Reality notebook I used my new scalloped edge punch to dress it up.

Penny Springmann and MandaBean's - Anticipation
I just love this kit - the little tops and pants are just adorable. I think this would make an awesome shower theme. The finished product is 5"x7". Some cute little favors and cupcake toppers would be the perfect accompaniment to round out this party!

Eva Kipler and Lliella Designs - Ladies Night Out
Hybrid Gum Favors - what a fun thing to give out prior to a Bachelorette Party, Girls Night Out or a really fun birthday party. I'm thinking that after you use the gum you could use the wrapper as a cover for a mini album with pictures from the party. Hmm...going to have to try that!

So now that I've overworked my glue stick - it's time to do some calendar pages. Oh- it's going to be a fun day of college football and my computer. If only my computer was powered by the treadmill, maybe my diet would be doing better.

Happy Birthday Matchbox and a prize

2009-09-23T03:34:00.002-04:00

I'm participating in Kelleigh Ratzlaff's Blog Hop today - I'm so freakin' excited! Just to celebrate this fun occassion I tried out one of Kelleigh's new templates - Matchbox Template Set. This is the large version and it came together really quickly. I can see lots of potential for this box!!!

Here's my Happy Birthday version featuring Traci Reed's Happy Go Silly kit (Sweet Shoppe)

I simply used Kelleigh's easy template as a clipping mask to digitally cut out the box template from the brown bag paper. I then created a seperate accent rectangle for both the bottom box and the outside wrap. I printed all items on presentation paper and then used a paper trimmer to cut out. I used a piece of light green cardstock and my new scallop punch to create the green border for the wrap. The happy birthday to you circle was created in Photoshop Elements using pre-made circles and the alpha from Happy Go Silly. For assembly I simply used glue stick and double stick tape. Really - a cute project that can be done in little to no time!

Check out the Matchbox template at The Digichick. It's on sale for only $2.97 - what a steal!

I plan to tuck an I-tunes gift card inside so Katie (10) can give this to her BFF Erica for her birthday this weekend. Do you think this is cute enough to impress an eleven year old? I hope so...I wouldn't want to be the "uncool" mom!

Would you like to win a $10 Gift Certificate to Kelleigh Ratzlaff Designs? If so, go check out all of the Creative Team Member's projects, then head over to Kelleigh's blog and leave a comment. Tell Kelleigh which project you liked the best, or which project you can see yourself doing next.

Want another chance? Twitter about the blog hop and leave another comment on Kelleigh's blog! Facebook it, and leave another comment for another chance! Kelleigh will pick a winner by this Friday evening.

Kelleigh
Tracy
Julee
Julie
Christy
Dana
Sunghee

Some fun new hybrid stuff

2009-09-21T10:26:00.006-04:00

I've been on a "neglect my blog and make some hybrid goodies streak" recently. So...check out what I've been doing instead of actually writing on my blog.

Hannah's 7 Badge Book and Keep It Box
Featuring As Good As It Gets by Eva Kipler and Penny Springmann (Sweet Shoppe)

Brown Bagging It Hybrid Style
Check out Eva Kipler's Blog for instructions on how to make all three of these fabulous brown bag projects using Eva's awesome kits!

Perpetual Babysitter Note Board
Featuring Baby Steps by Traci Reed and Meghan Mullens (Sweet Shoppe)
I hear this might be a freebie on Traci Reed's blog this coming weekend *wink, wink*

Popsicle Thank You Cards
Full instructions on Penny Springmann's Blog - you know these are super simple and make you look brillant with other crafty moms!

As for some whitty comments and pics of the kiddos- maybe tomorrow, or maybe not. Depends how much time I get with my glue stick tonight! he, he

Come play with me!

2009-01-19T07:15:00.000-05:00

I'm hostessing the Digichick Sketch Challenge this week - Come join the fun!!!

This week I am bringing you a template based off a layout by one of the Digichick's new designers: Dawn Inskip. I just love Dawn's layout that features a week worth of Project 365 pictures.

Here's Dawn's Layout:

Here's a picture of this week's sketch:

Pick up your copy of a template of this week's sketch HERE.

So what else I have I been up to? Lots of layouts and projects for some new publications I'm working with. Here's some of my layouts from the last week. You can check out my main Digital Scrapbook Gallery here: Jubeefish's Gallery.

A Discount Shopper indeed!

2009-01-15T20:59:00.002-05:00

The Sweet Shoppe offered a challenge to find out what kind of shopper you are.

You Are a Discount Shopper

You love to get things as cheaply as possible. You live for sales.
It's partially because you like to save money, but it's also because you like the thrill of finding a fabulous deal.

Of all the types, you tend to shop frequently but rarely by. You keep an eye on prices.
Brand names are not that important to you. You know how to have style without collecting designer tags.

