BrownPaperPackaging

A Perfect Day

2012-02-01T12:54:00.001-06:00

I've finished some cleaning and reorganizing in my scraproom, and the creativity is flowing. :) I made this sweet album this week.

It's on eBay if you're interested. Thanks for looking! D2

Pregnancy Baby Journal

2011-10-26T19:02:00.000-05:00

This is another custom album from a few weeks ago - a pregnancy journal with pages for her to add a photo each month, and envelopes to hold notes and tags. :)

The mom isn't a pink kind of girl so I begged her sister for color ideas, and she told me black and turquoise with no pastel so this is what I came up with. :)

Hope she enjoys it, and congrats on the baby! :) DeeDee

Fairy Tale Wedding Album

2011-10-10T11:32:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago a friend bought this from my etsy store, and then I had fun personalizing this album for a wedding. :)

Hope they like it! :)

Dee Dee

Shine Chipboard Album

2011-10-06T14:26:00.001-05:00

I was in the mood to make something pink the other day so I got out some Girl's Paperie and Webster's Pages patterned paper. This is what I came up with. :)

This and more pictures are on eBay if you're interested. :) Thanks for looking!

Dee2

Little Boy Blue

2011-09-20T20:18:00.001-05:00

I have been trying to catch up on scrapping for my kids lately. This is one of the layouts I added to Blue's baby book. It kind of has a grungy look so far, and I like it.

I love these ghost letters. They're a little hard to see in the photo, but not in person. :)

I really wanted this to say "tiny little love of my life" which were the first words I spoke to him when he was born, but I couldn't find a "tiny" sticker. Still, I am happy I finally got these photos scrapped. :) Thanks for looking! Dee2

Boo From The Crew

2011-09-11T17:55:00.002-05:00

This is my first Halloween paper bag album of the year. I created it using really warm autumnal colors. The papers and embellishments have a sort of vintage vibe about them.

You can see more pictures or bid by clicking HERE. Thanks for looking! Dee2

Kindergarten Album

2011-09-11T13:43:00.000-05:00

My daughter started kindergarten last month. It was a big event for our family. I am a stay-at-home mom so I felt keenly that I needed to record this big change. To go along with some of the pictures I've been taking I made this kindergarten mini-album to record some stats from the beginning of the year.

I used Graphic 45's ABC Primer papers. I just loved the vintage look. I think it goes nicely with the plaid from her school uniforms.

This album is at The Crafty Scrapper right now so I didn't write in all her personal details, but I recorded her height and weight to add into the album as well as info about her teacher and friends.

This is a close-up of her missing teeth. She is so proud of them. :)

When the year is over I am going to give this album to her to put on her bookshelf. I am making a 12x12 album for myself to record the year. :)

If you need a mini school album I will be teaching this as a class at The Crafty Scrapper on September 24th at 10:30 am. :)

Happy Fall! Dee2

Goodbye Triple Digits

2011-09-07T06:50:00.001-05:00

There has finally been a break in the miserable heat of our Texas summer. We've been in triple digits for as long as I can remember,and without rain for so long there are wildfires every day now. Last month we had four minutes of rain. It was so out of the ordinary the kids and I ran outside to play in it, and thank God for sending it.

That's my daughter running in front of the house. She wanted to get her umbrella and rain boots, but I knew it wouldn't last through her getting dressed up.

This is Blue running through the little stream headed for the drain at the bottom of the street. He was pretty fascinated by being able to run in the street for the first time.

This is the two of them making big splashes. It was a sweet moment, but we really need more rain. Please pray for rain for Texas!

The cooler temps are finally ushering in fall, and I couldn't be happier. It's still 90 degrees, but so much better than 110! :) Here is a sweet mini album I made with BoBunny's Forever Fall collection to show off pictures of the kids at the pumpkin patch last year.

I know it is a bit early, but I am already eager for the leaves to turn, the days to shorten, and the nights to drag out into a cozy scene around the fireplace.

I will be teaching how to put together this album at The Crafty Scrapper on October 15th at 10am if you're interested, or you can call the store(972-923-3151) to reserve a kit. The cost is $35.

I need to break my camera out of the bag this week, and start snapping pictures of the kids so I can treasure this time of year when the next crazy summer rolls around! :)

August Update :)

2011-08-26T13:33:00.000-05:00

August has been a super busy month for me. I've taught classes, and I went on a scrapbook retreat and a girlfriend's cruise. My daughter started kindergarten, my husband went back to teaching, and my son has jumped right into the terrible twos. :) I've been sick this week, but I still have a few more things to cross off my list before I can say goodbye to August.

