Camping fun

I love summer!  One of the things I enjoy is scrapping all the fun things we do during our break.  It's a great time to enjoy each other and make some great memories!  I use to hand scrap each page.  Until I discovered digital scrap booking a few years ago.  I will never go back.  I still enjoy making a handmade card or tag.  But I love all the fun things you can do with digital graphic kits.  I think it's great that I can use the graphics over and over.  As well as make as many changes to my page as I want!  Which I usually do a few drafts before I even print the page.  I used the camping kit from Jessica Sprauge. Of course I couldn't create these without  Heritage Collector storybook.

So this post is all about summer.  My family is going on a camping trip to Bear Lake soon.  I put together a camping kit for each one of my children to use on the trip.  I created a laminated digital page that doubles as a white board that they can doodle on.  I slipped each one into a bag with a dry erase pen, and some snacks for the trip. I think we will use these for next summers activities too.

I designed each of these pages as 8 1/2 x 11.  I printed them on card stock and then laminated each one.  I love that you can use each one as doodle page when you flip it over.  I think they will work great to pass the time drawing while driving in the car.  If I were to do these again though I would size mine to an 8x10 because it is a tight squeeze into a gallon ziplock bag.

 My kids seem to like them and it will keep their own stuff marked and labeled with their name.  Can't wait to add some mini flashlights and glow sticks to their bags.  These were really fun to put together and build some excitement for our upcoming camping trip!

DIY Chalkboard Quotes

I have been wanting to try out some chalkboard prints with Heritage Collector Storybook for awhile.  I finally got around to making some up today.  There are a lot of great fonts that pair well with the chalkboard background.  I could have designed the background entirely as a chalkboard effect.  I decided I needed a little color though.

This was really simple to create.  I looked through some of the kits that I had purchased and located some brushed effects.  Believe it on not the flowers I used here were originally in bright colors or black.  I changed the color to white.  I chose to use two free fonts called EcuyerDax, and  DK Claire de lune.  I thought the effect was just about right.

This second print is basically the same.  I just chose to use one less flower and a blue background instead. You can try just about anything with a chalk print.  I love being able to easily move elements and backgrounds around to see what works best.  One of the best parts about digital scrap booking!

For the print above I decided to add a little more color and a different font.  I used DK Claire de lune for this one. As well as the kit Happier by Deena Rutter. I thought the colors were fun bright colors to go along with the theme of the message here.  I love being able to print up my own personalized art for a gift.  A print for the kitchen or even a card for a friend. So many possibilities can be used with these prints!

My daughter has been begging me to paint a wall of her bedroom with chalkboard paint. After making these and discovering all of the fun possibilities with this look I may just move onto a chalkboard painting project next!

These last two  are not chalkboard style but I just had to add them! I thought the graphics went well with the messages of these prints.

Teacher Thank You Gift

It is the end of the school year here in Utah.  My kids are getting so excited for summer!  It can be a challenge for them to continue to attend school when all they want to do is play with friends.  Or  go play outside and enjoy the sunny weather. I am sure that their teachers are also looking forward to summer vacation as well.

So I began thinking of ways we could thank my children's wonderful teachers for a great year.  I decided to keep with a summer time theme.  I chose this super fun kit Lemonade Stand from Daisy's and Dimples.  They have some great digital scrap booking kits to choose from. I have attached the link.

http://daisiesanddimples.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2044:e00a8f60fc5268ff9623f0510c09d4f4

I thought the lemonade theme went perfectly with relaxing summer days.  So I downloaded the kit and designed some cards.  I thought they turned out perfect.  I picked up some plastic cups and some lemonade packets from my local store.  I then added a card.  The dimensions are 4 inches by 11  inches.  I then folded it and I slipped a gift card inside.

While I was thinking about lemonade I picked up a large jar of simply lemonade and made another card and attached it to the jar with some fun paper straws. The card dimension were 4x8 inches.

I picked up the straws at my local Partyland store.  Hobby Lobby also stocks them.  I thought the lemon tag went great with the lemonade jar. You could also attach a gift card inside

I decided to make up a batch of lemonade cupcakes. I picked up a Betty Crocker Lemon flavored cake mix. While the cupcakes were baking. I used one of the fun elements from the Lemonade Stand digi kit to design a card for the cupcake. Then I printed out a polka dot paper from the collection. You can get free cupcake topper printables here. I added a decorative edge with some craft scissors and  wrapped the paper around the cupcake liner and dropped it inside a plastic cup.

 The finishing touches were a lemon candy for the cupcake.  Cellophane and a clear tied bow and the card.


Below is a fun lightly lemon flavored frosting recipe for you to try!  I found some coordinating papers and lemon elements from the Lemonade Stand kit to put this together.  Heritage Storybook made it super easy to arrange the cards and elements  Enjoy!  Summer will soon be here.