I really didn't need to take a test to know that I love the thrill of finding a great deal. Today I ran in to Target to look for more little metal mailboxes (there were 0) and ended up buying a really cool revolving photo holder for my new desk at work (can't wait to hybrid glam it up), Yahtzee Free For All (under $3), a gel cover for H's Didj, a game for the Didj ($7) and some new lunches boxes for me, H, and K. I didn't need any of it really - but it was an incredible deal. LOL!

Check this out for yourself - what kind of shopper are you?

Project 365 - 1/6 to 1/11

2009-01-14T06:00:00.000-05:00

I'm actually not doing to poorly in keeping up with a photo a day. Thank goodness for my daughter Katie- she helps me out in making sure I remember and in taking pictures for me. Now, I just need to teacher her how to edit photos and how to post to the blog and we'll be all set - HA!

1/6/09 It's Tuesday and it's time to go back to school. As you can see, Hannah, is not all too thrilled about having to go to school. At least she let me do her hair for her.

1/7/09 - Katie got up early and took a shower to do her hair. She's even checking it out in the mirror before she walks out the door (she's either loving the hair products I got her for Christmas or there is a new boyfriend she isn't tell us about.) hmmm

1/8/09 - I took a nice walk, the weather was so awesome I couldn't resist. I took a lot of pictures on my walk but I liked being able to see the dew on the grass and the potential for a beautiful day ahead.

1/9/09 - Date day! Jason took the day off from work and slept in after watching the Gators win the National Championship. We went to Dunedin and kayaked over to Caladesi Island. It was a beautiful day and other than the water being a bit cold (and me getting soaked) it was a fun time!

1/10/09 - We met my dad at Lowe's and picked up the girls after them making a time capsule. We headed off to Busch Gardens where I left the camera in the car. On the way home Katie remembered we needed to take a picture. Take a look at the dots on the ceiling of my car - that's what happens when you leave cans of soda in your car, in Florida, in the summer - explosion!!!

1/11/09- A fun trip down a very big hill for a little girl that was very brave!

The little days of the week tags I used came from this awesome kit
- Project 365 Embellishments by Sugarplum Papier at the Digichick

Mini Hybird Mailbox- plus a free template!

2009-01-13T10:07:00.002-05:00

I don't know about you but I totally heart the Target Dollar Spot! Last year I eyed these cute basic tin mailboxes and picked up one after Valentine's Day when they clearence out the Dollar Spot. I've been hanging on to it just to make a little something special for my family for Valentine's Day this year. When I saw that they had them again this year I was delighted and decided to clean out my "things to alter" drawer and whipped up this fun little project.

Here's my finished project from the flag side:

The front

The non-flag side

I used Nikki Beaudreau and Kitty Designs' new collab called Butterfly Girl available at Shabby Pickle Designs to create this project. Check this kit out today for 20% off!

Basic Directions:
Use the Free Template I am providing to you to create your mailbox cover designs.
1. On the long rectangular piece you will see there are two green lines and two black lines. You want to position your design for the sides of the mail box so that they are between these two lines. The green line is the base for each side. Don't forget to rotate your design and put the bottom of the design near the green line so that your design prints right side up for the mail box.

3. I provided two smaller rectangles to be used for the front and back of the mail box. All you need to do is to create your design to fit in the square. The same thing with the Flag piece. You can also duplicate the flag piece so that you have a decorative flag on both sides of the flag piece since you can see it from both sides. (I chose to keep it simple and only use one flag)

4. Print your designs out on your favorite type of paper. I would recommend presentation weight paper for this project, however, I used Glossy photo paper because it is what I had and it gives me the best color.

Assembly: The only thing tricky for assembling this project is getting around the flag pole. After trimming the long rectangular piece and wrapping it around my box (with no adhesive for a dry fit) I snipped where the flag needed to go once I got my position right. All I did was just cut in to where the flag hinge was and then cut a circle based on how big the hinge was. I then slid it in. You can see here the slit and how I tucked the paper in around the flag as much as possible. I would recommend trying this with a piece of scrap paper before you do it with your printed design.

For the front and back door pieces you will need to lay your front piece (that comes off of the mail box) down on the paper and trace on the wrong side. Trim inside the line for the perfect sized piece. Repeat with your back door piece.

Cut out the flag and adhere to the Flag pole. I tied on some ribbon and then used some Monoadhesive around the lip of the doors to adhere some more red ribbon.

That's it - not a hard project at all and you could definitely use up some paper scrapping supplies or stamp this project. It has endless possibilities!

If you give this project a try come back here and link me up so I can leave you some love and feel free to pass along the link to my blog to your friends who might like this project.

Juli

Cricut Creations and a New Gig with Vera!!!

