MAMBI Wall Art

Have you seen the large clear stickers from Me and My Big Ideas? I've seen them at Michael's and at Hobby Lobby. There are several different categories, like Home and Life and Love. I just had to pick up a couple of them and create some wall art for my home!

 The "Hello" is a beautiful shiny gold, but looks a little green here with the light.

I got some cheap canvases and simply put these stickers right on top. They've held up really well (except for one!) I just used some spray adhesive on the back of that sticker and now it stays just fine.

Have you made a project with these stickers yet? I love them!

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Project Life Card Swap - Fall cards

I decided to participate in 3 Project Life card swaps for October. I'll make 8 cards for each group and get 8 back. Fun stuff! This first group is called "Get Cozy for Fall". Fall is my favorite season so I need some fall cards! I was inspired to use a paper pad I got last year at Michael's, a little coffee cup stamp from Freckled Fawn, and a stamp from Ali Edwards' new Story Stamp.

I used a paper punch to stamp out the stamped coffee cup. Then I created an offset image on my Silhouette Cameo and cut out the brown circles. I used 2 strips of washi across the card (just match up the pattern for a seamless look). I LOVE the "Around Here" stamp. Simple and cute card!

I actually started by making this card first but didn't have enough paper to make 8 cards. Guess I'll just have to keep it for myself :) I sprayed the whole card with Heidi Swapp Color Shine. It caused the paper to buckle a little bit, but I think it will flatten out just fine in a pocket page.

Happy fall!!

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Project Life Weeks 33 & 34

I combined weeks 33 & 34 into one Project Life spread. I used Studio Calico, a WRMK set called "Simply Happy" from Target, MAMBI cards, and Happy kit cards. I think the colors ended up looking sweet and dreamy. Full spread:

Left side: our current balance on Walmart's Savings Catcher and Joe's Disney countdown.

I layered a couple of embellishments to make this little tag.

Right side: the Appalachian Fair and my brother's weekend trip home.

This ticket was fluorescent green. I colored over it with an orange marker to tone it down and make it blend in a little better.

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The Scrap Gals podcast

Hey! Let's get serious for a minute.

Just kidding! Today I'm sharing something super fun!

Have you listened to The Scrap Gals podcast? The hosts, Tiffany and Tracie, are hilarious Southern best friends that love to scrapbook. They are complete opposites in regard to their scrapbooking processes. I relate to each of them on different aspects, and it's always interesting to hear another viewpoint. I literally LOL while listening to them in the car on the way to work. Anybody that looks at me at a red light probably thinks I'm nuts, but I don't care!

When Tracie asked me to answer a question for them for an upcoming episode, of course I said yes! The episode is called "Setting the Stage" and is about the rituals/processes we go through in order to be able to scrapbook. You'll have to listen to hear my answer. There are 3 ways to listen and you can get started right here on their website. I've been subscribing on iTunes since they started!

What are the rituals/processes you go through in order to be ready to scrapbook?

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Trying Brush Script

So I've been infatuated with Kal Barteski's brush script art for quite some time now. I have almost zero experience with painting so I didn't think it was something I could do. But when Mom and I went to one of our classes at CKC Charlotte, we tried brush script. We picked a preprinted phrase, cut it out, and inserted it into a vellum bag. Then we used india ink to trace the phrase onto the bag. The india ink dries a little lighter than I prefer. Part of what I like about Kal's work is how stark and graphic the black words are against the white background. She uses other colors too, but the black and whites are my favorite. Maybe. I'm kind of digging the ones with color behind the words. I'll take one of everything, please!

One night I decided to sign up for Studio Calico's class called Life Scripted. It includes several videos where Kal teaches you how to do brush script. I LOVED THE CLASS!! At first, I used acrylic paint and was somewhat satisfied with it. I went to Michael's later that night and got the medium that Kal uses - it's called gouache ("gwash"). It's sort of an opaque watercolor.

I also practiced the alphabet. I used plain printer paper (cheap!) and a little mixed media sketch book I got at Michael's. I felt a little bit like an artist with all these pieces of paper scattered all over my craft room!

I didn't have quite enough gouache on my brush here. I was also using a larger brush than I wanted. I couldn't find small size 2 or size 4 bamboo brushes at Michael's or Hobby Lobby. I did find some online and they're on their way to me! Can't wait to try them out.

This is actually painted on a light blue piece of card stock. My camera wasn't cooperating with me, but that's okay. I plan to cut this down and put it into my sadly neglected One Little Word binder (which I've actually been working on recently. More to come soonish).

Have you tried brush script?

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Around Here

As of late...

• Counting down the days to Disney!

• Getting ready to try Jamberry Nails. I can't do regular polish (I always mess it up) and I'm kind of tired of gels.

• Celebrating Joe's 41st birthday. I got off early last Sunday so we went to Knoxville for the night. Had a great dinner at Ruth's Chris. Walked around Market Square and the mall the next morning before lunch at Pelancho's. 

• Feeling really old when I realized I celebrated my 21st birthday at Pelacho's - 12 years ago!!!!

• Waiting for the estimate from the tile company.

• Thinking about picking out paint for the bathroom. Now to convince Dad to help me paint. :)

• Having fun at Rhythm and Roots this past weekend. Great music, great friends, great food.

• Loving brush script. I'll show you my first attempt later this week.

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Project Life Wedding Guest Book

Today I'm showing you the second wedding project for my friend. I had picked up the wedding mini kit at Michael's for like $6 on clearance and just knew it would come in handy one day. Her wedding colors were black and light purple, and this kit is black, white, and gray. I just picked up a few pieces of lilac patterned paper at the CKC show Mom and I attended. I cut them into 3x4 and 4x6 pieces and mixed them in with the wedding mini kit. I already have tons of PL pocket pages so I didn't have to buy any.

I reprinted the pictures I used on the memory board and made a spread in the guest book. Finally used up some of those hoarded letter stickers from the Target Dollar Spot too (and I still have a ton left, but oh well).

Sweet title. I looked down on the floor and that little heart was laying there. I guess it had fallen out of a cut file I had made on my Cameo at some time... serendipity!

I was able to customize some Wedding Mad Libs from KINDstudio on Etsy. They were so affordable and the shop owner was super easy to work with. She resized the image to make it fit into my Project Life pocket pages. I got them printed, cut, and corners rounded at UPS. So worth it!

I used Design D throughout the book. All she has to do is just slip the Mad Libs and pictures from the wedding photo booth into the pocket pages and she will be able to create a guest book in no time!

She can mix up the layouts and move any cards she wants.

I used a few Design X in the book... that gives her an extra spot for an extra pic or Mad Lib. Or she can just keep the patterned paper as is.

I cut out a few shapes on my Cameo and used some MAMBI wedding stickers for simple decoration.

And some pretty Heidi Swapp script stickers.

I also included just a few empty pages in the back for her to slip in photos of her ceremony, reception, and honeymoon. I gave her the leftover cards, papers, and stickers to use if she wants to switch up anything. She loved it!!

I seriously love this project. I wish I had known about Project Life when I got married!

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