Lawn Fawn: December Inspiration Week

Hey, y'all! I cannot believe we are into the second week of December. I'm not sure why I'm caught unprepared every year. We celebrate Thanksgiving, and then it should be the start of the Christmas season. And yet, I find myself mid-December-ish all flustered. Like I had no idea it was almost Christmas. Oy!

At least I've got the tree with lights on (no decorations yet) and I've ordered my holiday cards (which I didn't even bother to send out last year).

Meanwhile, over at Lawn Fawn, we are debuting our Valentine's Day stamps, dies, and inks. Yup. You know, the usual: super cute stamps and really awesome ink colors.

I made this first layout with the new XOXO die. This layout couldn't be any simpler. Every time I try to take a photo of my three boys, they make crazy faces until I break down and get fake-angry. But I usually just keep shooting (crazy faces and all) because I never know when I might get a good shot. Put them all together, and I get a cute photobooth effect. I cut the XOXO out of various cardstock to add a few dabs of color. The sentiment is from the new Pizza My Heart set.

For this layout (8" x 8"), I used A Birdie Told Me stamps and dies to create those speech bubbles. Typed my stats in each, and stamped the little hearts (from Pizza My Heart) using the new and awesome Plastic Flamingo ink. The I Love You title is from the new die, and I created the ombré effect with the same ink. Love pink on red!

By the way, I just recently got a metal shim to use in my Cuttlebug. The awesome Teri Anderson told me about it when I was kvetching about how hard it is to get a good cut out of a detailed die. I got one and it's like magic! Really! Teri, you are a genius!

All the new stamps/dies/inks will be available on Lawn Fawn's site (and probably everywhere else) starting on December 10. But you could win them first, by going to the blog and leaving comments!

Hope you are having a great holiday season! Thanks for coming by.

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Fawny Holiday Week & Share Handmade Kindness

Hi friends! Can you believe Thanksgiving is almost here? Yikes. Time has flown by. This year more than others for me.

Over at the Lawn Fawn blog, we are celebrating Fawny Holiday Week. The design team has gotten together with the folks at the Lawn Fawn headquarters and our friends from Lawnscaping to create lots of holiday projects. We are hoping to inspire you to create some handmade kindness to share this holiday season (more on that below).

I've never made cards in bulk before. But inspired by Jennifer McGuire's Share Handmade Kindness project, I agreed to create lots and lots of cards for my Littlest's elementary school fundraiser. Things I've learned: 1. keep it simple; 2. get a Misti, which sadly I didn't have. But I'm working on that. And I have to say that I truly enjoyed making all those cards. There's something about creating multiples of the same thing.

I made Christmas cards and Hanukkah cards. Both simple and super easy to recreate.

Materials used for the Christmas card:
Winter Penguin stamps and die
Toboggan Together set (sentiment)
Various inks
Alcohol markers
Stickles (on the scarf)

For the Hanukkah card:
Love You A Latke stamps and dies
Various inks and gold embossing powder
Alcohol markers
Gold pen
Yellow cardstock

For the tags:
Handmade With Love stamp
Winter Gifts stamps
Tag, You're It dies
Holiday Party Animal stamps (dreidel)
Lawn Trimmings Gold Sparkle cord

The cards themselves were just blank prefolded ones from American Crafts (envies too), and the cello baggies were the ones holding the AC blank cards. I recycled them. Let's make it easy on ourselves, people!

While that looks like a long list of supplies, the real key is to use whatever you have!

Do drop by Lawn Fawn's blog to see many more holiday projects and enter for a chance to win some stamps.

And now, Share Handmade Kindness. If you follow me or other stamping/cardmaking folks on Instagram, you've probably seen Jennifer McGuire's amazing challenge. One of the (many!) things that makes Jen an amazing person is that she's so kind and generous. She's a "what can I do for you" person, and NOT a "what can you do for me". That is so incredibly rare these days.

