Cropadial Designs

Wedding Invitations: Alyth

2011-09-05T21:08:00.000-07:00

Alyth's Invitation Details

State: Virginia
Final Folded Size: 5 3/4x5 3/4
Details: Her wedding colors were burgundy and gold with a circle theme. For hers, we took the sample of Deb's she found on my blog and incorporated her themes to it. When the card opened up, there were four sides, I just don't have a scanner big enough to see all of them. They also came with a gold RSVP card that sat inside.(The scanner does not do it justice, they are very impressive in real life.)

September Card Club

2011-09-05T21:00:00.000-07:00

Monday, September 12 at 4:30 at school in the media center

Wednesday, September 14 at 7:00 at my house

Hope to see you there!

Christmas in July Special!

2011-07-31T18:56:00.000-07:00

From now until August 15th, "pre-order" your Christmas digital design ($25) and you will get a free digital design to use any time you want over the next year for any event (invitation, announcement, birthday, shower, holiday, etc!). Both digital designs are completely custom to your liking!

Summer Cleaning Card Special!!!!!

2011-07-09T17:50:00.000-07:00

I just spent all day cleaning my house inside and out. I'm trying to have a clutter free house before I head back to school in a week and realized that I need to find some happy homes for some of my cards.

For $12 I will mail you 10 of my handmade, fabulously wonderful cards! That is $1.20 a card! (We all know how much boring store bought cards cost...)

If you're local, and can come to my house to get your cards or I work with you and could bring them to school (hint,hint) then you can get 10 cards for $10!

If you're interested tell me what themes you would like and I'll get them on their way to you ASAP!

I'm offering this deal until I run out of cards, so hurry before they're all gone...

Facebook Drawing #2

2011-07-04T17:55:00.000-07:00

When I hit 100 fans on Facebook, I did a drawing for a custom digital design ($25 value). My winner, Carrie Rice of CA, decided to have me design an invitation for her daughter's 1st birthday party next month. It was a lot of fun to make because she gave me the information, her colors and theme and then let me run with it. I think it turned out great!

Facebook Drawing #1

2011-06-29T17:50:00.000-07:00

I did a drawing for my first 50 fans on Facebook. My winner, Jeanne' Mason, of AZ won 5 handmade cards! Well, you see, I'm really generous and instead sent her 12! Here's what she got. If you want to be part of future giveaways, become a fan of Cropadial Designs on Facebook!

Card Swap Cards

2011-06-26T20:39:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun making these cards for the Scrapbooks Etc card swaps next month. They told me what lines of paper to use, but otherwise they are 100% my designs!

Baby's 1 Year Scrapbook

2011-03-13T15:43:00.000-07:00

I'm glad he's held off coming long enough so I could finish this. Yippee! (of course, the pictures do not do it justice) Now, if I could have just a few more days to get a baby book made...

So, I'm nesting....

2011-02-26T21:13:00.000-08:00

I learned how to make these adorable baby girl ruffle-bum onesies a few years ago and I finally had some friends to make them for! Didn't they turn out cute?

I found out how to make these burp rags on a blog- right now, I can't even remember which blog, but she had lots of really cute baby projects on it. All you need is flannel fabric and some batting. I made some for my aunt and used some flannel receiving blankets. They turned out cute too! (The bottom fabric is the backside of a quilt my mom made for the little guy.)

Now, I just need to take pictures of the baby carrier cover I made. I also made a diaper clutch, but it isn't too exciting...

Paisley Cricut Card Challenge

2011-02-23T09:50:00.000-08:00

So I've followed Two Scraptastic Gals for a few months and watched the challenges and thought it would be fun to participate, but never did. Since I was Cricuting last night, it didn't take much more to just make another card for their challenge this week. (It also helped that my sister Mindy had the cartridge!)

So the challenge was to use the Paisley cartridge on a card. And since the baby's arrival might be THIS VERY WEEKEND!!!! I've been in a pretty big baby mood- hence, the baby card. This was another card made a lot easier by using the Gypsy and a bunch of scraps.

Cards by the Cricut

2011-02-23T09:45:00.000-08:00

One of my resolutions this year is to use my Cricut a whole lot more. My mom got me the Gypsy for Christmas (who could resist all those $100 deals?!?!), so I've been using that some too. (I've found it helps when the baby is sick of me sitting up, so I can relocate to the recliner and plan my mat before I cut without the back pain.) These four cards were for an Easter card swap on swap-bot. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out.

I used Gypsy Wanderings for this one. It really has an odd mix of images- holidays and then general stuff like keys and hearts and stars and stuff. I wish I had a box for it so I could see them all rather than on that tiny little Gypsy screen!

I didn't even use my Cricut for this one, just my Cuttlebug and favorite Stampin Up die. There was a card like this on the cover of Papercrafts this month, so that's where I got my inspiration.

