4th of July decorating

Hi Everyone! Can you believe tomorrow is July 1st?? I can't believe how fast this year is flying by. Do you have any big plans for the holiday weekend? My little town celebrates on the 3rd...fireworks, picnics, the whole shebang on the 3rd. It's actually really cool because we can spend the 3rd with friends and then spend the 4th with family. It's a win-win.

If you are looking for something to spice up your celebration, you could always make these paper firecrackers...

I made these for PSA Essentials and used a really fun flag heart stamp to make some hanging tags to coordinate. The stamp is from the Peel and Stick Country Home set.

Did you know PSA Essentials also has alphabet stamps? The big 4 is from their Vanilla set. 

 

Here is a closeup of the rockets. The base is a rectangle that is folded into a cylinder. The top is a circle that I cut off 1/4 of the circle and then formed a cone. I held everything together with my hot glue gun. String some matching twine or string through the top of the cones and secure with hot glue gun. There you have it, paper firecrackers! So much safer than the real thing, unless you burn yourself with the glue gun...

 

Do you decorate for 4th of July? Will you be making any festive decorations or baking any red, white and blue goodies? Happy almost July everyone!

Sending Sunshine

I had a chance to play with some Hometown Summer papers by Pink Paislee and I fell in love. The colors are right up my alley. I love their 6x6 paper pads, they are perfect for cards. And I also used some punchout die tags for the cards and really loved them, too. Just love, love, love!! LOL!!



I used a journaling diecut for the front of the card and just added on from there. Had to sneak in some baker's twine, you know...

Here's another one using the green papers in the paper pad. Love the green and orange together!

More twine, a tied bow, some Thickers...

 Isn't that orange soda diecut cute????

I think this is the first time I used big journaling cards and diecuts for a card and I like how they add so much, without too much effort. Gotta love that.

I want to know, do you enjoy making cards? Ever used diecuts or journaling cards on your cards? Or do you prefer to use them for layouts?

Thanks for stopping by today!

Giant Smores Cookies

The shape of a cookie, the taste of a s'more. What could be better than that?

 

Chocolate chip cookies, graham crackers and marshmallows melted on top. Be still my s'mores loving heart!

 

These were a fun alternative to regular cookies and I got to clear my pantry out of almost-going-stale graham crackers and a half-full bag of marshmallows. Win-win.

These are super easy to make. Just make your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. I used a big ice cream scoop to put balls of dough on an ungreased cookie sheet. Press the balls down with the bottom of a glass so they are sorta flattened out. Press on pieces of graham crakers and mini marshmallow. Bake and then enjoy!!

Thanks for stopping by today!! Happy Monday, everyone!

 

Oh Hello Summertime!

Ah, summertime. Sweet summertime!! Even though I don't get the whole summer off with my kids, I still love it. I love to see their sunburned cheeks from playing at the pool all day, love to see faces stained with cherry popsicles and love the easier pace of the summer. No soccer practice, no baseball, no homework. What could be better?

I was super excited to grab some of the new Bo Bunny Barefoot & Bliss papers from Scrapbook Express. They are awesome papers for scrapping summer!!!

This photo is from two summers ago and I actually scrapped it once before. And hated the layout. So I'm trying again and i'm much happier with this one! The colors of these papers are amazing and I love all fun matching chipboard embellies.

Cute little sand bucket and I love this sun!

I also overlapped the Thickers a bit for the title and of course, baker's twine. My lovely addiction. At least baker's twine is no calories, can't say that for peanut butter cups.

What do you love about summer? Has summer come to you yet? Hope you have a great summery weekend, friends!

A Challenge Bow

Over at Citrus Tree Studio, we have challenges every month. My challenge this month was to make a bow and use it on a project. Easy peasy, right??

I used the June kit for this card. Here is a quick tutorial for the bow:

1. Cut 2 strips of double sided patterned paper 0.75 inch x 4 inches.
2. Cut 2 strips of double sided patterned paper 0.75 inch x 3 inches.
3. Double over all 4 strips of paper on themselves to make a loop. Hold the loop ends together with strong adhesive.
4. Layer the two loops on top of each other.
5. Cut another piece of paper 1/2 inch x 3 inches. Wrap around the middle of your bow.
6. Embellish the middle of your bow (if desired).

You can make whatever kind of bow you want for the challenge, but this was quick and easy and I used up some scraps that I didn't want to throw away. It was a win-win!