We, crafters, are prolific makers of the good stuff! But I hardly use any of the cards I make. The idea is to put these creations to use. You know how amazing it is to receive snail mail. And if you get a handmade card? Even better. So please go by her blog, check out the challenges, and share more of what you create.

Thanks for coming by today!

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Lawn Fawn X Chameleon Pens

Hi there! This week, Lawn Fawn is partnering with Chameleon Pens to bring you some fun projects. Chameleon Pens are alcohol markers, but totally unlike anything else in the market. Instead of many pens of the same color in varying tones, each Chameleon pen uses a toning medium to create variety. That means a lot less pens to store. Caveat, you'll need lots of practice! I know I'll need a lot more practice. Luckily, practicing coloring falls under the "fun" category. There are lots of videos and tips on the Chameleon blog.

For this card, I used the Spooktacular stamps and dies, Beachside Petite Pack, Black Tie Lawn Trimmings, Black Licorice ink pad, and the Chameleon Pens Pastel Tones Set.

I made the banner with some orange ribbon and eyelets. I haven't used eyelets in so long! I even broke out the Crop-a-dile. Ha!

Thanks for dropping by! Hope to see you again soon.

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Lawn Fawn: October Inspiration Week

Hey friends! Lawn Fawn's October Inspiration Week is drawing to a close soon! This month's theme is winter/holidays. And Lawn Fawn has so many new super adorable stamp sets.

I created two layouts for this week. This first one uses Red, Set, Snow stamps, the matching dies, Lawn Trimmings, Let's Bokeh In The Snow papers, gold embossing powder, and my most favorite white ink!

I've always loved snow. It requires very specific conditions to happen. And while it happens regularly in some places, it always feels magical to me. I remember the first time I saw snow falling. I was mesmerized. I was also at work, and spent a good 15 minutes staring out the window until my co-workers called me on it. Nothing like peer shaming... Sigh. But anyway, now that I live in the land of eternal sunshine, I really really miss snow. I miss staying in with the kids and getting all cozy with our hot chocolates and a movie. I miss going out and playing in it. I miss shoveling. Yes, shoveling! I miss it a lot.

Let's also talk a little about this white ink created by Lawn Fawn. It's called Yeti (insert heart icon x 2.) It's a pigment ink, so you can stamp on dark surfaces and it shows. It's honestly the best one out there. And I know, because I've tried them all.

This other layout is about the foods we eat around the holidays. I love a good traditional turkey/ham/stuffing/biscuits type meal, and I look forward to it all year long, until Thanksgiving. But by the time Christmas rolls around, I want something else entirely. And apparently so does my family. So a few years ago, we started eating either dim sum or xiao long bao on Christmas Eve, fondue on Christmas, and various other foods between the 25th and New Year's Eve. But we still stick to Hoppin' John on New Year's Day. Because, tradition. (And the hope for a lucky and prosperous new year.)

This layout uses Let's Bokeh In The Snow papers, Lawn Trimmings, Merry Christmas and Stitched Circle Tags dies. The little gingerbread person is from the Oh Snap. Cutest stamp set this release!

Thanks so much for coming by. And don't forget to drop by Lawn Fawn's blog and leave comments to win the new goodies! See you again soon.

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Lawn Fawn: September Inspiration Week

Hey friend! Happy Wednesday! My kids have the day off. Which I love! Even if we don't do anything special, it's always nice to just hang out with the boys.

It's also the last day of Lawn Fawn's September Inspiration Week. If you have never checked one out, you have to. Lots of projects/ideas/prizes.

I created a couple of layouts for this fun week.

The first using a combination of the Let's Bokeh In The Snow papers, Toboggan Together stamps and dies and Stitched Snowflakes dies. These are probably the last snow-filled photos I have. Unless we decide to go chasing snow this year. Which never happens because we are beach people. I'm possibly the worst skier. Ever.

This next layout uses more Let's Bokeh papers, and the super cute Baaah Humbug stamps and dies. And photos of my boys when they were much smaller. Like shorter than me. Sniff.