I used Celebrate with Flourishes for this card. I love that cartridge, but it drives me crazy how every image has four colors in it! But with the help of the gypsy and a bunch of paper scraps it wasn't too bad.

I can't remember for sure, but I think I used Just Because Cards for this little chick and Mini Monograms for the scallop circle. Let me tell you that getting those words to print on my computer to match with the card was quite the undertaking! I'm rather proud of myself to see it worked out.

February Scrapbook Club

2011-02-01T19:42:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, February 9

7:00 pm

Baby Book

2011-01-06T20:43:00.000-08:00

So, I made this first year baby book for my friend last year when she had her daughter. I never did take pictures, so I asked her to bring it to Thanksgiving dinner so I could snap some photos for my portfolio. I loved it before I gave it to her, but with photos in it- Dang! It was even better!

Guest Book: Mindy

2011-01-06T20:28:00.000-08:00

Mindy's Guest Book Details

Size: 12x12
Photos: 4x6 engagement photos
Colors: Fuschia, orange and deep purple
Layouts: 2 page layouts- room for signing on both pages

A few digital projects

2011-01-06T20:10:00.000-08:00

Both of these were printed with Costco's lovely 6x7 1/2 size photo card. The best price for anything of its type on the market- and they come with envelopes! What more could a girl want?!?!

Angie found this quote online and asked me to put something together for her. I was so happy to use my all time favorite wedding photo of hers with it too!

These were Maria's save the dates. I gave her about five options, but I'm pretty sure this is the one she ended up printing and sending out. I love their photo on the left!

If you'd like to check out our personal digital photo card, you'll have to head over to the family blog....

Wedding Invitation: Maria

2011-01-06T20:04:00.000-08:00

Maria's Invitation Details

Final Folded Size: 5.5x4.25 (basic A2 size)
Details: On the right inside there was a pocket that contained the RSVP envelope and card. (This might be, quite possibly, the worst photo I have ever taken of anything.)

Wedding Invitation: Deb

2011-01-06T19:59:00.000-08:00

Deb's Invitation Details

Final Folded Size: 6x6
Details: The card "unfolds" to have the information on the inside.

Her wedding was four days before Christmas, so she wanted to tie in the red and gold of the holidays.

January 2011 Club

2011-01-06T19:26:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, January 12 @ 7:00 pm

Gifts

2010-12-25T19:27:00.000-08:00

The reason I haven't been posting for a few months is I've been working hard! When the budget is tight, the scrapper makes all her gifts. Here are some of my highlights. (Keep in my I sew and scrap better than I take photos...)

So my neices and sister-in-law got holiday aprons. It was easier to make an adult size one than downsize it for little tiny waists, especially since my growing waist wasn't much help. I find that half aprons aren't about the purpose of an apron, but rather are about looking cute!

I signed up for a swap on "Faces of Loss, Faces of Hope" and was matched up with a sweet woman from Mesa who lost a baby girl only a few weeks before I lost JJ. Yellow butterflies remind her of her angel baby, so I made her a butterfly wreath. It turned out beautifully!

A few of my friends got this really cool purse I made. Originally I was hoping it would be large enough for my scrapping friends to use it when they went to a crop or something, but I'm still not good at that whole "size" thing while sewing. So it actually turned out to be more of a bag/large purse. I found out how to make the cool flowers online and have been addicted every since.

Publish Post

Some of my other gifts that didn't get photographed before being given were:

A Christmasy Kitchen Aid "dress" for my mother in law.
A digital calendar featuring US golf courses for my dad.
A digital calendar for my mom, sister and aunt.
A honeymoon scrapbook for my sister.

December Club

2010-11-13T20:19:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, December 1 @ 7:00

November Club

2010-11-13T20:16:00.000-08:00

After a few months of serious computer and internet problems, I'm back to a functioning scanner and access to the rest of the world! (However, I lost my stitching software, so I had to do it myself in PSE and I'm not too good at it yet, but you get the idea.) Here are the photos for November's club. Wednesday, November 17 @ 7:00 at my house.

Wedding Invitations: Natalie

2010-07-16T16:32:00.000-07:00

Natalie's Invitation Details

Final Folded Size: 4x6
Details: That is a bow along the side, that is a rhinestone on the "medallion," their wedding website was printed on the back so guests could get more information

Natalie brought me an invitation and had me recreate it- this is where I learned I could do that.

Wedding Invitations: Terry

2010-07-16T16:29:00.000-07:00

Terry's Invitation Details

Final Folded Size: 5x7
Details: The toole could not be tied until right before the invitations were mailed out

Okay, I don't have an actual picture of Terry's final invitation, I forgot to hold onto one- but it looks like this one only light teal and light pink as the colors.