Here's a sweet pregnancy paper bag album I made at the beginning of the month, and I am just now getting on eBay. Eeek. Time has slipped away from me.

I will be so happy when fall arrives. It is my absolute favorite time of year. We get a break from the relentless heat of the Texas summer, and there are so many traditions to be celebrated.

I have already started my fall crafts, and scheduled a couple classes at The Crafty Scrapper.

I am going to renew my membership at the Dallas Arboretum so I can take photos with the kids to fill this album. It's one of my favorite things to do all year.

This is a little sneak peek of the Halloween banner I made with my daughter's previous costumes. It will be so fun to pick out a costume with her this year. Maybe we'll make something handmade. :)

Hope August treated you well! Dee2

Wicked ATC Swap

2011-08-08T06:48:00.000-05:00

These are the Artist Trading Cards I made in conjunction with the little Dorothy house I showed you before.

No Place Like Home

Feels Good to Be Bad

Flying Monkeys :)

Hope you like! :) Dee Dee

Spring in Full Bloom

2011-08-07T06:40:00.000-05:00

Here's a sweet banner I made around Easter. :)

Can't believe it is already time to start thinking about one for Fall!

Letters of My Life

2011-08-06T09:26:00.000-05:00

This is an altered Cigar Box I created for The Crafty Scrapper. I played with modeling paste and inks to achieve this vintage look. Love it!

Hope you like! :)

Dee Dee

Sugar and Spice Album

2011-08-05T08:36:00.000-05:00

This is another album I put together recently. It now lives with my friend who loves purple. :)

Hope you like! :) Dee2

No Place Like Home

2011-08-04T09:08:00.001-05:00

I created this Wicked house to hold some ATCs from a swap I participated in. :) It was so fun to just let my imagination soar.

My own little yellow brick road.

Hand-dyed flowers.

Wicked feet.

Maya Road trinkets.

Hope you like! :) Dee2

To Blog or Not to Blog

2011-08-04T03:53:00.000-05:00

That is a question I have been kicking around for years now. It is hard to establish it as a habit, but also a hard habit to kick! As of now, I have updated a few things on my craft blog, and hope to keep up with it more faithfully. Hopefully that will mean more time spent in my craftroom as well. :) I have a new goal to get something published so after my vacation next week I will be looking around to see what people are looking for submission wise. It feels like a grand adventure to set out upon. :)

Thanks for your support these last four years of blogging. :)

Dee Dee

Fur Baby

2011-08-03T09:51:00.000-05:00

I finished up these cute paper bag albums that I started oh something like 3 years ago!! :) About time eh? :)

Sweet Little Moments: I love making baby girl albums!

The True Story of a Boy

2011-08-02T16:48:00.000-05:00

I made this 8x8" album of some of my favorite pictures of my son. :)

I had lots of fun with stamping all the different elements onto the cover, and a few of the pages.

Love his curls in this pic.

Denim diaper cutie

Isn't that sweet? :) I love this Rocket Boy papers. Hope you like! Dee2

Custom Wedding Album

2011-07-12T15:56:00.000-05:00

Here's a peek of some 12x12 pages I finished this week for a wedding album. It was so much fun going through all of the bride's photos!

Enjoy! Dee2

Kicking it With Maya Road

2011-07-01T08:42:00.000-05:00

Here's a sweet and simple country girl banner made from the new Maya Road boot album. :)

I had lots of fun layering ribbons, flowers, photos, and embellishments.

Thanks for looking. Dee Dee :)

The Romance of Life

2011-06-30T22:36:00.002-05:00

I designed this for a sweet friend that is remarrying this year. It has pictures of her little girls, and her soon-to-be husband. :) The papers are Creative Imaginations, and the embellishments are CI and The Girls Paperie.

Hope you like. Dee2

The Small Moments

2011-06-11T20:29:00.000-05:00

I created this altered ribbon spool using The Girls Paperie Kitch collection and embellishments. Actually, the ribbon spool turned out to not be big enough I so I cut the frame from a 12x12 sheet of chipboard leftover from a paper pack. :)

Just a sweet trinket of my kids and hubby to sit on my dresser. :)

Thanks for looking!