2009-01-11T00:04:00.005-05:00

I got a big surprise gift from my mom for Christmas. A Cricut! I had lobbied for a Sizzix Big Shot and my DH told me no- didn't need it. My mom had no idea I even wanted a Sizzix, but saw the Circut infomercial late one night and thought I would enjoy it - lucky me!!! These are the first three cards I made with my Circut Create (the smaller machine).
These are from my all day card making session with my friend Kirsten. We played all day New Years Day with the machine while the guys watched football and the kids played. Heaven!!!
This uses the Paper Pups Cartridge and some Die Cuts With A View patterned paper. I got both that the fabulous Jo-Ann's clearance after Christmas.
This card also uses the Paper Pups Cartridge and the same DCWV paper pack. I used some SU! chalk to help color the dog.

I made this card with the Home Accents Solutions Cartridge that my mom got me as an eary birthday present. :) I used the same DCWV paper pack for accent and the cardstock is most likely Basil and SU!

Vera Lim's CT asked me to join them to be part of their Hybrid Blog Team. This is a really cool gig and I'm so honored to have been invited to join this very talented bunch of ladies. My first project for Vera was also my first ever Digi/Circut project.
A New Beginning Gift Card Bag and Card

I made a 4.75" Cricut Shopping Bag using Tags and Bags cartridge, out of cardstock first so I could measure the paper I cut from and the finished bag to determine the placement of my digital papers and elements. I made myself a little guide template to work from. I ended up being 1/8" off, but I think that was the way I placed the printed design on the Circut cutting mat versus the actual design. The card was designed to fit in the bag and hold a gift card.

This project features Vera Lim's newest kit being released on 1/12/09 at Shabby Pickle Designs.

I'm looking forward to coming up with more projects using my digiscrapping supplies and the Circut. I'm still getting the hang of using the Cricut - I think my 10 year old actually has it down better than me - figures!

Happy New Year! Project 365 has begun

2009-01-06T08:23:00.003-05:00

Well, I took a little unintended hiatus in December from blogging. Mostly because I starting working full time again and wanted to give it my all - plus with all the holiday stuff going on...it was crazy here!

I am back on the project train again...especially while I'm home this week and possibly next waiting for my background check to go through for my new job.

Here are my first 5 Project 365 photos and some little stories to go with them. :)

Day 1 - 1/1/09 New Years Day - our friends stayed the night with us NYE and then stayed all day New Years Day to play. The guys watched football all day, the women played with my new Cricut machine and the girls (3 of them) took turns playing together and playing in little groups. This shot is of Hannah and Olivia finding a way to play with water in the backyard (they were supposed to be playing bubbles)

Day 2 -1/2/09 Mommy, Daddy and Hannah day. Katie went and spent the day and night at her friend's house because we were supposed to be working on the old house all day. The plan changed and we spent Friday getting ready to work on the house on Saturday when my family could help us out. Mommy, Daddy and Hannah spent the day running errands and just enjoying each other. That night we got out the Wii Fit and had fun playing. This picture is of Hannah taking a Wii Fit break between games (she is so competitive and likes being first!)

Day 3 - 1/3/09 Clean up Day!!! We all went over to our old house and spent the day cleaning, painting, etc hoping to get a buyer for the house. Katie helped me out with the picture for this day - she is going to be my backup photographer for this challenge. So here is Hannah in the grass outside in the backyard near the lake.

Day 4 - Another Cleaning Day - Jason's old college roommate Mike asked to stay with us because he had a flight back home on Monday. So...more cleaning to get the house picked up and the girls' rooms back in order. It seems that instead of cleaning the girls were playing Hide & Seek - shhhh, don't tell mom (but take a picture)- yeah that's a good plan. LOL!

Day 5- 1/5/09 - Peace at last! The girls went off to camp, Jason went off to work, Mike went the airport and the house was quiet for the day (no TV, no music, no nothin'). I decided it was time to start putting away or at least rounding up the Christmas decorations. Here are my favorite decorations - my snowmen. I had to resist the urge to tell them to smile - hey wait, they are already smiling! LOL!

Well...I think this is a good start to the 365 Project, at least for me. Thank goodness Katie is going to help me out. Jason gave her my old Fuji digital camera after Christmas and made her buy herself batteries and she has to buy herself a camera bag if she wants to use it. Honestly, I'm excited to have it out for some quick pictures. Getting out my Sony with the big ol' lense takes a few minutes and I like to put it back right. With the Fuji it's just grab, go and shoot!

Off to make something fun with my digiscrapping supplies and my Cricut - I'll be back tomorrow with some pictures. :)

It's a Blog Carnival!

2008-12-14T19:49:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the December 15, 2008 edition of digital scrapbooking.

Kelly-Ann Halbert presents Designer Technique December 2008 (Something Blue Studios) posted at Hummie's World.

Kelly-Ann Halbert presents Blogtemplate 4 posted at Youandidigidesign by Fryske.

