Minnie Mouse

This was a fun layout to do. Once it started coming together, it almost seemed to create itself. Minnie was cut from Mickey and Friends, as were the hearts and her name. I used stickles on her bow, dress, and shoes (isn't she so fashionable!), around the big heart and on her signature.

I used the Tiny Bubbles Cuttlebug embossing folder on the hearts along the side. To mimic the polka dots in Minnie's outfit, I rubbed the embossed image over my white inkpad. The border underneath the picture is Martha Stewart's Scallop Dot punch.

Another view to show detail:


I had my OB appointment yesterday. All went well and my boys were thrilled to hear the baby's heartbeat, which they decided sounded like a train coming down the tracks. Since they are both train fanatics, I think it raised their opinion of the baby inside. Baby Bird is measuring 2 weeks ahead, which is no big surprise since my other boys were not exactly what you would consider petite at their birth. :)

We spent the evening at California Adventure and Disneyland. The boys got to see the Disneyland Electrical Parade for the first time and the looks on their faces was just priceless. Scott and I got a kick out of the fact that, about 2/3 of the way through the parade of a half million lights, Noah turned to us with wild excitement in his eyes and said, "I see a light!" He's the observant one, alright. I LOVE that the parade hasn't changed since I was a small child. It's almost like watching Disney history go by--the movies represented are from the era of Snow White, Alice in Wonderland, and Pete's Dragon.

After the parade we sat for the fireworks show, which is always so fun. Noah is always afraid for the first half and then something always clicks and he morphs into a different kid for the second half of the show. He literally goes from screaming and hiding his face in our shoulders to turning around, smiling and saying "kaBOOM" with every firework.

While our friends followed the fireworks show with Fantasmic (we learned our lesson the first time we saw that show with the kids and the crowds had us pinned into viewing area so we had to stay through the entire show with 2 traumatized toddlers), we went on the kid-friendly rides in Storybookland...the carousel, the teacups, and It's A Small World. It's such a fun place to be at night with all the lights. We completely wore the kids out and they both slept in the stroller on the way back to the car (which, if you know anything about our children, is a supernatural event).

thanks for reading/looking today!

Cinderella

This page is pretty basic. I used stickles on the hearts on the background paper and on the white borders. I think I might also add them on Cinderella's name to make it more 'magical.' Cinderella is cut at 3 1/4" from the Happily Ever After cartridge.

We're heading back to Disneyland today--yeah! Our passes aren't blacked out for the summer crowds anymore! My boys are so excited that I doubt they will rest today (we leave home after naps and pick up Daddy from work on the way and stay until late). But first I have my 32 week check-up for the new baby. Big day...

Have a great day, and thanks for looking!

Mulan

Mulan was the first princess that Noah seemed to enjoy meeting. He actually walked up to her and wanted to hug her.

Mulan is cut from the Happily Ever After cartridge. Her name is a ttf (Herculanum) cut in SCAL. The frame is an .svg file from Paulo's blog. The flower border along the top is a stamp from Fancy Pants, stamped in glue and glittered with a copper glitter from Martha Stewart.

Thanks for looking!

in all things give THANKS

Our latest challenge over at Whimsical Scraps and Bugs was a color challenge from Kristina Werner's blog. I thought of Thanksgiving when I saw these colors and pulled out a couple of our family shots from 2008 to scrap. Here's what I came up with:
I used Storybook for the white borders and the photo corners. I sometimes forget how much I love that cartridge! Home Decor was used for the scalloped circle border. I designed the title using SCAL. Here's a close-up of it:
I decided to use the negative image of "THANKS" and I really like how it turned out.

The circle at the bottom right corner is a customizable stamp from Just Rite Stamps. It was my Mother's Day gift and I LOVE it! It makes monograms so easy but you can use it for more than that, as I did here. To go along with the theme of Thanksgiving, I decided to put "Give Thanks 2008" in the center of the circle, and then list some of the things I'm thankful for as a border. It takes some time to assemble (the letters are pretty tiny) but I think the results are well worth it. Here's a better look:
Thanks for looking!