Hope to see you over on the CTS Message Board! Thanks for stopping by...

Birthday Photos

 Every year on my children's birthdays, I take their photo. It doesn't matter if their party is that day or if we are hiking on Mt. Everest, I take their photo. They get to pick what they are wearing, where they stand, all those details are up to them. My goal is to make an album for them with one birthday  layout for each year. They will get it when they get married or move out or graduate from college or some other milestone in their lives. I love letting them pick where the photo is because it gives me a good idea of what they are into at that time.

Last year, my daughter picked our backyard for her photos. Her and Kevin spend hours in the backyard just playing away. We took tons of pictures and her hair was a total mess but I just let it be like that...because it was her photo shoot.

I used the Ladybug Garden collection from Doodlebug for this layout. I loved the scalloped paper and the cute little ladybugs!!

I also added a doily and some ribbon for a fun photo corner.

And love all the matching Doodlebug gems!!!

 I hope you are having a great week so far! Happy Tuesday and thanks for stopping by!!

More and more cards

Happy Saturday everyone!! We are headed out in a bit for a fun day (I hope) of cherry picking at some local orchards. I am hoping to take lots of photos!! I have a few more cards to share today. These were made using the June kit from Citrus Tree Studio.

For this card, I played up all the beautiful greens in the kit:


The little chipboard circles are great for cards!!



And these rolled flowers are easy to make and add some great dimension.



And one more card featuring those big beautiful butterflies in the kit. I just couldn't resist making another card with them.



Hello Butterfly!!


I hope you're having a great weekend so far. Any big plans for Father's Day tomorrow?????

Thanks for stopping by!

Let's Party...It's Your Birthday

So, it's not my birthday but I do think that you can never have too many birthday cards in your card stash. I always need a card at the last possible second and i'm glad I have some I can just grab, sign, and go!


Yeah, cupcakes!!! I used the Peel & Stick Whimsy Cakes stamps from PSA Essentials. I'm still a tad bit scared of coloring, so the cupcakes remain naked and black and white. I think the black swirl gives it a bit of dressing up, though!

Another party card...


Drink umbrellas!! These are from the Peel & Stick Life's A Beach set from PSA Essentials. Again, naked. No coloring. I think I need to just buy some Copic markers and get it over with.

Please tell me how much you love your Copic markers and how I need to invest in them. And then come over to give me coloring lessons. Thank you. Hee hee!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Chocolate Dipped Frozen Bananas...on a stick

These might be the easiest treat ever. They are semi-healthy, easy for kids to assemble, and they were pretty darn tasty as well. And everything tastes better on a stick.


What you will need:

1. Bananas
2. Sticks
3. Chocolate (1 bag chocolate chips)
4. Stuff for dipping
5. Wax paper

-Cut bananas in half. Place on wax paper on a plate or cookie sheet. Freeze for at least 4 hours.
-Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler on the stove. Add 1 tbsp shortening if you want to thin out the melted chocolate.
-Bring the bananas out of the freezer. Dip in chocolate, then roll or sprinkle with desired toppings.
-Put back in freezer until chocolate sets.
-Fight over the best bananas with the most sprinkles or nuts. Don't let up until you win.

We used chopped cashews, white and colored sprinkles for toppings.


Want to know the ones we fought over? The cashews. Delicious.

The frozen banana seriously tastes like ice cream, it's so smooth and creamy. Take them out of the freezer for a few minutes before eating, they really are rock hard coming out. These were a fun afternoon activity for us and a great semi-healthy treat. Until my kids starting throwing out other topping ideas...chopped oreos, mini M&M's, twix bars, peanut butter cups (okay, that last one was my idea). We might have to try some of these ideas in the future!

Thanks for stopping by today!!

Want 2 Scrap Blog Hop Today!!

Hi Everyone!! Today is the day for the Want 2 Scrap and PSA Essential Blog hop!!! You should have come from Kim Moreno's blog. If not, please go to the PSA Stamp Camp blog to get all the details.

Want to know what you can win?

PSA Essentials is giving away one stamper and one Peel & Stick pack of your choice.
Want 2 Scrap is giving away a $35 gift card to their store

Want to know how you can win?

· Be a follower of PSA Stamp Camp Blog & Comment – 1 entry

· Be a follower of Want2Scrap Blog & comment - 1 entry

· Winner will be chosen on 6/16 and announced on Facebook

ALSO...Want 2 Scrap is giving 30% off your entire purchase through June 23rd. AND You can get PSA Essential stamps from The Paper Clique, who is offering 30% off through June 23rd. Just use code psahop30. These are amazing deals you will want to take advantage of!