Tutorials
StarXLR8 presents Getting Started: Printing your digital scrapbooking pages posted at Simple Scrapper, saying, "One in a series of "Getting Started" tips for beginners!"

Andrew Edgington presents 10 Free Articles about Photoshop posted at AdobeArticles, saying, "Grab these 10 free articles about Photoshop Editing Tools."

Andrew Edgington presents Photoshop Elements for Photography Enthusiasts posted at Learn Adobe Elements, saying, "Simple Photoshop ELEMENTS Video Tutorials that will help you conquer Photoshop in no time at all. Take a look at their blog for a free sample video."

Andrew Edgington presents Tips for Zooming in on Your Subject posted at Learn Digital Photography Now, saying, "Tips on how to use a digital camera like a pro. An insider look at the latest digital cameras and in all, a great guide for digital photographers."

StarXLR8 presents Getting Started with Digital Scrapbooking posted at Simple Scrapper.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of digital scrapbooking using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Cards!

2008-11-21T12:55:00.003-05:00

I have some hybrid cards and another little hybrid goodie for you today. These were all made from the same 1 sheet of 8.5 x 11 cardstock like I talked about in yesterday's post.

Snowdrop Soup Cards
When I saw this adorable kit by Nikki Beaudreau at the Shabby Pickle I just knew I had to work with it! You can check out this awesome kit here. Nikki is releasing an add-on to the kit as part of the Pickle Barrell kit coming out soon. If you've never seen the Pickle Barrell kit - it rocks! It's mini kits from each of the awesome Shabby Pickle designers for a really low price. Make sure to check it out around Dec 1st.

To make these cards I simply made myself a little 3.9" x 3.9" template and designed the card front right on that template using drop shadows to make it look like the card is layered with goodies. When the card front was done I merged the layers and copied it over to my 8.5 x 11" canvas for printing. I used some 8x8 Die Cuts with a View papers and just cut them in half, folded and mounted the card front right on the card.

Up close of the owl card - I added some fun red trim by tying it around the card front to make it look more homemade.

Up close of the penquin card (part of the Add On kit) - I punched holes using a handheld Fiskars punch and then put silver brads in backwards so you could see the prongs holding the paper for a different look.

My next card features a cool kit called Mamma Joe by Tamara D at Scrappy Thoughts.

I answered a one kit call for Tamara and ended up getting to work with this awesome kit for her. She's a designer I didn't know yet and it was wonderful to get to use her product for the first time - Thanks Tamara!

A Cute little project for the holidays - Hybrid Wrapped Candles. I used the Snow Girly kit by Angie Kovacs at Elemental Scraps (which is down for a host move right now - more about some exciting things at Elemental Scraps next week) to make this adorable candle.

As you might be able to tell, this is one of those Glade candles for the holidays that I decorated. I'm going to be making a little box to put this in along with a few other things for Katie's Orff teacher for the holidays. I'll post a picture when I get the whole thing done.

To make this I just made strips like with the Robot Can and then made the front square out of a journaling box in the kit. I placed on the snowman so he overlapped the pink journaling box a bit for some interest and then used TK Peking Chicken Fingers font (Digichick) to type Warm Wishes. AGain - easy, peasy and looks impressive when you are done. I used hot glue to adhere to the glass jar.

I hope this gives you a few more ideas for the holidays! Not sure if I'll be here over the weekend or not. Katie has her 10th birthday party tomorrow night (a 4 friend sleepover) and then on Sunday we are having Thanksgiving with my side of the family at my parents' house. I'm also getting ready to host my first Thanksgiving in our new home for Jason's family (my parents and my sister are coming too!). Lots going on in the Fish house right now - just the way I love it!!!

New Projects

2008-11-20T14:14:00.003-05:00

Well...I am taking a break from Christmas ornaments. The chipboard and I didn't get along too well. LOL! So...I've been focusing on some little hybrid gifts for the holidays to give to teachers, neighbors, etc. You know, those people you just have to get something for, but can't afford to spend alot. What is better than a homemade, thoughtful gift?

Here are two cute ideas you can convert to any theme you want depending on the papers and elements you choose to go with it.

I made this using a little clear paint can I picked up at Target in the Stationery section. It had some little square gift cards in it (which will be tied together with ribbon and used in my teacher paint cans this year). I used Blast Off digital kit by Kasia Designs and Holly Designs at the Shabby Pickle to make this project.

Details: When I create hybrid projects like this I keep a 8.5 x 11" canvas open in Adobe Elements and as I create each piece I paste it on to the canvas for printing. To make this project I simply measure around the can and realized I would need two 1.25" wide strips of paper to make it around. I then measured the height of the can and designed the circle to fit on the front of the can to help cover one of the seams from the strip of paper going around the can. I chose a 2.5" circle as a template/clipping mask and cut the circle from my choice of paper. I added the star burst (reduced transparency) and the "I Love U a Bot". I created a 3" circle for the top of the lid and then a square tag that I cut to look like it had a unique angle. Everything was printed on glossy photo paper for a really crisp look.