The Sweetness of a Summer Afternoon

2011-05-24T13:27:00.000-05:00

I made this sweet mini-banner to go across my mantle for summer. Well, first it is going to the Great American Scrapbook Convention in Arlington, and then it will be on my mantle. :)

I used a lot of Maya Road chipboard, some Prima flowers, Crate Paper stickers, and The Girl's Paperie patterned paper.

I finally broke out my Maya Resist again. It's been a while. There are so many tools to play with! :)

Love the Martha Stewart microbeads on the heart, and the antique German glass glitter on the bird.

I adore how the rainbow turned out. :)

I made the hanger look shabby, and I just love it. Anyway, hope it inspires. :)

The Simple Life

2011-05-20T10:55:00.000-05:00

Here's a couple of projects I created recently. One is a photo tray that will eventually hang by my front door and hold receipts.

It's called "the simple life," and I designed it with a vintage americana look. I tried to keep it really simple because I will be teaching it as a class in June, but I may go back and add a few trinkets here and there.

I had a lot of fun working in little details to this project, and thought it would be sweet for displaying various family photos without too much fuss.

This is a baby album I made for a baby shower last month for my friend Lori. :) Her son was born the day of the shower so I had to wait a bit to give it to her. I really think making baby albums must be my favorite thing. I fly right through them just thinking about how happy they will make the new momma.

More to show you soon. I have created a few things for the Great American Scrapbook Convention that's happening in Arlington in a few weeks, and they've turned out SO cute. :)

Creativity belongs to all of us!

Hope House Mixed Media Canvas

2011-05-18T14:44:00.000-05:00

My church is starting a new ministry in the community. "Hope Mansion is our community’s home for women in crisis pregnancy. When completed, we will serve women in a residential atmosphere and help them establish a relationship with their baby and our Lord. They will learn life skills and eventually return to productive lives knowing that our God has purpose for them; they will find Hope in God."

I love it, and I was inspired to make this canvas for the ministry.

I titled it "She expected great things." I am praying that God will do great things through the ministry, and that babies and mothers in crisis will be filled with hope and direction.

I built the house from pages of my first bible. I then layered in a prayer from my journal for the mothers and babies and people that will minister to them. Then I layered specific scriptures over the top that I were on my heart for the ministry.

It might be hard to tell from the photos, but there are a ton of details to this mixed media canvas.

This is my hand-drawn/cut pregnant mama. In her hands are a key and a locket that says trust.

I am not sure how it will be used, but I decided to be brave and find a use for my art. Hope you like.

Dee Dee

My Sunshine

2011-04-29T21:46:00.000-05:00

I designed this sweet summery album using the "Mix and Mend" collection by Sassafras Lass. These papers are so detailed and delish!

I wanted the colors to look like sand, the sun, and the ocean. Here's a few sneak peeks.

I did some masking, and paper piecing.

I filled it with pictures of my kids at the zoo last summer.

This is my daughter playing near the penguins, her favorite animal.

I tucked in a few scraps from our trips into this little pocket.

Don't you love it? I am going to be teaching it as a class at The Crafty Scrapper May 28th at 2:30 pm. Call the store to sign up if you're interested. :)

The Earth Laughs In Flowers

2011-04-21T19:46:00.000-05:00

Here's a sweet Spring butterfly banner I put together. :)

It uses a lot of my favorite things. :)

Ruffled Ribbon

Vellum Wings

Fabric Flowers

Scalloped edges

Antique German Glass Glitter

Crate Paper Buttons

Printed Paper Flowers

Sigh. Still love these papers years later. This is on eBay if you're interested.

Dee Dee

Fairytale Jewelry Box

2011-04-11T19:37:00.000-05:00

I recently designed this shabby fairytale jewelry box for The Crafty Scrapper. It is my favorite project to date as the blueberry and plum colors are so fitting for my girl.

This is the top shelf with a removable photo tag. The picture is of Sofie on her second birthday. Her curls were so perfect that day. :) I added lots of roses, and Maya Road chipboard.

The drawers to which I added buttons and resin flowers.

Hand-dyed seam binding and crepe paper tie on these sweet metal charms.

The hand-cut fairy is holding a removable wand that I painted gold and adorned with flowers, buttons, and ribbons.