Belle

Here's my Jonah with his favorite princess of the day, Belle, from Beauty and the Beast. He just went right up to her and gave her the biggest hug. She was such a great princess in person!

Belle is cut from Dreams Come True at 4". Her name is cut using 2 different true-type fonts in SCAL. The rose is a ttf as well. The photo corners are from an .svg file from Paulo's blog. I used stickles on parts of Belle's dress, on her name, and on the rose.

In the corner, I used a large stamp from Fancy Pants--I didn't want it to overwhelm the page, so I just stamped it in VersaMark and embossed it using clear embossing powder.

Thanks for looking!

Sleeping Beauty

Well, my weekend trip got canceled. Sad. I still could not post yesterday because we spent the whole day away as a family, trying to distract the boys from the disappointment of not getting to visit their cousins. We'll have to reschedule. On the bright side, we did a lot of fun things and took a lot of pictures that I'm sure will find their way to a scrapbook page (and thus to this blog) eventually.

Continuing with my son's 8x8 Disney character album, here's his Sleeping Beauty page. Princess Aurora is cut at 6 inches and boy do those little cuts ever seem small! For the princesses, I highly recommend a Signo white pen for the whites of the eyes and the teeth, unless you have sharp eyes, steady fingers, and lots of patience. And even then, it's easier to do with a Signo pen. :)

The scallop border is Martha Stewart's scallop dot punch. I added some stickles to the small dots in the border, as well as to Princess Aurora's crown and necklace.

Thanks for looking!

goofy

Here's another page for Jonah's Disney character scrapbook. Goofy was so wonderful to meet in person--very true to his personality!

The patterned paper is from an old DCWV stack. Goofy is cut from Mickey and Friends. The arrows are from Graphically Speaking. Goofy's name is done with 'thickers'--the 'oo' is actually an 8 turned sideways for more of a whimsical look. I added stickles to the photo corners and the arrows.

We'll be taking off for a few days starting tomorrow so I'll be back at the old blog next week with new posts. In the meantime, thanks for looking and for commenting!

Cartridge Giveaway

Visit the JuJu Bee's Scrapbook Corner blog for a chance to win the not-yet-released Everyday Paper Dolls cartridge! Scroll down a bit--the post is from August 10th. Thanks, JuJu Bee's Scrapbook Corner, for a fabulous giveaway!

Mickey Mouse

I am working on my boys' Disney character album--so fun to reflect over the memories we've had during our time there! This is Jonah's first time meeting Mickey Mouse on our first trip back in January. He was so overwhelmed!

The pages that I'll be posting in this series are 8x8 and I'm really trying to focus on just a picture and the character; there's not room for much else anyway. My goal is to finish their books before December and give them as Christmas presents to the boys. I'll have to work hard during nap time and after they go to bed, because I want it to be a surprise!

All of the cuts (Mickey, "Mickey Mouse" and gloves) are from the Mickey and Friends cartridge. I used stickles on the yellow shadow of "Mickey Mouse" and as a thin border around the picture.

Thanks for looking!

A Wish Came True

Today is my 7th anniversary. I am one lucky girl to have a husband as wonderful as my dear Scott. He loves me totally and unconditionally, and is a wonderful father to our boys. I couldn't love him any more than I do! Here's the anniversary card I made for him.
I designed the card using SCAL (ttf 'luv n kisses'). The original character is the outlined heart which is cut out in gold cardstock. Then I used the same character two more times, chose the shadow blackout feature, and flipped one of the hearts, overlapping them just a bit at the top. Those two hearts were welded together and cut out of red. I cut one more heart-a blackout of the original image-in white for the message on the inside.

The top layer of red is embossed using Cuttlebug's Divine Swirls folder. I used red stickles over top to make it sparkly. The sentiment is from Storybook, using the shorty/holes feature at 2 1/2". Here's one more view:
Thanks for looking!

Bakers in Training

Over at Whimsical Scraps and Bugs, our latest challenge was to use the ad at the left for inspiration for a project. I don't have many vintage pictures, so I chose to go with the kitchen theme. These pictures are of my dad and my niece making cookies together from a bag of "Cookies for Dummies." Here's my take on the challenge:








I used A Child's Year for the girl and the oven, as well as for the title (which shows up better in person). I added some stickles to the letters in the title. The flowers are chipboard embellishments. I used distressing ink on the edges of the pages and handstitched around the patterned paper at the bottom.
Here's a close up of page 1:
and page 2:
Thanks for looking!