Here is what my 8.5 x 11" canvas looked like for this project and the accent pieces for the one below (plus one more I still need to post). I print all this together and then just cut out and assemble the projects. It saves paper and in my mind ink.

Project #2 is another of Kelleigh Ratzlaff's Tall Boxes - I love these templates! This time I used Kasia's Beary Sweet Kit and a CMS oval cutter to cut a hole in the front of the box. I adhered some transparency inside and made the lid out of cardstock from my stash. The Bear and Ticket were printed with the project above on glossy paper and then adhered with some hot glue, which surprising gave them some dimension off the box. I love happy accidents!

On a non-scrapbooking note the girls and I had a fun night on Monday night. It's been a little cold here for Florida so I had Jason make a fire. Hannah got a yellow star for not following directions in school so she wasn't allowed to watch TV. She chose to put her little naked feet up on her sacred Pooh Blanket by the fire and sat and read a book. I couldn't believe it! So stinkin' sweet!

After dinner the girls and I made our first batch of Christmas cookies. We made Cherry Chocolate Blossoms. I really don't need to even help at this point because they both are really good bakers so I stood back and directed while they did all the work and they did a fabulous job (as long as they each had their own task). When all the balls were rolled and baking the girls enjoyed some dough and since this recipe is egg free no worries!

Here's what our cookies looked like when all was said and done. If you want the recipe shoot me a note in the comments and I'll post it if there is enough interest.

Day 2 - Hybrid Ornaments

2008-11-16T20:16:00.004-05:00

Today's ornaments feature box templates that have been scaled down to the perfect size to decorate the tree. The great thing about this type of hybrid ornament is that you can use any kit. Christmas themed or to match your favorite holiday color theme.

The first ornament features Kelleigh Ratzlaff's Tall Box Templates.

I simply used the box template and scaled it down and then decorated using Penny Springmann's Jolly Jingle kit that was just recently retired. To tie the ribbon on I punched a hole in the top and threaded through some ribbon - easy peasy! You make the project as easy or as hard as you want it to be by how decorated you make the box.

My second ornament features the Take Out Box Template by Kelleigh Ratzalff at Digichick, which I scaled down again.

For this ornament I used SaraAmarie and Mandabean's new kit Warm Noses and Toesies (Sweet Shoppe.)
The great thing about this template is that you don't need glue to hold the box together. I just used a silver brad on each side and then used some SU Wire to craft a handle that is attached to each brad. The other thing I did to make this box look more unique was alternate the papers in each section. So the sides where the brad is adhered shows the snowflake complimentary paper that matches the top.

For my final box template ornament I chose to use the Hershey Kiss box from Jersgirl's template site. She has lots of awesome templates on this site! For this one I didn't have to scale it down - I just expanded the template by copying it from the PDF file and pasting it into Elements and then resized to fit 8" across.

I used Zoe Pearn and Melissa Bennet's new kit Deck The Halls (Sweet Shoppe) to create this fun ornament.

These are super simple and you could fit two on a page easy. To attach the ribbon I just punched a hole in the top of each triangle and then assembled and tied on the ribbon. Again, easy peasy and cute as a button.

Tomorrow I have ornaments that use left over alphabet chipboard as the base for a hybrid ornament. Come back and see what's new!

Christmas Ornaments - Day 1

2008-11-14T19:39:00.003-05:00

I've been trying to make all different kinds of hybrid Christmas ornaments to help decorate our new house. Today's ornament features a great new kit call A Winter's Romance by the fabulous Kasia Designs at Shabby Pickle Designs.

I designed a small layout to fit in the square open space using Adobe Elements and then printed out on SU white cardstock. I cut out the square and adhered to the ornament by applying a thin layer of Mod Podge to both the ornament and the back side of the paper. I then smoothed out the paper and let it rest for a few days. To finish the project I simply put Mod Podge over the top of the paper (I did have some red in bleed but I think it makes it look a little more vintage.) Once dry I used a glue pen and some red glitter to finish off the sides. I tied on a irradescent bow and voila - a cute homemade ornament. It will look great on our red, light blue and silver tree.

Keep coming back. I'll have a new ornament for you each day until I run out of ideas. :)

Leapin' Lizards and a nifty Thanksgiving basket

2008-11-13T10:51:00.002-05:00
Yes, I said leapin' lizards and I'm not referring to the play Annie. We have two new residents in our house - lizards! Yesterday I noticed a small baby lizard in the kitchen and I sort of chased him out to the patio so he could find his way back out to the yard. Well not 20 minutes later I was in the pantry planning dinner and low and behold we seem to have a pantry lizard. I thought he was the lizard I chased out of the house - but no. I think this little guy has been living in the pantry for a few weeks now. He seems to like to sit on the snack bin (3 drawer plastic organizer) and check out the world. I'm thinking about naming him - or should I leave that to the girls?