Terry also had me do Save the Dates- I can do those too!

Terry's Save the Dates Details

Final Folded Size: 3 3/4 x 8
Details: They were mailed out with wallet size photo

Wedding Invitations

2010-07-16T16:24:00.000-07:00

I also do wedding invitations! I have a bunch of samples you can look at to get ideas, but I have proven to the last few brides that pretty much anything you want- I can make work.

Don't be afraid of the cost, because my invitations are actually pretty comparable to what you would pay a company for your invitations and mine are much more personal.

I like to have at least a month to make your invitations and before that, it usually takes a few weeks to finalize your invitation. So plan for at least two months to get your order taken care of.

Guest Books: Angie

2010-07-11T07:15:00.000-07:00

Angie's Guest Book Details

Size: 12x12
Photos: 5x7 engagement photos
Colors: whatever I wanted! (Basically I picked one main paper the black with flowers one and then found a bunch of papers and colors that matched with it. So while each page is its own color, they all coordinate together)
Layouts: 2 page layouts- left page a scrapbook page, right page a signing page (this works well if you aren't sure you'll need 10 pages for your guest book, because the leftover signing pages can become scrapbook pages to complement the existing ones)

Guest Books: Natalie

2010-07-11T06:53:00.000-07:00

Natalie's Guest Book Details

Size: 12x12
Photos: 4x6 engagement and dating photos used
Colors: Matched to wedding colors- pink and brown
Layouts: 2 page layouts with room on both pages for signing

(disclaimer- cameras do not do the guest book justice, I promise! And they don't come signed. :-) Natalie just let me take pictures after the first reception.)

Guest Books

2010-07-11T06:37:00.000-07:00

So, I make wedding guest books. A custom guest book is pretty much a scrapbook of your engagement photos with blank pages incorporated for all of your guest books to sign in when they come to your wedding festivities. It's actually something I really enjoy doing, because everyone always looks WONDERFUL in their engagement photos (all in love and everything) and they usually turn out awesomely! If you're interested in having me make you a custom guest book, just let me know.

I've made a few different styles so far (8x8, 10x10, 12x12, all 5x7s, all 4x6s, etc), but am always willing to try something new if that's what you want. You can select your own sizes, colors, layouts, or you can leave the decisions up to me.

It takes me about a week to make a guest book, so no worries if you're short on time. I try to meet with the bride first to get an idea of what she likes, possibly look at some paper together to see what she likes, and then I just do my thing. However, I have had brides in the past who purchased everything and just handed it to me to make it look good. It is entirely up to you!

I usually forget to take pictures before I hand over a guest book, but I have taken some of my last few, watch for pictures coming soon!

Swap Cards

2010-06-27T14:14:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I went to visit my friend Colette in California. We always scrapbook when we get together! So I got my next three cards for the card swap all done!

Halloween- I swear the ric rac is actually a matching color orange- dumb scanner! That Halloween stamp was only a $1 at Michaels!

Thanksgiving- Okay, how awesome is it that I used a stamp I had bought for wedding cards on this Thanksgiving card!?! I think it totally worked out! Sorry the flower got all smooshed in the scanner. Both stamps- only $1!

Christmas- the card opens up and you have room inside for a CD if you want or just a long note. Used the Cricut- yay!

The best thing about all of these cards is that I had everything I needed to make them! I didn't have to buy anything! The Christmas cards were even left over from card club last year and I just had to cut the letters!

Digital Wedding Stuff

2010-05-29T08:33:00.000-07:00

Based on this blog, you'd think I hadn't scrapped in quite a while. However, that's wrong, I just haven't been blogging about it. Here's some of the stuff I've been making lately. My sister gets married next month and I've been working on her shower and a digital invitation for her. Here's how those turned out.

May's Scrapbook Club: Wednesday, May 26

2010-04-10T21:05:00.000-07:00

April's Scrapbook Club: Wednesday, April 28

2010-04-10T21:02:00.000-07:00

Card Club this month

2010-03-23T21:39:00.000-07:00

Scrapbook Club this month

2010-03-23T21:30:00.000-07:00

Father's Day Card

2010-03-21T22:10:00.001-07:00

So this is the card I made for card swap next month. The theme is Mother's/Father's Day. I really wanted to do a masculine card and ended up pretty closely copying a card from a magazine. I changed the papers and colors and medium- but it looks just about the same. I made sure to use my Cricut and Design Studio and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.

One more birthday card

2010-03-21T22:06:00.000-07:00

I forgot to upload this one too. Used some stickers from Hobby Lobby and a bunch of paper I already had- those are the best cards to make (from stuff sitting in the scraproom already!).

Cards

2010-03-21T21:59:00.000-07:00

So the last few months, I've been a card frenzy! Here are some of my latest creations.