I added sweet scalloped shingles to the roof when my friend Brook told me to go all out. :)

The back side of the tag has another picture of Sofie on her second birthday. New dress, and different expression. ;)

I painted the insides of the drawers a rich purple, and added a few flowers in as well. I just love the whole thing. :) I might teach it as a class in May. Hope you like.

Creativity belongs to all of us!

Dee Dee

Spring Shadowbox

2011-04-09T22:39:00.000-05:00

I want to share one of my favorite projects I created for The Crafty Scrapper recently. I really love the bright Spring colors.

It's an ATC holder with 6 boxes.

This is my favorite box. I found this broken acrylic wing in my stash, and used it to represent the disease and healing process I have been going through.

I created a little banner to layer over this box on the end, and used some collaged patterned paper in the box.

I am really into purples and aqua right now.

This slot took a lot of work: stamping, painting, stitching, misting, adding in punches, etc. Definitely worth the final look.

I used sewing paper to create mini curtains for this box.

I am thinking of teaching this at The Crafty Scrapper in May. :) It would be a class packed with techniques. Will update that soon.

Creativity Belongs to all of us!

Dee Dee

You're My Baby Doll

2011-04-07T20:24:00.000-05:00

I have been wanting to put this shadowbox together for a while. I pulled bits and bobs from my stash, and some of my favorite photos of her from when she was a newborn to fill in the slots.

Her favorite color is plum purple, but when she was tiny I decorated for her in bright summery yellow and punch pink. Since the shadowbox is for me (of her) I decided to go back to those colors.

When I saw the long slots I knew right away I wanted to use it to put Sofie's hospital bands from when she was born. Then when I got them out I realized they were super tiny so I filled in one of the smaller slots with one of them.

I decided to make the sugar jar much smaller than the spice jar cuz' that's my girl. ;)

Every night (since she was born) when I put her to bed I tell her "you're the tiny love of my life."

I love this paper-doll cut out from Crate Paper. So sweet.

I love this photo of her. She was so cute in the red gingham outfit. I loved it because it came with that big floppy hat.

I think I might make one for Blue next. :)

Are you following me? ;)

2011-03-22T21:48:00.000-05:00

I just noticed that I have 105 followers! How exciting. Maybe I should do something official for having broken 100? Of course, who knows how many people actually read this thing. ;)

I have a few fun projects to share. :)

Bathing Suit Beauty: I made a crown of sorts for her out of flowers and undersea creatures.

I embossed and added Maya Mist to all the chipboard, and added touches of Stickles.

I also added Glossy Accents to the bubbles to make them 3d.

I wanted this to be funky and graphic. I was happy with it. It's as busy as she is. ;)

I made the pink flower by rolling and glueing ribbon. Love how it looks like a lollipop.

She was such a chub when she was little! I miss her chubbiness.

I added some punched out butterflies. So sweet.

These papers and ribbons are so cute with her bathing suit. :)

I used a mask and Maya Mist on the white cardstock. Love how it turned out.

I put this sweet vintage inspired family album in my etsy store.

I made this birthday crown for one of my best friend's sister's son. I LOVE how it turned out. It looks like a piece of cake to me for some reason - a literal one I mean. Mmmm sugar.

Okay, more later. I am off to vanquish some laundry! Thanks for all the comments you leave me. I love this community of artists/bloggers/scrappers.

Creativity belongs to all of us!

Dee Dee

She Went Her Own Way Canvas

2011-03-08T20:37:00.000-06:00

I decided to do something fun for myself during March by taking an online class. :) I debated between a mixed media class and a sewing class, and the She Art canvas classes won out. :)

This was my first canvas for the class, and I have to say I'm hooked! I had tried a canvas class once before more than two years ago, but never gave myself the free time to explore and create with what I learned. This class wasn't much different as far as technique. Well, to be honest ... I was too impatient to watch the videos! I watched the first one about what paints to buy, and I was off! Haha. I will make myself go back and watch them soon.

Anyway, this is me. :)

The title "she went her own way, life unscripted" is sort of a reflection of my journey. There are always people trying to tell me what I should be doing, or could be doing, but I'm me. I let them be them, and I go my own way. Life unscripted seemed fitting because even my own plans of late have been tossed about by the storms of life. Still, I'm trying to find God's beauty in the midst of it all.