Would you be freaked out? Yeah, well I'm kind of freaked out but at the same time, this is Florida and the weather has been nice to we keep the back door open for the cats to come and go a they please. I know these lizards are a gift from my dear cat Bella. You see Bella loves lizards! She isn't a normal cat that kills the lizard. No, she likes to play with the lizards. So she brings them in the house and tries to put them somewhere she thinks they won't escape like shoes (theres a gross story for another time) and boxes and apparently the pantry.

We also have a lizard living in our office. Since it's a UF Gator themed office I've been thinking of naming that one Tebow, but he seems pretty scared so I'm not sure that's the right name for him at all. Oh, the joys of living in Florida. (Thankfully none of the lizards have figured out how to climb the stairs, when they do I will NOT be so calm. A lizard in my bed - yikes!)

After my lizard expedition yesterday, I picked up the girls and we drove home the long way so we could talk about what they were wishing for from Santa (Hannah still believes) and what kind of things they want to do to celebrate the Holiday. Katie has a good list of things she wants, but it's not nearly as long as it usually is. Hannah as usual, has no clue what she wants. Whatever Katie says she just says "Oh yeah, I want that too." and then Katie huffs and puffs. Jason and I are going to go over the budget for Christmas tonight. This should be interesting! I've been able to buy pretty much what I wanted for three years now. Going back to a true budget and thinking creatively about what we are giving is going to some work. I think though that our kids and our family understand that we just invested a large sum in a new house and I lost my job (though still have contract work) so there just aren't going to be so many presents this year.

I've been working on ornaments for the trees which I'm planning on posting later this week. I still have some more to finish. Today I worked on a Thanksgiving project for Penny Springmann's CT.

I made this adorable little paper gift basket using Pennny's newest kit call Gobble, Gobble (being released at the re-opening of the Sweet Shoppe on Saturday).

I recently joined Papercrafter's Planet website, which has a ton of great stamping projects. I saw this cute basket and found a template and thought...I can do that with my digi supplies!

I started out with a free template from Mel Stampz Blog. I then copied the template into Elements and used the magnetic lasso tool around the black lines to create a digital template. Then I opened my background paper in it's own file and used the digital template as a clipping mask. I decorated the basket with digital elements and then printed it out on HP Glossy Photo paper. I cut it out, punched the holes as Melanie's blog suggested and tied the box together with some ribbon. The HP logos were showing on the inside so I just lined the basket with parchment paper and then filled it up with cookies. I'm planning on giving these to the other homeroom moms as a little "thanks" next week for Thanksgiving. I think it turned out pretty cute.

Here is a close up of the front and the sides.

I can see these little baskets sized down with little loaves of pound cake or the same size I made filled with votive candles and holder and a covered book of matches of a sweet hostess gift. No matter what you chose to fill this little basket with - I hope you'll give it a try and leave Melanie some love on her Blog to say thanks for the fabulous template and idea!

Have a blessed day!

A Crafty Kind of Sunday

2008-11-10T12:49:00.002-05:00
Yesterday was the day after our Housewarming party (which was a blast) and even though it was a gorgeous day out Jason and I hung around the house while the kids played inside and out. I got some projects done which felt good!

First I scrapped this page below for Angie Kovacs and Elemental Scrap’s Birthday Bash this week.

I used Angie's newest 12 x 12 templates that was released today called A Perfect Trio and a collab by Angie and Chrissy W (Elemental Scraps) called Lakehouse.

My second project was finishing Katie’s 10th Birthday Party invites. This started out with me telling Katie we should just buy some invites and get this done. Katie looked at the invites at the store and promptly told me they weren’t really want she wanted and that they were too expensive ($4 a pack). Good news is she’s getting the whole “we’re budgeting our money” thing. Bad news is she has no idea how long I take when I create things, but for my girls I’ll do anything no mater what! Here’s what we ended up with…5 totally adorable pillow box invites for a sleep over where I’m sure I’m not going to get any actual sleep.

I created the boxes last week using Kelleigh Ratzlaff’s Pillow Box Templates and I totally scrap lifted Luann‘s(Wildblueeyez) Hybrid Invites using Stop! Jammer Time from the Sweet Shoppe. Yesterday I created the actual invite and then did all the printing and cutting while we watched National Treasure. (Does anyone else remember what they were watching on TV or listening to when they created a project? Or is that a me thing?)

Here’s the actual invite I made, which went inside the pillow box.

If you like my project then please leave Luann some love HERE as I would never have gotten these done had it not been for her awesome project and the ability to scrap lift as needed. Here is her orignial version.
Luann my friend - you ROCK!