Sad news: some of these stamps are already sold out. Great news: you can head over to the Lawn Fawn blog and leave comments for chances to win. Yay!

Thanks for dropping by!

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Catch Up Post

Since I'm such a slacker blogger, I end up with projects that I forget to share. Oops.

This is a layout using Your Everyday Stamps Planner set. Alas, my dear friend Ashley has had to close her stamp shop. Here's to hoping it will reopen again soon!

This one was created for Lawn Fawn. I used the Best Pun Ever stamps and dies, Quinn's ABCs stamps and dies, Hearts wood veneer, and Pint-Sized: Beachside petite paper pack.

And lastly, a card created for PageMaps using Technique Tuesday's Here and Now Flair stamps, Happy Day Flair stamps, Lots of Dots stamps,  Hello Pocket die, and Chevron Strip die. You can see what the TT design team created here.

I think I'm caught up. I think.

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Lawn Fawn: Inspiration Week, Day Two

Hey there! I hope you've been visiting the Lawn Fawn blog and checking out the latest Inspiration Week. There are so many great projects, new products, and lots of giveaways! Giveaways!

In this layout, I used the So Jelly stamps and dies, and the Stitched Borders dies, as well as the Pint-Sized Patterns: Beachside Collection and the Let's Polka, Mon Amie paper collection.

Since the photo is fairly small (Instagram), I wanted to make sure we knew that my kid is the pitcher. So I cut a piece of vellum the same size as the photo, punched out a circle, and used it to highlight my child. I stamped the sentiment directly onto the vellum. Give the ink lots of time to dry (or you can heat emboss it). The starfish was stamped onto yellow cardstock and cut out using the matching die.

That cool border around the journaling is made using the new Stitched Borders. I just kept them together, ran them through my diecut machine (Cuttlebug), then I tore a small piece of the patterned paper off each end. I love the results so much (as in, brace yourself, because I'll be doing that again and again...) The little flags are from Party Animal set.

Thanks for dropping by today!

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Lawn Fawn: Inspiration Week

Hey there! This is my kids' first day of summer vacation, and we are in full holiday mode around here. So good! This week (and the next) is also Lawn Fawn's Inspiration Week, meaning lots of new stamps/dies, lots of ideas and inspiration, and lots of giveaways at the Lawn Fawn blog.

My first project uses the brand new Party Animal stamps and dies. I'm also using the Pint-Sized Patterns: Beachside Collection.

This layout is about my Littlest's birthday last year. He's a funny kid. He usually wants one thing on his birthday, and it's usually something small. He's not the kind of kid who has lots of expensive things on his wish list. This past year, he wanted to go to Palm Springs and feed wild lizards. Yup. Lizards. There's this restaurant in PS, where we eat each time we are there, where they feed lettuce to these lizards. They are fairly friendly and will come out of their holes to munch on the lettuce. On our last trip to PS, the restaurant owners told us they would be closed all summer to travel to Mexico. Littlest got really worried about the lizards. He was pretty determined to go there and feed them.

So we did. But we also stayed for the weekend. And we got him an iPod Touch. Because really, he deserves it. He totally didn't expect it, which makes it even sweeter. We all had a great time, relaxing in the pool. The lizards were thankful too! (I misspelled "lizards" a million times in the layout. Sigh.) See the "make a wish" sentiment? Stamped using a new Lawn Fawn ink color (Fish Tank).

I cut around the cute bear's arms with an x-acto knife, and tucked in behind the upper photo. All the tiny icons are popped up.

Do go by Lawn Fawn's blog and leave your comment on each day's post for chances to win the new stuff! And while there, check out all the projects from the design team. Happy Friday!

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Lawn Fawn: It's Magic

Hey, y'all! I'm back with another Lawn Fawn Inspiration Week project. This one uses the Pint-Sized Patterns: Beachside papers and Stuck On You dies (it has a matching stamp set).

I just love blue and orange together. Ah, complementary colors.

The heart and cactus are from Stuck On You. The alpha die set is called Finley's ABC. My fave!

