Studio Calico Giveaway WINNER!

Hey there! We have a winner!

 

Becky, email me at milesofpaper[at]gmail[dot]com with your email addy (or use the email button to the left)! Congratulations!

Thanks everyone for entering! See you in the Trendspotting classroom.

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Technique Tuesday: New Release

If you are looking for the Studio Calico giveaway, click here.

Happy Friday! Technique Tuesday released a bunch of new stamps and journaling cards this past week, all of which are now available on the website. They'll start shipping August 7, but you can pre-order them now.

Here are a couple of projects I created with the new stuff.

stamp: Technique Tuesday Get Crafty / ink: Clearsnap Colorbox Pigment Ink / cardstock: Neenah Solar White, DCWV The Silky Smooth / rhinestones: Doodlebug / other: typewriter

First up, this card using the Get Crafty set. I stamped the brush in the rainbow colors, added that quote,  that border, and that was about it. Love those colors all next to each other.

stamp: Technique Tuesday Bright Idea / journaling card: Technique Tuesday Remember This / ink: Hero Arts Shadow Ink, Tsukineko Versamark / embossing powder: American Crafts / ribbon: American Crafts / punches: Marvy, Martha Stewart Crafts

For this tag, I used one of Ali Edwards' new journaling cards. They are perfect for Project Life, of course. But also for journaling in layouts, cards, and gift tags like this one. The one I used is from the  Remember This set. On one side, there are words by Ali, and it's blank on the other side. I stamped on the blank side using the Bright Idea set. Both the super cute retro lamp and the sentiment are from that.

Thanks for coming by today! Hope you have a great weekend.

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Studio Calico Trendspotting Blog Hop

Go here for the winner! 

Hey yo! Lisa and Kelly asked me to contribute to their latest Studio Calico class, Trendspotting, and how could I say no to them? Love those girls! Let's start with a couple sneak peeks of the layouts I created. So much fun!

This class will have exclusive downloadable files. Check them!

What else can I tell you... Oh yes. I created a few digital files for my layouts, and also just for fun. We'll be sharing those too. For today, I have an arrow file I created for the Silhouette. Here's a peek of what it looks like cut. Click here to download. (eta: Fixed the link! Thanks for the heads up!)

I was totally inspired by this awesome poster that soon will be mine!

 photo and artwork by Sycamore Street Press

Enough from me. Let's find out a bit more about the class, shall we?

Are you a trendspotter? Lisa Truesdell and Kelly Noel want you to give it a try. They're here to teach you to jump on the latest trends and incorporate them into your projects without losing your own personal style. You'll learn how to use trends in varying amounts to combine what's now with what's YOU.

Lisa and Kelly are joined by six contributors - all of whom have a strong personal style. Becky Novacek, Celine Navarro, Jaime Warren, Gillian Nelson, Nicole Samuels and Linda Barber will be sharing layouts and advice on how they make all the latest trends work without compromising their signature look.

This is a four week class with three detailed PDF lessons each week, starting on August 6th. Each PDF will contain three layouts and a card (that's a total of 48 oh so trendy projects!), as well as tips and tricks from the teachers and contributors. In addition, Lisa and Kelly will be sharing trend-based inspiration pieces on the private message board, and you'll have access to exclusive files (a collection of shapes in .png, .abr and .studio & two printable journaling card sets). Here's a look at the trends we will be covering in class :

week one : triangles, ombre and woodgrain 
week two : metallics, sunburst and confetti 
week three : neon, arrows and banners 
week four : typography, mist and hexagons


Today, all the contributors are doing a little blog hop with sweet sweet prizes! $5 gift certificates and spots in the class. And here's what you need to do to win the prizes. Leave me a comment here to win one of the $5 GCs to the Studio Calico store (which you can use to purchase this class.) Make sure to hit all the other blogs on this hop for more chances to win.

Celine 

Nicole 

You are here -- > Linda < --You are here 

Becky

Gillian 

Jaime 

Then after you are done with that, go to these blogs for a chance to win a spot in the class itself! Awesomesauce, right?

Kelly 

Lisa 

Studio Calico 

Don't forget to check back here on July 27 to see if you've won. Thanks for coming by today!

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Technique Tuesday: July Studio AE Blog Hop

Welcome to July's Studio AE blog hop! Ali Edwards's stamp set for this month is called Summer Rocks.

And she's right. It does! I adore summer. I love having my kids around, and doing a lot of nothing together. We also take day trips to local museums, gardens, libraries. We read, craft, watch movies, and make food together. But we also love to take longer trips. One of our favorite places is Palm Springs. It's close enough so the traveling part is not overwhelming. About 2.5 hours. Traffic included. Because this is Southern California. Traffic is always included!

stamps: Technique Tuesday Studio AE Summer Rocks / inks: Clearsnap Colorbox Pigment Ink, Tsukineko Versafine / embossing powder: American Crafts Zing, Ranger Super Fine Detail / cardstock: Bazzill, DCWV / patterned paper: Bella Blvd / tags: Elle's Studio / page protector: Avery / alphas: American Crafts Amy Tangerine Goodness

I started my own Project Life mid-May, and I only have two weeks done. I haven't progressed much, but I'm not really worried about it. I'll get back to it eventually. But one thing that I've really enjoyed putting together is an overview of our weekend trips. These are 8.5"x11" size inserts that'll go with the appropriate week. There's no journaling in these pages, because I'll most likely write about the trip more extensively using either the Project Life pages or on other layouts.