Mojo 98 projects

I was so inspired by the Mojo Monday sketch for the week that I did two projects with it.
Here is the first:

This card is actually also a submission for a chance to win some wonderful blog candy over at Crafty Goings On. Karen is generously offering the chance to win a set of 72 copic markers. Her contest ends on August 9th, so be sure to check it out!
I used stamps for the 'cherish' definition and also for the background behind it. The butterfly is cut from a TTF using SCAL. The circles were cut with Plantin Schoolbook. I handstitched around the edges of the square.

Here's my second project:
This is 'sort of' a card. I have a hard time with birthday cards--the outside is always fun to make and decorate, but I'm always intimidated with the amount of space to write sentiments on the inside. So, instead of a traditional card, I wrapped her present and used the sketch to decorate it as if it were the front of a card. Then, we'll just sign our names to the back of the gift and call it good!
I used Plantin Schoolbook for the circles, the 42, and the yellow ric-rac. You can't tell from the picture, but the 42 is cut out 3 times for added dimension, and popped up with pop dots to make it stand out. I used thickers for 'happy' and rub ons for 'birthday.'

Thanks for looking!

New Creations are on their way!

I should have posted this earlier so you would know that I haven't forgotten about ye ole' blog, but I got consumed with the project I was working on and was thus too distracted to post for the past week or so.
What project, you ask?
Well, it was a monumental one that ate up every spare moment of last week. Before last Friday, it had been since last April (!) since I had any of my digital pictures processed. Or was it August? Either way, that's a loooooong time for a scrapbooker to go, and that also means that it was a LOT of pictures to sort through to find the ones that I wanted to print. We've taken 7,000-8,000 pictures just since getting our new camera for Christmas.
I was somehow able to wittle my selections down to a mere 680 pictures and I can't WAIT to see them and hold them in my hands and scheme new pages for them and share them with you! So stay tuned...I am about to go crazy!

Thank you, Oh My Crafts!

I am a Facebook fan of Oh My Crafts, an online crafting store that offers a variety of items, including a large selection from Provo Craft's line. Earlier this week, they sponsored a facebook challenge to post a favorite childhood project, be it a layout, card, or any other project. They chose 2 winners to receive the newly released 'A Child's Year' Cricut cartridge. I submitted this layout, which I completed awhile ago of Jonah learning how to ride his tricycle.
I was very pleasantly surprised when Oh My Crafts notified me to let me know that I had won! Hooray! A Child's Year is one of the cartridges that I'm very excited about and it was next on my list of cartridges to buy. Click here to see some of the images that it will cut.
Thank you, Oh My Crafts! I'm very excited to receive my new cartridge and put it to good use soon!

Mr. & Mrs.

This is my submission for the most recent challenge over at Whimsical Scraps and Bugs. The design team once again did a great job! We were to use an ampersand from any of the Cricut cartridges. I used the one from Graphically Speaking. The rest of the title is from the Calligraphy cartridge. I used a SCAL design for the frame and a ttf for the butterfly. I embossed the butterfly with the Divine Swirls Cuttlebug folder and traced the raised part of the image with silver stickles. I decorated the frame with skittles (which are in stock again at Michael's--they're a seasonal item in the wedding section and I think their true name is Decorative Accents).
I took the design from sketch #14 over at Unscripted Sketches. It was my first time using a sketch from that site, but it won't be my last! I love the basic sketches that give the freedom to make them your own! If you've never been there, I'd encourage you to check it out.
Thanks for looking!