The location is Joshua Tree National Park. If you've never been, add it to your bucket list. A total must! (Tip: go during winter and stay late for stargazing.) But for now, head on over to the Lawn Fawn blog and leave comments on this week's posts for chances to win the new stuff. Thanks for coming by!

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Lawn Fawn: Lucky Me!

Lawn Fawn is hosting its monthly inspiration week right now. And here is one of my contributions to the week. A pint-sized layout (6x6) using the new Pint-Sized Patterns: Beachside papers. Love love love how scrapable they are! I know... that's not a word, but the papers are just so awesome for scrapbooking! And truly great for card making too. I have always loved the smaller patterns on the B-side of papers more, and this is a whole line filled with them. The colors are pretty fab too. For this layout, I used a combo of the 12x12 sheets and the petite paper pack.

Please ignore the bad grammar and possible typos. I forgot to proofread it before I printed it. Adds a certain level of charm? Uh... no.

I'm also using the new My Lucky Charm stamps and die set. The set includes the asian lucky cat! I've been wanting a big one for my workspace. If you ever see one, alert me! But anyway, back to the layout...

I printed the journaling directly onto matte photo paper. I used an Instagram photo of my youngest sporting a leprechaun hat. Well, more like I forced him to wear it. But he was a good sport about it. Kinda. And added the die cuts with pop up dots. The title is from the same stamp set and I used Lawn Fawn Freshly Cut Grass ink.

And that's my story. Don't forget to come by tomorrow for another project, and do go by Lawn Fawn's blog today and leave a comment to win new goodies!

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Happy Birthday, Lawn Fawn!

Lawn Fawn is celebrating its 5th anniversary! The Fawnie team is honoring this birthday by posting some special projects.

The owners of Lawn Fawn (Kelly, Mike, and Erica) are some of the nicest people ever. They are hard working, generous, and they make the whole team feel like family.

Dear Kelly & Mike & Erica, 

and the entire Lawn Fawn team, 

HAPPY YEAR FIVE!

I used Years 2, 3, and 4 for this card. The animals, balloon, and present are colored in
with alcohol markers. The confetti is watercolor. Click for a bigger view.

(And just in case you didn't know, Lawn Fawn launches a new "Year" stamp set each, well, year. Here's this year's set. It's already sold out. So do sign up to be notified when it comes back in stock.)

A few of my fellow Fawnies are also sharing Happy Birthday projects today. Do go by and say hello!

Chari

Elena

Latisha

Lynette

Nichol

Nicole

Tiffany

Yainea

Thanks so much for stopping by, and party on!

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Snail Trail

Hi, friends! Lawn Fawn is teamed up with Scrapbook Adhesives this week for a fun blog hop. Scrapbook Adhesives are the makers of my most favorite foam squares. I love the rounded corners, I love how easily they come off the backing sheet. I love the dimension it gives my projects, it's just the perfect height. I'm pretty much addicted to those things, and I have to have at least a few sheets at all times, otherwise I start to feel a bit stressed out. I realize that's a bit weird, but I'm keeping it real here (hee hee)!

Snail trail was created with Versamark, Ranger Perfect Medium pen, and clear embossing powder.

This card was made with the newly released Gleeful Gardens and its matching dies. I also used the new Grassy Cupcake Liner die (as the hill). The sun is a die from the Spring Showers set.

Sorry for the super grainy photos. Dark, light-less day in SoCal. They do exist.

Please go by the Lawn Fawn and Scrapbook Adhesives' blogs for more projects and to win prizes!

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Lawn Fawn: February Inspiration Week

Let's just ignore the fact that I haven't posted here since last September...

Jumping right into scrappy stuff: Lawn Fawn is having its monthly inspiration week right now. That means loads of eye candy and loads of giveaways.

Here are my contributions to this month's projects:

This layout features all new Winter CHA stuff: Scripty Sayings stamps, Happy Birthday border die, and Lawn Fawn Fundamentals dye ink. And it features my littlest wearing the birthday hat I knit for his first birthday. He wears it on his birthday every year. It barely fits him now, but as long as he lets me, I'm going to keep stretching it over his noggin on his special day.