Adore the new Elle's Studio summer line!

I use these slide pages that hold 20 photos per side. Five down, four across. I got mine here. But if you do a quick google of slide pages, you'll get a bunch of other options.

The white ink is Clearsnap Colorbox Pigment Ink in Frost White, embossed with Ranger's Super Fine Details in Clear. BTW, in case you are wondering, my favorite heat gun is this one. It gets super duper hot, and melts the powder in seconds.

I printed all the photos teeny (the slide pockets are 2"x2"), twenty to a 8.5"x11" sheet of photo paper, and then I trimmed them out (tedious!)

This is the flipside. The adorable yellow chevron paper is from Bella Blvd new line coming out this Summer CHA.

These Summer Rocks stamps are perfect for my Palm Springs photos. We left the afternoon the kids got out of school, so we mostly definitely had all those feelings of school being out, loving summer, needing relaxation!

Sorry about the weird photos. I haven't figured out how to take photos in page protectors yet. Let me know if you have any good tips!

I don't usually like glittery, gold-ish, silver-esque stuff, but I really love gold embossing powder. Weird, huh? This one is American Crafts Zing in, uh, Gold. Of course.

Don't forget to visit the other lovely ladies in this blog hop:

our guest for July:

Kim Kesti

you are here --> Linda Barber <-- you are here

Ali Edwards

Daniela Dobson

Nichol Magouirk

Laura O’Donnell

Sharyn Tormanen

Teri Anderson

Please leave me a comment here for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to TechniqueTuesday.com. One person will be chosen randomly from all the comments received during the hop. So don't forget to leave comments on all the blogs!

Tune into the Technique Tuesday blog on 7/13 to see if you are the lucky winner.

Thanks so much for dropping by today!

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Technique Tuesday: Watercolor Crayons

Hey there! I'm blogging over at Technique Tuesday today.  I'm doing a tutorial about our watercolor crayons. Here's the card I created for the post.

stamps: Technique Tuesday Wishes + Passion for Polka / watercolor crayons: Technique Tuesday / ink: Clearsnap Colorbox Pigment, Tsukineko Versamark / embossing powder: American Crafts / cardstock: Neenah, DCWV / twill ribbon: Technique Tuesday / hemp cord: Lawn Fawn / thread: DMC

I used the crayons to create the banners. Head on over to Technique Tuesday's blog to find out how. Thanks for coming!

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Technique Tuesday: Seals Challenge

No, not the "ark ark" kind. But the stamping kind. As you probably know by now, Technique Tuesday debuted a new line of stamps called Signed, Sealed, and Delivered. Today, the Stamping Techs are whipping up some new projects using those seals.

I've already made a Mother's Day card and layout, and a Father's Day card using some of the seals. So for today, I created a quick and easy birthday card using the Happy Birthday seal.

stamps: Technique Tuesday Happy Birthday Seal / patterned papers: October Afternoon 9 to 5 / ribbon: Technique Tuesday Narrow White Twill / Inks: Hero Arts Mid-Tone Shadow Ink in Butter Bar, Clearsnap Colorbox Classic Pigment Cat's Eye / punches: McGill

I stamped the seal in two colors, punched out the blue one with a 2" scalloped punch, and the candles with a 3/4" circle punch. Popped them up with pop up dots. Then I stamped a piece of Technique Tuesday Narrow White Twill with the little star that comes in the seal set. Wrapped the twill around the stripe-y paper, and then adhered that to the woodgrain paper. Yes, I have a thing for woodgrain paper. I'm blaming it on Martha Stewart. And this October Afternoon paper is pretty dang awesome.

This is such a super simple card that can be adapted to just about any occasion. Which makes those seals such great stamps to have around. Plus, they are really affordable!

Don't forget to go by Technique Tuesday's blog to see the awesome projects by the other Stamping Techs!

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Lawn Fawn Intro: Quinn's 1-2-3

Happy Wednesday! My household is all abuzz! Tomorrow is the last day of school for my kids, and they are hopping off the wall with excitement. Must confess that I am too. This was a long year, school-wise. It's time for them to have a little break. Never mind summer school/camps start next Monday... But for now, we are ready to celebrate. As soon as the kids get off school tomorrow, we are heading out to Palm Springs for a long weekend. And even though, they will spend part of their summer in school, we've planned some fun local adventures.