Happy Birthday (picture heavy post)

My sweetie pie turned 30 yesterday and I thought I'd share the dessert I made for him. I was even able to use my Cricut for it!! I got the recipe and idea from Bakerella. Check out the website for more seriously cute ideas! The 'fries' are sugar cookies and the 'hamburgers' are cupcakes, brownies, and frosting.
The complete 'meal':
Scott used to work at In-N-Out (a California burger chain) while in high school and college, and he was recently gifted an apron, so I thought I'd run with the theme. I downloaded the logo from the internet and imported it into Inkscape to convert it into a .svg file which I then cut with SCAL. It was my first inkscape project, and it wasn't as complicated as I thought it would be. Wow--I'm excited for all I can do with this program! There is a link to purchase SCAL on the right hand column of my blog, if you're interested.
Then I altered the logo a bit to make a few "Happy Birthday" fry holders:
Here's a closeup of the burgers:
I made the paper trays as well--from a template included on Bakerella's site. I had to alter the size of the fry holders to accomodate the logo--I didn't want to make the letters any smaller so I had to make the holders larger. Here's a serving:
Here are a couple shots of the burger assembly--my favorite part is getting to figure out a way to 'clean up' the brownie scraps!
Putting on the 'ketchup, mustard, and lettuce':
The burger tray:
Jonah looking forward to his dessert:
Noah approves!
Thanks for looking!

Dreams Come True

The boys had fun with their cousins on the morning we left for Disneyland. Megan and Emily dressed up like princesses for them to help them get excited to visit the princesses at Disneyland.

Here are some cuts from the Dreams Come True cartridge. I can't wait to use them on our scrapbook pages from all our Disney trips! On a sad note, my Signo gel pen went dry and I need to find another. Forget trying to use the tiny eyes and teeth that the Cricut cuts out. I much prefer drawing those in.

Please excuse the lack of photo editing. I deleted the pictures from iPhoto before I got a chance to crop or edit them. Also, I cut out Chip from Beauty and the Beast but could not find him for the picture.

Thanks for looking!

Surprise!

This post is dedicated to my father-in-law, who so lovingly made me his very first homemade card! He said it probably wouldn't make it on BirdScrap, but he was wrong!
Dad, thanks for taking the time to cut out every letter and make a handmade card for me! It was such a surprise and really appreciated. I love you!

simply WILD about you

This is the card I made for the most recent challenge over at Whimsical Scraps and Bugs. We had to make a project with an animal from any cartridge. Be sure to check out everyone else's work, too, when you have the time. There are some really talented members on the design team. There were so many cartridges with animals to choose from--I had a hard time but I finally settled on Zooballoo. I just love those animals, and I think they look really cute using nontraditional colors. I used Opposites Attract for the title and I thought I'd use some older paper with animal prints for 'wild.' The circle stamps behind the title are some of my new stamps from JustRite Stamps--I love them and you'll be seeing more projects in the future with them. It's actually one of the borders to be used with a monogram or message inside, but it can stand alone, too. I love that all the stamps are so interchangeable. More for the $$.

Thanks for looking!

...and while I was at it...

I also borrowed my mom's Sesame Street cartridge and cut out a bunch of characters. My boys love Sesame Street, and we call Noah a cookie monster because he is always asking for a cookie. I'm sure I'll find a good use for them!
Ease of use on this cartridge varied by character. Elmo was easy; Abby Cadabby...not so easy, but doable (I cut her out at 6").

Thanks for looking!

More for the Disneyland album

A few days ago I posted some princess cuts I had made. I also borrowed mom's Winnie the Pooh cartridge and cut several characters. By the way, the Winnie the Pooh characters are much, much *much* easier to cut than the Disney princesses. Here are the results:
I can't wait to get these into their albums! I had to hide them for now because Jonah just wants to play with the characters like they are toys, and if you've ever seen what he does to his cars, you'll understand why I had to put them out of reach!
Thanks for looking!

thanks

How cute is the new Life's a Beach cartridge? This is my first project done with it--a thank you card to my parents for giving me the cartridge for my birthday. I cut it at 4 1/4" so I could put it in a standard A2 size envelope. I love the card feature--so quick, cute, and easy! The font I used for 'thanks' is also included with the cartridge. Bonus! I can see where this will easily be one of my new favorites. Here's how I decorated the inside of the card:
I will be away from my computer for the next few days, so I'll look forward to posting some more projects next week.

Thanks for looking! I hope everyone has a safe and fun 4th of July celebration!