My final project was making 25 pins for Katie’s class. Today they are having a class presentation honoring those that serve in the military and veterans in honor of Veteran’s Day tomorrow. Katie has memorized a long poem about the Flag that she will be reciting. The class also has a person from each branch of the military coming to speak and they will be honoring all veterans that are no longer with us. It sounds like a pretty big production. My contribution was some mini bagels and cream cheese along with these simple pins.

These are super simple. I created the circle in Adobe Elements and then queued them up on a 8.5 x 11” sheet and printed on HP glossy photo paper for good color. Jason helped me punch them all out using my 1.5” hole punch. I had envisioned making ribbons using 1 ribbon that was red, white, and blue and then putting the circle in the middle. Well, Michael’s had other plans for me. I not only couldn’t find any red, white and blue striped ribbon but there were also no circle woodsies for me to mount on. I got crafty and picked up some of the skinny ribbon that was 5/$1 in red, white and blue and some pin backs. At home we had foam circles just the right size. I just hot glued the ribbon to the foam circle and then put the punched circle over that. I flipped them over and glued on the pin.

Hannah had a field trip today, but decided she wanted one to wear and offered to be my model this morning.

Now, off to stamp a thank you card and get started on a paint can project that I promise to share when it’s done.

It is November already?

2008-11-01T11:07:00.002-04:00
Happy the Day After Halloween!

Wow, I can’t believe how fast October flew by this year. I have to say that we had a blast. To start November off on the right note, I dutifully did my after Halloween shopping at Target this year and we are now full stocked on all sorts of plastic storage for the kitchen. This is kind of an annual tradition I have. I love to shop after the holidays and find things that are inexpensive that we can use all year. It certainly helps the budget!

The day before Halloween I finally got into the mood and had the girls help me decorate out front. I think this year is the first time we ever really decorated for Halloween - it was fun!

My sister came over earlier in the week and helped carve pumpkins. Didn't they turn out great?

The girls picked different costumes this year. Last year they were both pirates. Katie decided to be a witch (she’s been reading the Harry Potter series and is seriously into pretending magic and potions).

Hannah decided to be a Buc’s cheerleader and thanks to Katie’s friend Erica, we didn’t have to buy a costume for Hannah. Katie was sweet and did Hannah’s hair for her and Grandma Sue was here to tie in the ribbon.

I’m excited that our house warming party is in one week and boy do we have a lot to do - I hope I can get Jason off the couch to get some work done in the yard. The inside stuff I can do myself! Looking forward to the party I’m trying to finish up a little hybrid album to display with some recent pictures of the girls. Here’s the few pages I’ve made so far.

I used Julie Bullock's Tart n' Tangy (Shabby Pickle), Varsity Pewter Alpha from As You Wish Designs (Shabby Pickle), A Trip to the Zoo by Megan Fisher (Digichick)

I used Zoe Pearn's new Persimmon kit for this one.

I hope everyone has a great weekend - it's time for me to go clean. Bleh!

Fall Projects - Hybrid Boxes

2008-10-28T05:54:00.008-04:00
I'm totally excited that Kelleigh Ratzlaff agreed to let me me on her CT. (Yeah, I stalked her until she said yes. LOL!) She makes the most amazing hybrid box and card templates and she herself is one kick butt hybrid scrapper. I realized as I'm posting my projects that others in the digi community are asking questions about how the templates work and I'm sure they are worried that they are going to buy the template and not be sure what to do with it -soooo here's a bunch of projects and tips using Kelleigh's awesome boxes.

The Owl Boxes - A take out box on the left and a pillow box on the right.

TIP: The pillow box is super easy to make, the true trick is making sure your score lines follow the guides. To make it so you don't have to print the guides on your project I highly suggest printing the guide/scoring lines on plain white copy paper in black. Before scoring I place my guide sheet over my project making sure that everything lines up. Then I press hard while I score my lines and I score through both the copy paper and the paper I printed my finish box on. Easy as pie!

TIP: For the Take Out Box the first time I made it I pasted the flaps inside the box rather than outside. This gives the box a totally different look as you can see below. You can do it either way depending on the look you want. I have to say though that the box is much easier to construct if you put the flaps on the outside. I held the box together by using my Crop-a-dile to punch a hole in the side of the box where the two flaps overlap and then used a simple gold star brad to hold all the layers together. This is so much easier then trying to glue it together. Here's my ooops box.