I did write down a list on a piece of paper, but then I thought it would be fun to create a sort of advent calendar? What would one call this? A countdown calendar? I don't know. But you get the idea.

stamps: Lawn Fawn Quinn's 1-2-3 + Harold's ABC / patterned paper: Crate Paper / washi tape: MT / teardrop sticker: Martha Stewart x Avery / ink: Tsukineko Versafine / diecut system: Silhouette Cameo

And since Lawn Fawn is introducing its Quinn's 1-2-3 stamps, I used it here to number the little flaps. These are the same font as Quinn's ABC. They are already available in the Lawn Fawn shop and other stores (online and brick).

To make this layout list, I created a quick and simple file for Cameo, because why bring out the knife and ruler unless I really have to, right? The Cameo cut the windows, and I backed the patterned paper (this paper kills me! Crate! I love it!) with white cardstock. I stamped the numbers on the flaps, machine stitched them in between, and adhered the photos inside. Then I created the little "handles" with some washi tape. Finished the layout with the Silhouette-cut title, and stamped "2012" using Harold's ABC. That by the way is a Martha Stewart x Avery label. They come in that teardrop shape in a variety of colors. Super cute.

That is it! The kids got pretty excited when they saw this. I think they like the mystery of the little windows and the pops of bright colors. Although, there's hardly any mystery, since they've opened all the flaps already.

In case you are curious, our list is:

1. Hollyhock House
2. The Getty Villa
3. Warner Brothers VIP Tour
4. LACMA
5. Grand Central Market
6. Griffith Observatory
7. The Getty
8. Olvera Street
9. The Huntington Library

If you'd like to make your own flap-y list, I'm sharing my Cameo file here.  Also, don't forget to go by the Lawn Fawn blog and leave comments to win the new stamps! Thanks for dropping by today!

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Creating Keepsakes, the Summer Issue!

The Summer issue of Creating Keepsakes is out, and I'm pretty excited about it. See that cover? It's mine!

As seen in the July/Aug 2012 of Creating Keepsakes magazine. Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Posted with prior permission from the publisher.

I also have a summer vacation mini album in it. Complete with a free download.

It's a quick and easy mini book that you can put together by printing the downloadable form, adding some photos and other embellishments, and filling out the blanks. Super simple. Instant satisfaction. Here's a page that my son Jett filled out for the book.

And guess what? You can win a copy! There's a blog hop going on, so you will have many chances to win. Start by going to Kim Watson's blog, and leaving those comments! Thanks for stopping by.

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Lawn Fawn + May Arts

Hello hello! This week, Lawn Fawn has paired up with May Arts for yummy stampy ribbony love. And here's my contribution.

It's a recap of our weekend up California's Central Coast. I made the word art first in Adobe Illustrator, then transferred it to my Silhouette Cameo. That should have been easy, except that I haven't quite figured out all the settings of the Cameo, so I cut it out 5 or 6 times, and finally ended up trimming some out with a knife. I'm no Erica. I can't cut small things out with a knife! So please forgive the slightly shredded words. Backed it all up with bits of colorful paper, lots of it from Lawn Fawn (perfect for those Spring projects).

Then I stamped my favorite camera stamp, embossed them in white, and watercolored with some mist. Same with the butterfly. Added the banners made from May Arts' ribbons, and topped it off with an Ormolu button.

The photos were gathered in Photoshop, and printed in one sheet of photo paper. And, of course, I finished the layout with some hand stitching! Hand stitching makes me happy.

The good part? Both Lawn Fawn and May Arts are doing giveaways throughout the week. So go by both blogs, check out the awesome projects, and leave comments! Thanks for dropping by!

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Weekend in Instagrams + Giveaway Winner

First, the winner! Random.org picked:

Kate, aka stinkydudette

Your username had me cracking up. Love it! Kate, please email me? Thanks! (use email button to the left, please)


So this past weekend, we took off on Friday afternoon to San Diego without a plan. No hotel was booked ahead of time. No guidebooks consulted. No Yelp research. Nothing. Which is so unlike me. I like to have at least a few restaurants in my must see eat list.

The Del from the beach.

We took off, and holy crap, the traffic was insane! It took us over five hours to cover the 120 miles that separate Los Angeles and San Diego. So I had a lot of time to find us a hotel. And we lucked into the Hotel Del Coronado. Also known as The Del. It was built in 1888 by the developers of Coronado Island. Which really is not an island, more of a peninsula, but what do I know!

My view from the poolside chair.

Our room was right off the pool, which was warmed to a 82F night and day. The kids were in love! We were also a few steps from the beach, but it was very overcast and blustery the entire weekend.  So we stuck to the heated pool, ate a lot, walked around the teeny village, took in the sites.

Nighttime, all lit up.

Inspired by all those his+hers drink shots. Him = cool microbew. Me = tap water.

Really really good pork belly noodle soup at Leroy's.

Cute paper store at night. I didn't get a chance to visit it while it was open.

My oldest wanted this shirt. What can I say? He's 13. I didn't buy it.

Love weekends spent as a tourist. I usually come home so inspired to cook, scrap, and travel some more. Currently plotting a trip to Ojai!

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