These two I made using my sister's new Cricut cartridge "Life's a Beach." I have a Cricut and that's great, but I feel I don't use it to its potential. So for these two cards I made myself use the Cricut. I'm still not too comfortable using it in cards, but I'm working on it.

This one, I sort of "lifted" from a card my friend Jamie made for a card swap. I actually bought the paper at Hobby Lobby (I loved the colors) and wanted to find a way to use them- I used her layout just changed the papers. Easy and totally CUTE card!

I made this card from leftover pieces from scrapbook club last month. Nice and bright card.
And as you can tell I need to expand beyond birthday cards! :-) Sometimes I do, but those just seem to sell the best.

February Scrapbook Club: Birthday Month!

2010-02-15T16:11:00.000-08:00

Easter card swap

2010-02-07T10:14:00.001-08:00

This is the card I made for my Easter card swap. I got the idea from two different places- the saying from some vinyl I picked up for free and the easy geometric chick from a magazine, I think...

Birthday card

2010-02-07T10:13:00.000-08:00

I actually cut the burger and idea for the saying from a Hallmark card that I got from a student. I finally took the time to make the card from it. :-)

New Year's Card

2010-01-24T19:18:00.001-08:00

I had to send something to a friend so I decided to make a Happy New Year card to enclose it. Then I thought I'd make the same one for my inactive visiting teaching girl and then I thought I might as well make some for my sisters too!

The inside says "Happy New Year!"

January's Scrapbook Club

2010-01-19T17:44:00.001-08:00

This is the holiday page we are making at scrapbook club this week.

I'm sorry the scan and stitch was bad. Oh well! I swear it's beautiful in real life.

January's Card Club

2010-01-19T17:41:00.000-08:00

These are the three cards we made at Card Club last week.

I think my favorite is the adore one. I got to use two Cricut cartridges I hadn't gotten to yet: Home Decor (adore) and Sweethearts (cupid).

Scrapbooking Weekend

2010-01-17T17:08:00.001-08:00

I just came back from a scrapbooking weekend. I had a great time! I'll try to get some pictures up here of what I worked on when I get a chance.

Finishing a few projects

2010-01-02T20:23:00.000-08:00

So, now that I've had two weeks to get all caught up on everything, plus the three weeks back in November, I am totally caught up! I officially have no photos that need to be scrapbooked. So I've been making cards, so many that I have to start handing them out to anyone who stops by for a visit (hint, hint). Well, I started these over a year ago and finally finished them up today. I ended up "shrinking" them down so that they wouldn't take up as much space as originally planned- I think they turned out pretty nice! Spring and Freedom stand on their own, but Summer can hang. Don't mind the lousy photos, I took them with my phone and texted them to my email. And don't mind the lovely shots of my messy scrap room...

Coping through Crafting

2009-12-03T19:26:00.000-08:00

So, while I was home for two weeks recovering I completely overdosed on projects. It was wonderful- how can I make money and do that? Here are some of the things I finished up.
I started this quilt two summers ago. I had been collecting fabrics for it since I got married (yes folks, five years!). My mom and I pieced together the top summer of 2008. The plan was that I would quilt it at home using an embroidery hoop. Well I tried. I took it on three road trips and got about 15 blocks done. In the meantime my mom purchased a quilting machine and offered to help me quilt it up that way. Well it was hard, I'd already put all this time an energy into and would now have to pick it all out! Then I found out I was pregnant so I was like, "This is ridiculous. If you don't finish this quilt before the baby comes, you never will." So I took it on yet, another, road trip and ripped out all the quilting. Over fall break my mom and I put it on her machine and I quilted it in 2 hours- 2 hours!!!! All I had left to do was bind it, and with my track record that could take 2 years (my problem is I never sit still long enough to do handwork, I have a thing called ADD, I swear). Well, while I was in the hospital, my mom brought it with her thinking I could work on it there- except I was so drugged up and my head was below my feet that wasn't a good plan. But once I came home from the hospital, my mom came over and showed me how to bind (again, I've made other quilts, it'd just been a while, a Miamaid Evening in Excellence project I think...) and I finished it up. Now it's done and gladly resides in our family room and with the weather finally cooling off it's getting used too!
This one officially got finished November 1- do you think that stopped it from having a reign of the front door- NO! I left it up until the 15th.

I had big intentions of making this one before the holiday, well I couldn't find any 4th of July fabric I liked until August. I am all ready for next summer!
I got roped into helping with Super Saturday this year. This was one of the projects I was in charge of. The others were holiday cards and tags- way cute too, just no photos.
I bought these wooden pumpkins in Utah this summer. They didn't get finished until November 10th, so they'll just have to wait until next year to be unveiled. I used up my Halloween scraps and love how they turned out!

To adhere or not to adhere...