I used a bit of lace trim for the skirt, and a fun bingo stamp. I've never mentioned it, but I love the game of bingo. I used to go with my mother some weekends when I was very young as long as I sat quietly and paid close attention when the numbers were being called. Once when visiting my grandmother she took me to bingo, and I won $14. I was so upset that she kept $7 even though she paid for my cards. What a brat I was! ;)

I had fun turning the old book paper a nice sandy brown to match my skintone. You can see some of the layers through the paint and medium here. It is really hard for me to start a project without knowing what the end result will look like. Let's not analyze that too much. ;)

I added in this chipboard sun at the last minute. It was stubborn of me. I have felt down a lot lately with my health status, but I decided to make my own sunshine. :)

After some prodding, and because I think it will be fun I will be teaching a canvas class at The Crafty Scrapper probably at the beginning of May. Keep your eye out if it is something you've wanted to try.

Creativity belongs to all of us.

Dee Dee

Welcome Spring! :)

2011-03-07T10:48:00.001-06:00

Happy March everyone. I am so glad spring is finally on its way. The weather has been bouncing back and forth between winter and spring in Dallas the last few weeks. I have enjoyed plenty of outside frolic with my kids, and I have had lots of fun playing with new spring inspired scrapbook papers! :)

My "Home Sweet Home" mini album is made with Echo Parks new spring line, and I will be teaching it as a class on April 9th at The Crafty Scrapper. Call the store to sign up. :)

Here's a little peek inside. :)

This is one of the Valentine's Day bags I put together with my daughter for her play-school. She stamped each of the bags, cut out paper hearts, and decorated the bags with sticker hearts. She reluctantly let me tie the ribbon, and write the names of her classmates. ;)

This beautiful mini is my latest eBay album. I am loving aqua, yellow, and cream right now.

You can view all the photos HERE on eBay if you're interested.

Sigh. I hope the warmer weather settles in soon. Until then I have taken up making mixed media canvases to keep me busy indoors. I will have to share some pics soon. :)

The World is Mine

2011-02-27T15:26:00.000-06:00

My canvas mini album featuring Maya Road and My Mind's Eye products is featured on The Crafty Scrapper blog today. Click HERE to check out more photos. :)

Sweet February

2011-02-26T20:41:00.000-06:00

February has been a busy month for me. I made it a month of love, and gave away lots of handmade items. I also finished up a few custom projects, and some design team work for The Crafty Scrapper.

This is a sweet baby girl album I made with lots of frilly pink embellishments.

A baby boy album I made for a friend. I love how it turned out. I think I may make another mini for my son with just his hospital pictures.

This was a giveaway I did on Facebook - a sweet tag album made with lots of paint and flowers. :)

I made this for a friend at church. She threw a mickey mouse themed birthday party for her son's second birthday. I LOVE how it turned out.

These are some cute cards and tags I put in my Etsy store.

I made these Monogram cards for a friend, and surprised her with them in the mail. :)

This was a gift for one of my best friends. Inside was a hand engraved charm necklace.

Okay, I've probably overwhelmed you with photos. That's it for now. :D

Steampunk Paper Bag Album

2011-02-08T00:23:00.000-06:00

I have been waiting to show off this album. I submitted it as a class, but it was rejected. Boo. Anyway, I still love it. It's a new design from my other paper bag albums inspired by my friend Sherri who told me to try a PBA, but make it different. :)

I will just share a few hi-lights with you. My theme was steampunk so I was trying to work in metal objects.

Love this Gypsy woman on the cover, and the dark lace bordering the page flap.

I gave her a little crown that I misted and then glazed over, and then smooshed a bit because I didn't want it to be too perfect.

You can see where the flowers have been slathered with crackle medium. I love the color combo of the whole thing: rich shades of aqua and turquoise mixed with rustic reds. Love this little gear knotted into the twine. I do wish I'd made the brads silver or bronze instead of black so they'd show more.

I painted all the pages of the album with a creamy white paint, and lightly stamped some images from stash. I loved the expression on this lady's face.

A crinkled tag: my trademark for PBAs. I always like to sneak one in. I am almost out of these scrolls. Eek. Must find more.

Love this keyhole sprayed onto here: metal without using metal.

I created a pocket and flap on the backpage. :) Nifty.

And this is what was concealed. See how it opens up? :) Anyway, not sure what I will do with it now, but I'm proud of it.

