Scenic Christmas Photo Ornament Box

With Christmas around the corner I thought I'd take a few to share this project I made for Authentique a few weeks back.  My son was born in November of last year.  So this time last year he was just a wee tiny little pea pod & mostly slept through the Holidays.  This year he's much more aware of his surroundings. So we decided to do more with him this year--amongst those things was taking a few Christmas photo action shots.

I wanted to display one of his photos on our Christmas tree as an ornament.  So I created a mini winter wonderland ornament for him to sit in!  :-)

The box is made from heavy card stock & dressed up with papers from Authentique's 'Joyous' line. 

Around this time of year--just about all arts & crafts stores carry Christmas decorations.  I bought several decorations that are meant for miniature Christmas trees.  These mini decorations are just the right size to create your own version of a mini dimensional ornament.

The ornament box measures 5" inches x 4" inches. 

The decorative bird I also found at my local craft store--just think 'small' when browsing around the Holidays!  All of these small but dimensional embellies make for all sorts of unique projects.

The 'snow' was created by putting down a bit of clear dry adhesive & white Flower Soft.

I was able to fussy cut my son from one of the photographs & I adhered him to the background with a couple of pop dots to give him a bit of dimension.

Here's the back of my ornament box.  I strung some ribbon through the top & now I'm able to hang this ornament photo box onto my Christmas tree!

As always, a big thank you to all who stop by to visit.  I hope this project inspires some of you to create your own personal ornaments.

Enjoy the rest of the week...

Little Man Layout

Good morning fellow scrappers!  Today is a lazy day at the office.  We're prepping for our annual Holiday party so needless to say nobody is really in the mood to work...then again, when are we ever in the mood to work!?  lol  So I found a little time to put up this post that has been sitting in my 'to-do' box for some time.

This is a DT project that I made for Authentique a few weeks back.  We were doing a cross promo between Authentique & UmWow Studio.  So I've used a couple of UmWow's cute little chipboard embellies as well as a few of their flat backed buttons.

This is my son at about 10 months old--he's a 'little man' in the making which is where I got my title from.  I've used papers from Authentique's Seasons: 'Summer' collection. I absolutely loved the bright splashes of turquoise & yellow that come with this collection.

Once again I took some inspiration from one of Emma's sketches found on Page Drafts.  I can't tell you how many times these sketches have saved me a boat load of time.  When in a crunch, I always go to this site & inspiration instantly strikes!

Here you see all three of UmWow's products that I've used.  There's a button from their 'Dream A Little Dream' flair collection & bits from their 'Star Confetti' & 'Layered Arrows' chipboard.  I decided to leave the chippies raw.  You can certainly emboss, paint, glitter etc...the chippies but as it turns out, the raw color of the chipboard coordinated just right with my layout.  So I left them as is.

Those two small yellow ribbon flowers seen here are items from my own stash.  I have several of these in different colors up for grabs in my Etsy shop.  If interested, please feel free to visit my shop here. 

I'm such a fan of this hot air balloon die from La-La-Land Crafts.  I seem to look for ways to implement it in just about all my pages!

The large honeycomb dies were made with the Spellbinders Hexagon die.

This little pocket that holds a tag with my journaling was made with left over scraps.  I tied a bit of yellow tulle to my tag so that it's a bit easier for me to pull out.

Some clustering filled with chippies, paper, buttons & a gold metal cog. 

These flocked teddy bears is another fave of mine.  I love using them in just about all my pages that have my son as the main subject.  I think that these bitty bears are the perfect embellishment for baby themed pages.

Ok time for a hot cup of coffee I think.  I need an extra pick me up this morning in order to fully function!  Plus somebody brought in some Christmas cookies to share--& cookies ALWAYS taste better with a cup of coffee!  :-)

Thanks for stopping by, stay warm & enjoy the rest of the week!
 

October Layout

Good afternoon fellow scrappers...today I'm presenting my final page for Once Upon A Sketch (OUAS). My time on the OUAS DT went by very quickly but was so very rewarding at the same time.  Thank you again Nadia for giving me the opportunity to be part of such a fabulous design team.  Best of luck to the new DT starting in January 2014!  There are some very notable ladies on the term for next year...

So the theme for the month of December is: My Favorite Month.  This was very simple for me.  I've been harping for a long time now that Autumn is my favorite season...and Autumn is in it's prime in the month of October...so October it was.  I had recently taken a photo of my son studying a leaf that had fallen from a tree & it worked just right for the theme of my page.  I went Autumn crazy with this page & used several 'Autumn' related embellishments that I had in my stash.

Paper used is by Maja Design from their 'Walking in the Forest' collection.

Here's the sketch provided by Nadia--as usual a versatile sketch that you can do much with.