Fabric Flower Wreath

My front door was in need of a little something new.  I haven't had anything on my door for spring and summer for a long time. So it was time for my door to get some color to celebrate warmer days.  I started with the items you see in the photo.  Some bright cheery fabrics.  I started with the print and then took my color scheme from there.

I found the wooden bird from the wood connection.  I then chose a favorite color and painted on two coats of paint.  When it was dry I distressed the edges of the wood just a little.

Once I arrived home with my fabric I got to work making these fun fabric flowers.  I was amazed at how easy these flowers were to make. I learned from a friend and also this tutorial. Literally only a few minutes per flower. They would be fun to add to a headband, a bag, or a little girls dress.  Tons of possibilities!

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2010/12/tutorial-rolled-fabric-flowers/

Here is a close up of the flowers and the little bird I used on a grapevine wreath.  I picked up my fabric from Hobby Lobby as well as the grapevine wreath.  I love using the 40% off coupon for craft projects!

The finishing touch was my curvy frame and of course the digital print I sized to fit in Heritage Collector Storybook.  The frame had a 2 x 4 inch opening and so I had to size down a bit with the digital print. I printed it out from my personal printer.  But if you want the print to last in the bright sunshine it would be better to do a photo print and laminate it.

What to you think?  Are you ready to go make one for your front door?

Mothers Day

This weekend is Mothers Day.  I have been thinking about the wonderful mothers and grandmothers in my life.  I love that I have a chance to celebrate them on a special day!  So as the week has progressed I have been busy as most mothers are with birthday parties, household chores and a sick child. As well as trying to get a garden planted.  You all know I share the busy life of a typical mother! So I haven't had as much time to create a card that I wanted to make for the special women in my life.  So you can imagine how thrilled I was to find this beautiful quick page.  That's right it was all created through the generosity of a great designer.  http://bcdolls.com/blog/ I signed up for her newsletter to receive the quick page.

So all I had to do was pull the quick page into Heritage Collector Storybook.  Once the page was downloaded I could pick from any of my family photos and slide one behind the page.  Once that was complete I was able to add a little of my own personal touch to the card.  I sized the page down to a 4x6 size.  I think this would also be great as a 5x7.  I sent my print to Costco and it should be ready just in time!  Because I didn't get this card in the mail earlier this week it may arrive on Monday.  So I can also email this to each special lady as well.  I love how easy it is make a beautiful project with a quick page and this is so simple to do. What I love though is the personal touch it adds to a card that probably won't simply be thrown away but can be enjoyed for a while.

Happy Mothers Day to all of the beautiful mothers this Sunday!

Mothers Day Door Hanger

Mothers Day is coming in a few weeks!  I wanted to make something simple for my kids to fill with a few of Grandma's favorite things.  I have seen a few creative door hangers and the other day I saw one on a blog that caught my eye.  The instructions I followed were found here.  http://www.doodlebugblog.com/2012/01/tuesday-tutorial-valentine-door-hanger.html

There are a lot of ideas you could use for this simple project.  Fathers day, birthdays, Christmas, school teachers, a neighbor gift.  Really anything you would want to create and slip a treat inside and hang on a door.  I made mine about an inch wider than the directions.  Instead of using plain card stock I altered it to create digitally in Storybook. I used the digital Maggie kit from Lori Whitlock found on Jessica Sprague.

We are excited to add some flowers, a card and a little treat to our bag.  Hope you have fun creating your own.  Don't forget to check out Heritage Collector Storybook that makes it easy to personalize and create your own unique gifts!

I am already planning to make some more of these door hangers for my sons birthday and for my children's teachers, I may even create some for a new neighbor who is moving in soon.  Endless possibilities! Check back soon for a Mothers Day card idea.

Happy Spring!

Spring Fever

It was a long winter this year in Utah.  So you can imagine how much I was looking forward to spring.  I was thrilled to see my daffodils and tulips beginning to grow in my front yard.  I spent some time this past week clearing out all of the debris left over from winter.  While I was working in my garden beds I began brainstorming what I could make to celebrate spring for my home.

I decided that I needed to bring a little spring sunshine indoors to enjoy too!  So I designed a print to put in a frame for the kitchen.  I used Heritage Collector Storybook to pull it all together.  I used some graphics from a kit from Jessica Sprague called Springtime.  http://www.jessicasprague.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.pbv.tabs.tpl&product_id=1213&category_id=10&keyword=spring&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=295

It didn't take long and I even tried out a new font.  I think the print still needs a few more flowers to frame the text. Even if I do nothing more it was fun to design.

 I had to alter the size of the print just a little to fit my 5x7 frame.  This was very easy to do in Storybook.  If you are like me sometimes the frame has a slight lip on the inside of the frame.   I discovered that when you slip your print inside the frame you lose a 1/4 inch on all sides.  I can now personalize my print to fit that slight difference for a perfectly framed print.  Happy Spring!