Now, on to my projects. My first card is using a Smirk Peel & Stick stamp from PSA from their Martini Minx pack AND some great bling gems from Want 2 Scrap.


I also love these big swirls from Want 2 Scrap, they add such a great touch!


And one more card. This time I paired some orange gems with a stamp from the Frenchie collection from PSA.

Line up that bling!!

I hope you enjoyed my projects. You will now want to go to Terre Fry's blog at Terre's Scrap Therapy. Enjoy the hop!!

Citrus Tree Studio June Kit

Happy Saturday everyone!! I am so excited to be designing for Citrus Tree Studio! They have great monthly kits and a great friendly message board. Here is the June kit that I got to design with...Jardin Brilliante.

It's a gorgeous mix of papers and look at those butterflies. So pretty! Here is my first layout.

I took this photo of Kayla in our backyard over a year ago and i've just been waiting to scrap it. So many fun details in this kit...chipboard words and puffy letter stickers...


Fun chipboard embellies from GCD Studios...


And here's a card showcasing one of those beautiful butterflies!

Come on over to Citrus Tree Studios, check out the kit, and stay and chat a while. We have challenges going on all month, too. Wheeee!!!!!!

Thanks for stopping by today!

The Twinery and PSA Blog Hop!!!

Hi Everyone!!! Welcome to The Twinery and PSA Blog Hop! There is an amazing lineup of talented designers contributing to this blog hop, 27 designers in total! It started Monday and will continue through Friday. You don't want to miss any of it.

Here is the BIG Giveaway...

· Dates of entry are 6/6 at 12:01 AM EST to SUNDAY 6/12 at 11:59 EST.

· PSA Essentials is giving away: 1 stamper, 3 Peel & Stick packs of winners choice

· The Letter Tree is giving away 1 monogrammed tote bag

The Twinery is giving away Six spools of twine of winner's choice

***PSAHOP15 is the code for 15% off any order from June 6-10 only***

· Conditions to enter the giveaway:

**Visit 5-6 blogs each day on the hop (27 blogs in all = one entry) and leave a comment on each blog.

You’ll have until Sunday, June 12th to complete the hop. Winners will be announced on the PSA Essentials and Twinery Facebook pages.

**Become a follower of The Twinery

**Become a follower of PSA Stamp Camp

**Like BOTH companies on Facebook

ALSO, The Letter Tree is giving you 30% all PSA Essential products through Sunday. Go check them out!

Please visit the PSA Stamp Camp to see a list of ALL the designers partipating in the hop. Find some time to visit them all, you will definitely be inspired!

Okay...on to my project! There is no denying my **LOVE** of Baker's Twine from The Twinery and I was thrilled to be able to pair it with some cutie stamps from PSA!

My favorite thing to do with twine is dress up buttons and just layer it around paper. It adds some fun texture and dimension. And with so many colors to chose from, there is always twine to match.


I cut this bag using my SCAL for the Cricut and used papers to match my card. This will be a nice gift set for a girlfriend. The stamps are from the Smirk Caffeine Confidants Peel and Stick pack. The Smirk images are just too cute.

Do you want some more PSA Essentials and Twinery inspiration? Please hop over to Sheri's Blog to continue on hopping. Have fun, be inspired, and good luck!!

June Crop Suey!

Happy Monday!! I just had one crazy busy weekend. The kids finished school on Friday and there were pool parties, baseball practice, a playoff baseball game for my son (which he won!), a 40th Birthday Party for a good friend, a sleepover for my kids and another birthday party. I was asleep early on Sunday night. I am looking forward to things slowing down a bit with school being out and summer getting started.

Which leads me to the June Crop Suey Challenge...SUMMER!! What do you think of when you hear 'summer'? That's what you're supposed to scrap about!


We went to the beach in Maine last summer and it sure was different on the east coast vs. the west coast. We went on a cold, cloudy day but had fun exploring. I used some bright Jillibean Soup papers to counter the dreary photos. I loved this little suns on their paper I cut out.

I used alot of my stash on this layout. I found these cute felt beach embellies by Queen & Co and these felt flowers.


Maya road envie, big black brads, black ribbon...lots of stash!


So if you are ready for some summer and feel like scrapping it...Come join us at Crop Suey this month! Thanks for stopping by!