So let's talk about the Lawn Fawn Fundamentals dye ink for a minute. So amazing. Sooo good! Check out this video about them:

And another layout from yours truly:

This one also uses new goodies: Flirty Frames stamps, and Let's Polka, Mon Amie papers.

Bad news: these new products won't be available until February 19. Great news: you can win them by entering the giveaways on the Lawn Fawn blog. So hop over there right now and leave a comment for a chance to win. Don't forget to scroll down to each day of the Inspiration Week.

Thanks for stopping by! Here's to more blogging in 2015.

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Lawn Fawn: September Inspiration Week

Hello again! Lawn Fawn is posting all the winners of their most recent giveaway. Don't forget to drop by the blog to see if it's you!

Here's another layout I created using some of the new goodies. The background paper is this year's version of my favorite bokeh paper ever (from last year's holiday collection, see it here.) The alpha is Milo's ABCs. And the snow flakes are the super cute Stitched Snowflakes.

I cut a bunch of Stitched Snowflakes, and then applied some watercolor randomly. I stuck to a yellow/orange/pink palette to bring some contrast to the teal-ish background. Even if my kids made comments about yellow snow… Boys. Sigh.

The layout came together pretty quickly. The photos and journal are printed together on matte photo paper. I stamped the titles directly onto the photos using Hero Arts dye ink. The snowflakes were adhered with some 3M Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive. And that's it. The bulk of the time was spent die-cutting and waiting for the watercolor to dry (I cheated and used a heat gun, which then curled the snowflakes. I'm loving that effect!)

Thanks so much for coming by. My kids have today and tomorrow off (Rosh Hashanah). I'm hoping to get some hiking time with them and some crafting time by myself. Hope you have a great week (and weekend).

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Lawn Fawn: Snow Day Collection

It's time for another Lawn Fawn Inspiration Week! And this time, Lawn Fawn is featuring its holiday line, Snow Day. I know right? Christmas! Snow! Eeep! Not sure I'm entirely ready for this. Especially since the temps around Los Angeles have been in the 100s.

I created this layout about one of our Christmas trees. Back when we lived in Philly, one of our favorite traditions was to drive out into the country to find that perfect tree, cut it down ourselves, and haul it home. We've done it once here, and the experience was a bit surreal. There we were, cutting down a pine, surrounded by palm trees. PALM TREES! And we were all in shorts and T-shirts. SHORTS! But it's not going to stop us from doing it again this year.

To create this layout, I used the Hoodie paper, which is all journaling cards on one side and tiny polka dots on the other.

I printed photos in 3x4 and one in 4x6. Each photo has a little paper detail that I punched out (Fiskars punch) from the Snow Day petite paper pack. I sewed the scallops directly onto the photos. Then adhered them right on top of the journaling cards using pop-up dots (Scrapbook Adhesives). The alpha stamps are Riley's ABC. The tiny snowflakes stamped on the "Jolly Holly Days" card are from Deck The Halls set. I finished off with my printed journaling, and wooden snowflakes. Easy peasy.

Now, I can't wait for the weather to cool off a bit around these parts. I hear we'll be getting Fall-like weather soon. Los-Angeles-Fall, that is. (Meaning, we'll still be in shorts.)

Thanks for dropping by! Don't forget to visit Lawn Fawn's blog, and leave a comment to win. See you again tomorrow.

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Lawn Fawn: Fall/Winter Release Week

Hey there! Lawn Fawn is having it's Fall/Winter Release Week, and if you haven't visited their blog during a Release Week, you must. It's filled with great cards, layouts, ideas, and the best: giveaways!

Here are two of my projects for this week.

The first one featuring Monster Mash. It's so stinking cute. When I first saw it, I was reminded of my youngest in the Charlie Brown Halloween Ghost costume I made for my middlest. I love it when my kids want to "recycle" old costumes.