Hope you like. Dee Dee

Baby Shower Gifts and Decorations

2011-02-07T03:31:00.001-06:00

I spent my Super Bowl Sunday off my feet after a painful fall over some mean-spirited toys on Saturday night. My hubby helped me get set up in my craft room so the whole day didn't go to waste. I designed these two projects which a friend of mine will bring as baby shower gifts/decorations later this month. She wanted something that could hold love notes to the baby, and also something that could be hung on the nursery wall after the shower.

The shower colors will be baby pink and chocolate which I think is just darling. To give my projects a bit more of a vintage look I altered this jewelry box with creamy white paint, and added these sweet tickets with the vintage baby image. I also inked everything like crazy. It took 6 layers of inking to get the shading on this.

I layered the lid with a fabric champagne colored flower and a chocolate brown felt blossom. I see now that the bakers twine is all twisted. It is actually tied in a nice bow. ;)

I added a chocolate brown patterned paper to the back side.

A sweet ruler sticker added to the side. I added this mini tag to the top so the baby's name can be added when she is born.

This is the inside of the lid. The baby's birthdate and weight should go here.

I painted the inside, and added this rub-on and layered the sweet glittered charm over the top.

I also made this wall hanging. I used a lot of the same embellishments - felt butterflies, chipboard letters I painted with crackle paint, and these sweet mini bingo cards.

Hope my friend and the new mama enjoy their gifts. :) It will be tough to say goodbye to these beauties.

Edited to Add: I am currently hosting a giveaway on Facebook.

Giveaway time! :) Leave me a comment on my Facebook page to win a free handmade Valentine's Day scrapbook for your sweetheart. (It is uber-girly so don't expect to be able to give it to a man.) I will randomly pick a winner Monday, and mail out the album Tuesday.

Dee Dee

Handmade February

2011-02-01T16:00:00.000-06:00

Last month a few of my friends signed up on FB to receive handmade items from me. I decided to do them in February as a sort of Valentine's gift from me. :) Here's my first creation. It's for a guy who will be giving it to his girl. ;)

He said her favorite color is purple so I knew right away I'd use these beautiful papers by MME - my favorite ever.

Loving these little sewing bits and bobs by Maya Road.

Couldn't resist adding these love birds. :)

Hope they both like it. It's a sweet Valentine. Are you making anything for your friends and loved ones this Valentine's Day?

Sew Love - Reap joy

2011-02-01T00:26:00.000-06:00

A few quick photos of an acrylic album I made this weekend.

Carolyn handed me the album, and let me raid the store for supplies. Thank you. :) I was longing for Spring so I picked out these soft shades of budding green and early afternoon sky.

I like to add in unexpected details. This little photo matte pulls out, and is double sided with journaling space, and it is layered over this beautiful flocked teal paper.

I stamped these tags with sewing pattern images from Hero Arts. Lovely. I think this will be a class at TCS if M can get another Saturday morning off. :)

We are expecting wretched weather to arrive in about 3 more hours here in Dallas. I am torn between hoping it isn't so bad so people will be safe, and hoping it will be bad enough to keep my hubby home for the day. :) Either way - tomorrow I get some scrap time. I just have to get out the kids' art supplies so they don't touch mine. :) Otherwise, I'll be making the same face as my son.

And that just ain't pretty. ;) Happy Scrapping!

Sweet Baby Boy

2011-01-31T08:49:00.001-06:00

I made this custom album this weekend with lots of stamping and painting.

It's going to be a baby shower gift. Makes me happy to think of a new mom getting to open it, and see all these handmade details just for her.

Due date

Love the feet stamped on the side.

Today I am going to work on an acrylic album kit if my kids cooperate. :) If you're looking for something handmade for Valentine's Day I have several items on eBay and in my Etsy store. Happy scrapping! Dee2

Spread Your Wings

2011-01-30T15:05:00.000-06:00

Many projects in the works right now. As in my craft room is a huge mess and every inch of desk space (and floor) is covered. :) In the meantime, here's a layout I did for TCS a few weeks ago.

I love this pic of Sofie. This was her first 4th of July and she's wearing the first dress I bought her, and a pair of wings I found on clearance at Target. She was such a charmer that day.

I decided to go with muted colors so the photo with her dark pink wings would stand out.

I layered the photo with chipboard, ribbon, flowers, and a journaling tag.