2009-08-22T16:57:00.000-07:00

As an avid scrapbooker I have very STRONG feelings about adhesive. Here are common concerns:

How much are the refills?
How long do they last?
How well do they adhere? If I mail someone a card I made, is it going to fall apart when they open the envelope?
How easy is it to apply?

I've had some pretty bad experiences with a few adhesives that should remain nameless because I'm not one for official mudslinging. I tend to mudsling only "off the record." I think my blog is very much "on the record." Basically, I hate ones with refills that unfeed themselves. I hate ones that won't apply well and you have to keep fighting it.

As I've evolved as a scrapbooker, so has my adhesive selection. Some of my recent favorites are:

My ATG Gun. LOVE IT! I pretty much use it on just about everything and my friend just found refills on EBay for super cheap! Yippee!
The Xyron X. I have a bigger one too, but I feel like it is too wasteful. The X is perfect for little stuff. I remember seeing an infomercial that Lisa Bearnson did about Xyron and I thought it was the dumbest idea ever- then I used one- oh boy! Heaven sent.
Scotch Quickdry Adhesive. I use this on fine detail work or chipboard stuff. My friend Melanie referred me to it and sometimes I joke with her that it's probably just watered down Elmer's glue with a much higher price tag on it.
Zots. Right now I have some in all of their sizes, but I tend to use the tiny ones and medium ones the most. I use them on flowers, ribbons, and other detailed things that need stronger adhesive.

Those pretty much meet all of my adhesive needs with all of my projects.

Last night I had a Stampin Up cards class and needed to bring my own adhesive and scissors. I packed them up on Thursday night and then left the bag at home Friday morning. I realized I forgot about 10 min from home and thought about turning around but then realized I could probably just pick up some adhesive somewhere before the class.

I ran through my mind of all of my options: a scrapbook store (too expensive), Michaels/JoAnns/Hobby Lobby (not one nearby, and didn't have a coupon on me- and I never pay full price for something like that there) or Wal-Mart (right on the way to her house and cheap). So I headed to Wal-Mart's scrapbook aisle. Well, I got there and saw a few adhesive options for $6! $6! I didn't even NEED one (see, I have 4 very feasible options listed above) and I just had to have one for a few hours! I couldn't use glue sticks (the affordable option) because I was making cards and I'm too stingy with my glue sticks so there is no way I was going to wrestle with glue sticks all night long on 10 different cards.

Then I saw one (Ad-Tech) for $3.50. Definitely cheaper than $6, but still more than I wanted to spend. But I didn't have any choice- otherwise I'd have to pay my consultant for whatever SU was trying to convince me to pay for something I could get at JoAnns with a coupon. They had a runner option and a dots option. I thought I'd try out the dots option as I never had before. I LOVED it! It was totally agreeable and pretty decent adhesive. I now have a backup! My friend said that apparently Oriental Trading Co also sells them. Who knows how long the refills last, but for last night, that little purple tool saved my hiney! Thought I'd share the info!

Overhaulin' the blog

2009-08-14T22:29:00.000-07:00

So, rather than work on the projects I have piling up in my scrapbook room and overflowing into the living room, I decided to redo my blog! I made my new title- even though I don't like it as much as my Dialing life one, I am pretty happy with it. (I am loving PSE 7!) Hopefully I can keep it around for a while before I get an itch to update it. Enjoy!

Mini Book Fiesta!

2009-07-15T22:07:00.000-07:00

I have been on a mini book binge. I offered to make some mini books for a friend for a fundraiser. I ended up making over 20 of them! I can't seem to stop... As a result, I've decided to start trying to sell some. So, if you're interested or know someone who is, send them my way. I can make them for just about any reason in the whole wide world: family, baby, birthday, beach, vacation, family, etc. They make great gifts, coffee table books, bookshelf books, and more!

Tag Swaps

2009-07-15T22:01:00.000-07:00

After scanning in my tags, I realized that apparently they are too dimensional-ly and don't scan well. Just pretend they aren't so blurry- I promise they are adorable in person!

July- I got the rhinestone tattoos in the $1 section at Target along with the button too. I got that star ribbon a long time ago and it worked perfectly for this project!

August- I can't explain it but August makes me think of pink and green, like watermelons. I don't even like watermelons! But I went with it and used the colors on the tag. I was so excited to use the pink and white flowers that I got a few months ago at Hobby Lobby. The phrase on the side is "Sweet Summer- Aug 09."September- I know that as a Chandler employee school actually starts in July. And I know that in all of Arizona, and most of the US all students are back in school by August. But, I don't like it! I don't like it one bit! So I rebelled and did my back to school tag in September, the way it should be! I had to freehand my apple because there wasn't a die cut with it small enough. Not too happy with how it turned out- but, oh well.
And, those will be my last tags because of similar reasons to me taking a break from swaps. It was fun while it lasted!