This little envelope which was part of the 'Walking in the Forest' collection--was cut out, assembled & used to store my journaling.

This little sunflower vine is by Prima as are the large brown felt flowers.  Yay for those cute little mini pine cones...how I love them!  Of course I had to have an owl tucked in here somewhere...owls are one of my absolute favorite type of birds as well as embellishment.

So for many years I've had this gigantic feather in my stash & every time I ran into it I wondered 'what the heck am I going to use this for?'  I can't tell you how many times I almost tossed it.  Well the perfect project finally arrived & I was able to use it!  So this is why I have a gazillion things in my stash & never throw anything out!  LOL 

These organza ribbon star flowers are items from my stash.  I have several of these in different colors & are available for purchase in my Etsy shop.  Feel free to visit if you like them.

These little haystack mini brooms are other tidbits that I have in my stash & once again--I found the perfect project for them...alongside the mini acorn!  Seems like I got to use many of my oddball embellishments for this page--but it all came together nicely I think!

Make sure you visit the OUAS blog to check out the other DT's take on this month's challenge.  Thanks for stopping by & enjoy the rest of the week...

For The Love of Zumba Layout: Berry71Bleu December Challenge

Good morning fellow scrappers!  It's my turn over at Berry71Bleu to host this months challenge--the final challenge of 2013!  Tsk, tsk, tsk...how can 2013 practically be over already?  I seem to find myself in the same boat consistently every time around this year.  I officially think that Father Time has decided to be in a mad rush right alongside the rest of us.  He needs to take it easy & relax a bit!

So we decided that the challenge for the month of December will be a two-part challenge.  The theme is 'Joy'.  After all, we're in the 'most joyous time of the year'.  However, Joy can be interpreted in many ways--it can be an obvious sense of joy that we all share such as family, friends & loved ones or it can be a simple pleasure joy such as that first cup of warm coffee in the morning, reading a book or having your family dog cuddle up next to you!

The second part of the challenge is to include journaling on your page.  Journaling must be at a minimum 3 sentences long & no cheating!  Jotting down places & dates do not count.  I want you to document your story & thoughts and explain why the subject you chose brings you joy. When something brings you joy--I find that it's very easy to talk about it.

 One obvious thing that brings me joy is my family--but I wanted to share a different kind of activity that brings me much personal satisfaction & that's Zumba.

I love it & thoroughly enjoy it.  It helps me release stress, keeps me & my heart healthy & it keeps my weight in check.  Plus I've finally made my Hispanic heritage proud since ever since I started taking Zumba my Salsa & Merengue dancing skills have greatly improved!

Before I forget, here's the inspiration board I came up with for the challenge.

That cup of coffee in the collage is calling me as I type this post up!  It's early & I'm in the office--nothing tastes better on a cold early morning than that first cup of warm coffee.  In fact I almost  chose that as the subject to my page!

 All papers used are by one of our Berry71Bleu sponsors UHK Gallery.  Only the bright green paper you see peeking around the border is not by UHK.  I've used papers from their 'Hot & Cold' collection.

 To get those circles to display lightly along my background I've used a Craters Workshop stencil (Mod Spirals) & a bit of 'Frost' paint by Art Anthology.  I just dabbed the paint onto my stencil lightly with a makeup sponge.  The paint dries semi translucent when only a little is applied.

 Here's my journaling.  As usual, I've stored it in the form of a scroll.  For me, it's the fastest & easiest way to store my thoughts onto my page.  I have a tutorial on how I go about making these scrolls here. 

I've unrolled my scroll here so you can see part of my journaling.

 All chipboard used is by Scrapiniec.  I inked them all with embossing ink & spread a bit of 'Star Dust' embossing powder by Stampendous onto them & heat set them.  In person, all the chippies have a nice glimmer & shine to them.

The bright fuchsia organza ribbon star flower seen here are items from my stash.  I have several of these in different colors up for grabs in my Etsy shop here. 

 I've strung a bit of twine along my page--it's adhered behind the page with a couple of strips of tape.

Feel free to stop at the Berry71Bleu blog throughout the month of December to see the other DT's take on this month's challenge.  Do play along if you find the time--there are a couple of great prizes up for grabs.

Thanks for stopping by & enjoy the rest of the week!

Baptism Layout

Good afternoon fellow scrappers!  It's a cloudy, cold mid afternoon & I've found some time to post this layout that I made for Authentique a few weeks ago.

For this page I'm showcasing the 'Glistening' line by Authentique.  'Glistening' is actually a Christmas themed collection--but I've used it to scrap a few of the photos taken at my son's Baptism which happened this past May.