TIP: The size of the box is adjustable, so unlike the plastic templates you buy to make with traditional scrapbook paper, you can alter the size. If you have access to large format printer this means you can make really big boxes. For the rest of us with normal ink jet printers it means that we can make cute little boxes. Just remember that if you use the first tip and then you re-size your box you'll need a new folding template. I high suggest some kind of file to keep your scoring templates in so you don't have to reprint each time you make a project.
Speaking of re-sized boxes here's a project where I used the Fancy Bags template and reduced the size of the template and then duplicated the layer so I had two bags on one piece of standard cardstock. I used two different digi kits to make the bags so I had to different finished projects. (I actually printed these little bags on standard copy paper to make it easier to fold them.)

Little Hybrid Fancy Bags (That is an espresso cup)

Regular Sized Fancy Bag (sorry I didn't leave anything to show scale)

TIP: My only tip for the fancy bags is if you make smaller bags use the lighter weight paper, but make sure you don't score right through the paper like I did on a few samples. Also, don't be afraid to really decorate them up.

My favorite template so far as been the Tall Box Template. I find these templates so easy to customize and make the most adorable boxes. Plus, I used the HP Laser Printer at my old job to print most of these and the color turned out incredible! I did print these on cardstock and so you are aware the top prints on a separate sheet from the bottom.

TIP: When printing multiple Tall Boxes group the tops together on one 8.5" x 11" sheet so that you don't waste paper. Also, decorate up the lid, there is plenty of room to play up there on the top section. Just make sure you take a look at the guide to see how far in the score marks go.

TIP: While you are decorating up the top with digital embellishments you can also make yourself an easy to print tag to add to your box. The ideas are endless on how you can use this template!

Here are some of my samples using Kelleigh's Tall Box Templates

Think outside, or rather inside, the box with what you can do with these templates. You can make all sorts of different little gift containers for the holidays or little treat bags for Thanksgiving, the choir, teachers, neighbors, etc. I'd love to see what you made using any kind of box template and digital papers, or if you're a traditional scrapper for that matter. The fact is that I love paper and love to make little things with paper so link me up in the comments to your favorite box project for some inspiration.

If you'd like to check out Kelleigh's templates you can see them at the Digichick
http://www.thedigichick.com/shop/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=72&catid=268&dsefu=off

Have a great day!

A "Fresh" Start

2008-10-27T10:22:00.002-04:00

Since I'm home looking for a new job I thought I'd freshen things up a bit around here and really make this blog my own. So, thanks to the fabulous Zoe Pearn (who's CT I've been on for the last 2 years) I got myself a nice looking blog. Check out Zoe's awesome designs at the Sweet Shoppe!

Over the weekend we did our annual trip to the Boy Scout Pumpking Patch for pictures. Last year I forgot my compact flash card and didn't get any pictures (for which I was very peeved!). This year Jason declined to join us (gee, I wonder why) and the girls and I set out for what ended up being a fun trip. After explaining to the girls that the whole point of this trip was to get some really good pictures for Christmas presents this year and that it would save us some money those two little stinkers surprised me and cooperated fully. (Yeah, I nearly fainted right there in patch. LOL!) At first they were a little stiff, but as soon as I let them climb up on the hay stacks and jump off they were good to go.

Here's how some of the editted shots turned out:

I've also been a crafty little bee this morning and decided to give Arts Cow a whirl and see how their free credits work. I have to be honest that the shipping prices are a bit high, but really it's comparable with Shutterfly when all is said and done. I ended up making myself a 8x8 photo book of our recent Bahamas Cruise, 2 decks of playing cards (for Jason's side of the family) and 2 round ornaments. Here is what the artwork for the ornaments looks like

I can't wait to see how they turn out! If you'd like to check out Arts Cow's fabulous free credits for photo gifts go to ARTS COW from here and get 3, yes I said 3! FREE 8x8 photo books and 1200 FREE prints, you only pay for shipping! Also, check out thier forums. There are lots of people who give away their unused photo gift credits which makes for a terrific opportunity to make lots of great gifts cheap.

Check back later today for some fall projects I'm working on.

Just another day...

2006-05-05T06:44:00.000-04:00
Well, I should be getting ready for work but instead I'm updating my blog. Things have been absolutely crazy at work lately. I've been through four temps and had a to fire my only employee a week and a half after she started.

At home things are good. I can't believe the school year is winding down already. Katie has an Art Show tonight and her dance recital next week. Two weeks after that she's done with first grade. Ack! I'm getting old!

I've been getting lots of scrapping done and I'm looking forward to National Scrapbook Day tomorrow and participating in lots of online crops.

That's the update from around here - at least until I can figure out how to post some layouts I'm working on. LOL!

Happy Cinco De Mayo - translation - Drink lots of Margaritas today :)

Juli

A new journey

2006-04-25T21:29:00.000-04:00
I can't believe I've finally gotten into the "blog" thing. Is my life really that entertaining - well on days like today - YES!

My goal for this blog is to make it a fun place for my family, friends and digiscrapping friends to visit and keep up to date with what crazy things are going on in my life. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Welcome...make yourself at home!
Juli