Been Busy Swappin'!

2009-07-15T21:47:00.000-07:00

So based on this blog it looks like I've done nothing all summer. But, trust me, I have! Here are some photos of the swaps I've been working on. And there are even more I didn't snap photos of.
This was for a summer swap. The only thing I made was that little mini book in the corner. The theme was "Bright Sun-Shiny Day." Throughout the book were the lyrics.
So this was for a Scrapbook Page Around the World swap. You were supposed to take photos around your city and scrapbook them. Uh, what exactly would I take pictures of in Queen Creek? So I just did a page of the Grand Canyon. Since that is one thing in AZ you can't miss!

This was a 4th of July paper bag album. Inside was the lyrics to "You're a Grand Old Flag." Obviously, my pictures are horrible, but it was so cute in person! This was actually my favorite swap to receive. I have really received a lot of duds; to the point where I'm going to take a break from swaps. I'm tired of putting all this time and energy into them and getting back something Toby could have made better.

This was for another summer swap. You were supposed to send a "summer treat" with a summer mix. My CD mix rocked (let me know if you want a copy!) and my album rocked (notice the theme from the earlier one, I made two of it just different colors). In return, I got a CD with Lithuanian music and a plastic bug, really, no joke, I don't make this stuff up.

This was my 4th of July card. Pretty dang cute, huh? I made about 10 of them once all was said and done. These flowers are my favorites in the whole world to put on a page or a card. They are so dimensional! I actually saw one in real life, (no, not in Arizona, silly!), at Temple Square. They are just as pretty in real life too!

I also did a color swap that I didn't take any pictures of and a few CD swaps. But as I said before, so long swaps! I'm sick of getting jilted. So, if you get a nice surprise in the mail it's because I had to get out some creative energy and had no swap to send it to!

Easter Project Completed

2009-06-08T18:17:00.001-07:00

A few days after Easter I was roaming Hobby Lobby and saw the most adorable Easter fabric, on clearance. So I decided I would make myself an Easter wreath. I cut all of the stuff and then just got around to it while camping this last weekend. Great project to take camping because you can talk and tie!I took this up close shot so you could see the two inspiration fabrics. I love the little chickies! I bought some more fabric to maybe use it in a baby quilt for someone.

Originally the plan was to finish it right after Easter and still hang it on the door in May (still spring, you know), but now it is definitely June and totally summer, so I'll just have to hang onto it until next year. Oh well!

Happy Birthday, Susan!

2009-06-08T17:54:00.000-07:00

So my friend Susan had a birthday over a month ago. And I'm just now getting to posting the pictures, sorry- blame school! I should be the most dutiful blogger now, I promise (until I go back to school). Her family had pictures taken last fall, so I made her a little album to post all of the pictures in easily and quickly. Here's how it turned out.

And who am I kidding, I don't have time or the patience to upload all of the pages, so I'll pick a few of my favorites to share. Basically the entire book was red, blue and tan. There was a page with the first letter for each of your children's photos and one for her and her honey.

Materials of choice for this project were the Cricut (I tried out the deep cut housing and blade, not too impressed), ribbon and paper already on hand (yippee!), cropadile, and chipboard.

Updated holiday signs

2009-05-31T20:58:00.000-07:00

So these are the two hanging in my house right now.

I try to be a bit pre-emptive on hanging them up, since I'm so slow in taking them down...

Tags, Tags, Tags!

2009-04-23T22:19:00.000-07:00

So a month or so ago, I signed up on the Lipstick and Laundry blog to participate in a little tag swap. I'm committed for three months and wanted to share the tags I've come up with to send to my group partners (one's in GA and one's in UT).

This one was for April. I actually got the idea for these bunny ears in a card magazine a few years ago, and they've just stuck around for other cards and tags and signs and all sorts of Easter ideas.

Next, we have May's tag. May's kind of a weird month in Arizona. The only thing going on is that it's getting hotter. No incredible flowers (Since there aren't any April showers...), nothing exciting to talk about. So I just went generic and was really happy with it. I was also excited to use my liquid glass on it.

The last tag is June. I think I love that tag the most- I love how the colors turned out. I got the idea for the shape and colors on a scrapbook page in a magazine last month. I changed the slogan and shapes a little bit, but mostly it looks the same.

To sell or not to sell?

2009-03-29T16:47:00.000-07:00

This post is really directed at anyone who knows anything about Etsy, or about selling your own projects. Lately, I've been thinking about setting up my own Etsy shop. I've always wanted to sell the stuff I make. I've tried to a few times in the past, but it's never gone well. I would love to make money scrapbooking or cardmaking for people, I just never make the effort to make it happen. I probably should have done it while I still lived in CA, as they are much more likely to pay someone to do that than Arizonans.