My son was 6 months old when he was baptized.  These pictures were taken at the church after the baptismal ceremony was over.  I've been trying to scrap a few of these for quite some time & I thought that the papers from the 'Glistening' collection would do just the trick.  I didn't want to use the traditional white, off white, ivory/cream colors that go with Baptisms.  I was looking for soft hues with just a splash of color--this is where the wooden spool with the orange twine comes into play.

I've used a sketch from Page Drafts for the design of my layout.  This site is a life safer when in the middle of what I call 'scrappers block'!  Sometimes you need a sketch to get those creative juices flowing.  This site never fails me...

 The bright orange twine added that splash of color I was looking for & serves as a visual incentive allowing the eyes to 'flow' along the page.

 The background was stamped with a couple of splatter stamps.  I also randomly added a couple of flat back pearls & dots of Star Dust Stickles.

 This butterfly is a handmade embellishment & will soon be added to my Etsy shop.  You can find this butterfly & many others in my shop here.  Feel free to browse if interested!

 The coffee stain splatters are a combination of stamps from the Prickley Pear & Stampers Anonymous. 

 Mushroom birds seem to be a little of a guilty pleasure with me.  I love to have one randomly appear on my pages & tend to tuck them into my clusters on just about all my pages. 

This is actually a mini accordion journaling booklet that I created for my page.  As usual I had several thoughts & memories I wanted to capture about this special day & I needed a place to write down my lengthy story telling.  This booklet served it's purpose & added a unique embellishment to my page at the same time.  I've created a tutorial on how I create these mini journaling booklets.  If interested, you can find the tutorial here.

I also have an extra journaling booklet that is currently for sale in my new Etsy shop The Kraft Nook.  You can visit my shop here.

Thanks for stopping by & enjoy the rest of the week!

Change Can Be Bittersweet Layout

Good afternoon fellow crafters!  Today I'm sharing my page for the November Berry71Bleu challenge.  The theme for this month is "Change is Beautiful" hosted by fellow team member Marilyn. 

As stated in the Berry71Bleu blog--yes change can indeed be a beautiful thing. It can be something that one can even fear or be intimidated by.  Based on my own experience--change does always turn out for the best even though when it's actually happening you may not embrace it.  With time you realize that things do happen for a reason.  However, change can also be bittersweet & bring about different emotions.  This was how I interpreted this months challenge.

My son turned 1 year old this month & for me it was such a bittersweet celebration.  I'm very happy to see him grow & observe in wonder how his personality is developing but at the same time I want him to remain as he is now for as long as possible!  Is this so wrong? Although I'm sure I'm not alone with my feelings. He's my little guy, my baby--he's innocent and I can protect him from whatever bumps that this journey called life has in store.  Somehow a year has escaped me already.  I still remember very clearly holding a 7 lbs wiggling little part of me in my arms this time last year.  Now I'm holding a 20 lbs toddler in the making.  He's still a part of me & always will be--but he's growing & growing...let's just say I'll be holding onto these few precious years for dear life!

The majority of the thoughts expressed here plus a bit more emotional ones were stored in this scroll.  As customary with my pages...I had many thoughts to express and I find these scrolls to be the best way to store my thoughts.  If interested, I have a tutorial for these scrolls here. 

All papers used are by one of this months Berry71Bleu's sponsors 7 Dots Studio.  I combined two of their paper lines.  I've used mostly papers from their 'Love is in the Air' collection but also used bits n' pieces from their 'The Queen of Hearts' collection.

The design of my page was based on a sketch from Page Drafts.  This site has become a life saver for me recently.  I've been in a crunch to get certain projects done & sometimes there's no time to conceptualize your own design--it's such a help to be able to go to this site & get ideas.  Once the idea is there--the scrapping just flows!

Oh how I love these little flocked teddy bears!  I can't get enough of them.  I have these in my stash & use them for my pages as much as I can!  lol  They're great for baby themed projects.  I tucked a little metal clock in the mix to represent the concept of time passing.

My title was printed on a transparency, cut out & adhered onto my page with clear dry adhesive.

This fabulous tag was made by Berry71Bleu's very own owner Marivic.  Her handmade tags will be available soon in her Etsy shop ZeusandZoe.  The sweet elements on her tag went along with my 'bittersweet' concept.

I've displayed both a before & after photo of my son.  He's barely one month and 1/2 here.

Here he is at 12 months.  Not only has he grown but he's physically changed a bit as well.  He definitely has a lot more hair & curly locks now! 

Those small yellow ribbon flowers are from my own stash & are currently up for sale in my Etsy shop here.  These small ribbon flowers make for great embellishment fillers for any project.

Make sure to stop by the Berry71Bleu blog to check out the other DT's interpretation of this month's challenge & play along if you can for a change to win some fabulous prizes!

Thanks for stopping by & I hope you enjoy the rest of your week.