I made the title using Quinn's ABCs (which has matching dies) and Riley's ABCs ("not"). The ghosts/monsters also have coordinating dies.

This second layout features the new Sweater Weather paper and embellishment collection. It's browns, yellow, greens, reds, oranges, and blues. And those cute wood veneer leaves. They stamp really well with StazOn. The title is Cole's ABCs dies, and the numbers and words are Riley's ABCs.

Can you tell I miss a proper Autumn? I know I'm lucky to live in the land of eternal sunshine, but as crazy as it sounds, I sometimes wish for a brisk day. You know, the grass is always greener and all that.

Thanks for coming by, and don't forget to visit Lawn Fawn's blog and comment each day for a chance to win all the new goodies!

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Lawn Fawn: Mini-Album

Hello hello! It's the end of the school year. That means, it's time for teachers' gifts! Two words that kind of scare me. I'm usually a "cash and card" person. But since I'm room parent this year, I had to step up my present giving!

Enter this mini-album I made using Lawn Fawn's Stitched Party Banners. Super duper easy! For step-by-step instructions, please visit the Lawn Fawn's blog. Thank for dropping by!

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Lawn Fawn: April Inspiration Week

Hello, everyone! Lawn Fawn is having its monthly Inspiration Week right now. That means lots of ideas and lots of giveaways!

I created two projects for this week, both using the Dream stamp set. It's a small, sweet set that has so many uses! It also has an accompanying die set, because it's way easier than hand cutting! (Unless you are Erica Hernandez, but that's another blog post.)

First up, this layout that is all the things I love: simple, clean, white cardstock, bright colors, favorite photo. And rambling journaling.

To create this, the journaling is printed directly on the cardstock. Then, I stamped "dream" five times (with Versamark), and embossed it with white embossing powder (American Crafts Zing). By the way, if you are in the market for a heating gun, you must get the Milwaukee (mine is from Hero Arts). It's amazing. (No, it doesn't cook or clean.)

Once cooled off, I dripped some colored mists (Studio Calico) and held the card stock sideways. I love how it added pops of color, but still kept the layout clean and simple. To finish the project, I glued some matching sequins from Lawn Fawn. Super easy, right?

For the card, I only used the feather dies. I cut them out of white card stock, and colored them with markers. The "hello" is from the Hello Sunshine set, and hemp cord is Lawn Fawn's Cloudy Lawn Trimmings. Love the color and how easy it is to tie (vs. cotton twine.)

There you go. Two totally easy, and fast to create projects. Do go by Lawn Fawn's blog and leave your comments for many chances to win some seriously good loot. Thanks for coming by!

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Lawn Fawn + May Arts

Good morning! It's almost Spring Break around these parts, and I'm super duper excited. So I made a spring-y, beach-y card for the Lawn Fawn + May Arts blog hop.

To make the "sea", I used May Arts' 1/5" Silky Crush ribbon in white, and Caran D'Ache Neocolor in Cobalt Blue (I got mine here).

I blended some of the watercolor crayons with water in a container and dipped only the bottom of each ribbon.

The water wicks upward and you'll end up with a nice mottled effect. I added a little more watercolor with each subsequent ribbon. To dry them quickly, I used a heat gun. Please be careful because the gun will melt the ribbon if you are not careful.

Once dry, the color is a lot more subdued. To add more color, re-dip after the ribbon is dry.

I ended up using only two of the ribbons, adhered to the card with a dot runner. The stamp set I used is called Float My Boat. It has a matching die set. The boat is stamped using Colorbox Pigment in Surf, which turned out to match the watercolor crayon quite perfectly. The sails are from my favorite Lawn Fawn paper line ever, Let's Polka. The sentiment, heart and seagulls are all from the boat set. The inks I used are Colorbox Pigment in Mango Tango, Razzberry, and Wild Hare.

Thanks for coming by! Don't forget to visit Lawn Fawn and May Arts blogs and enter to win goodies all week long.

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