The overall issues with that are:
1. How much do you charge? You have to charge enough to make some sort of profit, but be low enough that people would pay you to do it.
2. Do you charge per project or supplies + time to complete?
3. Often times people who pay someone to scrapbook have no clue how long it would take to scrapbook something, so hourly probably wouldn't work. They also probably have NO CLUE how much it costs to even make a scrapbook. So they wouldn't understand that either.
4. I know the way to find customers is by word of mouth. So I really just need to find one good customer with some good friends who would also want my business.

Now that I've started making some other things: advent calendar, wreath, banners, etc. I'm trying to think if I should do something like Etsy. But that also comes with some issues.

Here are my Etsy concerns:
1. The only people who know about Etsy are people who make things for Etsy and therefore wouldn't necessarily want to buy my stuff.
2. How much profit would I really make? You have to pay Etsy 3%, you pay PayPal 3%, but you have to be reasonable enough for people to buy the stuff, too... That then brings in all earlier basic selling your skills questions too.
3. Etsy might solve some of the customer concerns though...

So, here's what I want to know. Those of you who know me, or don't know me but know Etsy or know selling your own stuff, what do you think? What are your comments/points about the whole process? Is it worth it? What do you recommend? And for the rest of you, thanks for listening to my ramblings...

Wreath

2009-03-29T16:38:00.001-07:00

When Jason and I first moved to Arizona, the lady I visit taught had the most wonderful wreath for her door made all of ribbons. I loved it! I told myself, that some day I would make myself a wreath like that. From looking at hers, I could tell that it took a TON of ribbon and would be no affordable project to create it. So I just put it on my shelf or projects "to come." Then my friend Taina showed me this valentine garland she bought from Etsy. It had fabric, ribbon and toole on it. I totally loved it and it renewed my commitment to make my own wreath. So I took ideas from both the garland and ribbon wreath and made this!

I picked a focus print, which you can't really see well in the wreath, but it's black background with a whole lot of colored flowers on it. Then I bought a few other mono-color prints to go with it and some toole. All of the ribbon, I already had. Oh, and I bought the wire frame in Utah over Spring Break. Here's what it looks like on my front door.
(Please don't look closely at my dusty door- it's been really windy lately and I have issues with doing outside chores.) After finishing it up, here's what I've learned about this project. It doesn't take as much fabric as I thought it would. Also, I would stick to only a few colors in a focus print. I think mine is a bit too busy. Taina's valentine garland is all red, white and pinks, so I would stick with an easy pair or trio like that. Maybe I'll make some different holiday ones- however, I do already have holiday door hangers for the year....so we'll see. Overall, though, I'm pretty darn happy with how it looks!

Another Colette gift

2009-03-19T15:24:00.000-07:00

So, I decided to make her a little scrapbook album for all of the pictures she'll take this weekend. I got the color scheme from some Paper Studio stickers that I got from Hobby Lobby that were about turning 30. It turned out so cute, and all she'll have to add is the pictures and some journaling.

Colette's Birthday Gift

2009-03-19T15:02:00.000-07:00

So remember that late niter I went to last month? Well, here is what I made!

It's an advent calendar for my friend Colette. Basically, she could use it for any sort of special day- anniversary, birthday, a holiday, summer, spring break, you get the picture. It's made from a square shaped muffin tin. (She actually bought it at Target last fall for a Christmas advent calendar, but then decided to use something else, so she left it with me. I decided to decorate it and give it back to her!) So behind each number there's space for candy or a note or something small.

You can see from this picture the size of the tins. The little covers are magnetic so they can easily be removed. I think it turned out great and I know she will love it!

Her birthday is actually the 16th, but I won't be in CA until today to give her her gift. Happy birthday, Colette!

Tutorial: Banner Addiction

2009-03-18T17:34:00.000-07:00

I blame Taina, she introduced me to these adorable banners, and now I'm hooked. She made hers with diecuts from our LSS, but I figured out I have everything I need to make them on my wonderful Cricut Expression! Yippee! (Honey, that's reason #429 why I had to have one)

Supplies

12x12 coordinated cardstock and printed paper (cuz I have an Expression- you can get 4 shapes per paper of the big scallop, so you can plan from there based on how long your title is)
Storybook cartridge
Mini Monograms cartridge
Cricut
Ribbon
Crop-a-dile

** for the sake of this tutorial, each piece of the full banner will be called a unit. I will give directions for one unit and then you just duplicate it for each letter of your title.

Mini Monograms Cuts-
ALL CUTS MUST BE MADE FROM "REAL DIAL SIZE."
1. Cut out a 5 1/4" scallop circle the back for the unit. [I've made banners with all scallop circles, or with a mix of cirlces and scallop squares, it is up to you, just keep in mind that if you mix it up, all shapes have to be mixed up.] [Depending on the thickness of your paper, you might have to back everything with chipboard. It also matters whether or not you want this to be a permanent banner, or a temporary one. With Sarah's I just made sure the printed papers had a cardstock behind them to make them heavier. With one I made yesterday, they all have chipboard behind]
2. Cut out a 4 1/4" circle for the second unit layer. [this would be the square shape, if you did squares]
3. Cut out a 4" circle for the third unit layer. [this is usually where I use the print]
**you can use any size really, just keep the ratios about the same.

Storybook Cuts
1. Cut out your banner title at 3 1/2" in an easy to read cardstock [I usually use a dark color for this, so it's easy to read against your prints. I've done some where the color is the same for the whole title, or with the Sarah May one, I mixed up the colors, it makes it just a little more challenging when putting everything in order to change up the colors]
2. Cut out your banner's shadow at 3 1/2" in a lighter cardstock [I have always used white, it really helps it pop.]

Finishing it off
1. I usually play around with order before I glue anything down. You want to make sure you don't have two of the same prints next to each other or two of the same backgrounds, etc.
2. Glue pieces together.
3. Lay them next to each other and then use your Cropadile to punch holes on the sides of each unit.
4. Use ribbon to attach units together.
5. Use longer pieces of ribbons on the ends of the entire banner to provide an attaching part.

If any of that is unclear, let me know. I can clarify.

Craft Time in Utah

2009-03-16T15:11:00.000-07:00

I just got back from Utah yesterday and had a great visit with my Aunt Nancy and her family. (See my family blog for more details) While I was there, my cousin Sarah turned 8. I just so happened to bring my Cricut with me to show my aunt all of the wonderful things it could do, so I used it to put together a banner for Sarah's bedroom. I picked up some paper from Archiver's (boy, is that store cool!) and then used some solids from my aunt's stash. I think it turned out great. For whatever reason I didn't take a picture of it up in the bedroom, but just rest assured, it looked adorable!

Ben wanted to be in the picture, so I let him. I think he was the most fascinated with the Cricut. Here's a close up one too.
Darn blogger- I can't get it to load the picture the right way, so pretend this looks right.

Photo Shoot Giveaway

2009-03-08T22:31:00.000-07:00

So I was blog hopping around to show my husband some of our friends' blogs and I came across a photo shoot giveaway that a friend of one of my friends is doing. And, since I've been thinking about wanting to do something like this with Jason, I figured I'd give it a shot. Check out her blog by tomorrow night at 11:59 and you can sign up too!

St. Patricks Day Swap

2009-03-05T15:06:00.000-08:00

I got a wonderful surprise in the mail today! My St. Patrick's Day Swap. I can't wait to use all of my fun goodies. I already have big plans for the St. Patrick's Day stamps for cards for my Beehives...

March Scrapbook Club

2009-02-28T19:25:00.000-08:00

So, I host a club with some of my sister's friends once a month. We make a 12x12 layout and three cards. It's a lot of fun and I've made some cool new friends. Usually I make just the cards with some friends at work, but with spring intersession right in the middle of the month, we'll be skipping card club this month. Here is what is on for March's club.

Late Niter

2009-02-22T17:34:00.001-08:00

Last night me and some friends from my ward (and my last ward) went to Scrapbooks Etc. for the late niter. We had a great time. Of course, I didn't get to all of the projects I brought, but the ones I did get to turned out great. I wish I could show all my stuff, but one project is a gift for a friend, so I'll future date it and it'll pop up by the time she should have seen it. But I can show my gift for my St. Patrick's Day swap. It seems like she doesn't have a blog, so I'm hoping she won't check out mine. I'm mailing it off tomorrow, so if she does see it, oh well! The surprise will be a few days early.

The paper I used wasn't even supposed to be St. Patrick's Day, but the stuff they did have left, uh, something to be desired. So I found this line and thought it worked great! My friend Taina (the creative genius she is!) came up with the title and I die cut all of the shamrocks at the store. The hope is she'll fill it with pictures and I included little tags that say "I'm so lucky for..." So on one side she can journal about the special thing and on the other she can stick a picture. I do have more pictures of it, but don't have the patience to load them, so I'll just put in one picture of a page. If you want to see more let me know and I'll email them to you.

It is so cute in person and I'm so proud of how it turned out. I hope she loves it!

Separation of Church and State

2009-02-22T14:40:00.000-08:00

After a few weeks of pondering and some deep discussions with my blogging mentor (my aunt), I've decided to start another blog that is just my crafting stuff. This way, I have a clear separation of family and my hobbies. I'm not sure if I have enough exciting things that are just family related to post, but I'm going to try. And those of you out there in blogging land are more than welcome to check both blogs if the other one starts to bore you! Happy blogging!