And distressed each of those with paint and glitter. :)

My favorite sticker letters. :)

Cut up this journaling tag I've had since the first month I started scrapbooking. I knew it would eventually come in handy. ;)

I am teaching two classes soon - you can check them out on the left sidebar, and there are a few things on eBay and my Etsy store, or send me an email if you'd like something made custom.

Hope you like.

dee2

Sweet Shoppe

2011-01-28T12:38:00.000-06:00

From now until Valentine's Day the designers at PFOP will be listing the sweetest premade albums, cards, and layouts!

This is my first addition to the shop: A True Heart!

You can check it out on eBay HERE. Enjoy!

Dee Dee

Oh yeah, I also wanted to mention I created my own blog button. Very proud of myself. You can snag it from the column on the right if you'd like to link up. ;)

So In Love

2011-01-26T07:00:00.001-06:00

Right now I am so in love with pretty pink things. :) Here's another paper bag album I designed last week.

This one is pink, red, and white.

Inspired by these flowers which are a contender for Valentine's Day. :) I really love having fresh cut flowers in the house.

Handmade roses mixed with resin roses.

I just got a cute twine sampler in the mail so this is my first time trying it out. I am thinking of making some tags with it. Cute stuff!

So much fun to dig through my flower stash and mix all these textures together.

I should really stock up on these beautiful Melissa Frances pieces.

Love this mix of flowers with pink pearl centers.

So pretty! :) It's in my Etsy Store if you're interested. Now I have to get to work on a baby boy album. Bring on the BLUE. :)

i adore thee

2011-01-25T10:19:00.001-06:00

Perky pink-cheeked cherubs sprinkle sweet polka dot perfection.

Here's a cute paper bag album I made for eBay during my last bout with insomnia.

Hot pink gingham and shades of creamy brown. Happy sigh. Pink and cream and black - i adore thee.

Be Mine

2011-01-24T17:41:00.001-06:00

I've switched the craft room colors over to pink, red, and cream. My room feels so girly now. Yes, Valentine's Day has arrived and not a moment too soon. :) I was too slow to jump on the Christmas craft bandwagon so I am happy to be catching Valentine's in season.

I just loved this blingy title when I saw it, and knew I would use it for an album cover.

A very sweet start to the season don't you think? :) This is on eBay if you're interested. Happy Scrapping!

dee dee

Our Home Mini Album

2011-01-21T09:55:00.002-06:00

Here's a mini album I put together for The Crafty Scrapper a couple weeks ago.

At first the colors of these papers kind of threw me, but I loved them when I added in some black to tone things out. I cut up a kraft tag to layer under the title, and added a vintage clock face and leaf pin.

I misted the title black, and then layered over it with Glossy Accents. I also ran the page through my Big Shot in an embossing folder, but I did it backwards. :P

I love this green trim. It really softens the look of the papers. Hope you like! Dee2

Love Notes Mailbox

2011-01-20T08:24:00.002-06:00

Here's a little cutie I made for my daughter to receive Valentine's Day cards this year.

I used patterned paper from We R Memory Keeprs, BoBunny, and Pink Paislee to put this together.

I painted the butterfly yellow with C. Hellmuth paint, and then stamped over it with a grid stamp in brown Staz-on ink.

I cut the little bird and tag from Fancy Pants paper, and misted and glazed the Maya Road chipboard hearts on the flag.

I used this patterned paper from the Fancy Pants Love Birds collection to make the Valentines she will pass out with Hershey's Kisses attached. Cute cute. :)

Now this is what I want for Valentine's Day:

Don't think it will fit into a mailbox. ;)

Pure Sweetness

2011-01-18T10:00:00.000-06:00

I have started scrapping some pages in the 8.5x11" size. I am totally loving it.

My favorite color for Sofie when she was a baby was this dusky yellow. I wanted to paint her walls yellow and pink, but we ended up with pink with pink stripes. Maybe one day I can talk her into it. :)

I tore a strip of lace from one of her old dresses, and tied it to this photo.

I misted the doily with Pink Lemonade Maya Mist. I love this picture of her big dark brown eyes.

She has rosy cheeks like her Momma. :) I love these alphabet stickers. They're about the only stickers I use.

This page was made with Pink Paislee's Sweetness line which is definitely my new favorite. I love this picture with her chubby baby cheeks and soft baby curls.

I layered some chipboard with a wooden heart embellishment.

I love these fabric flowers. I thought about peeling a layer or two off, but I've decided for my personal pages - more is more! :) (All of my supplies came from The Crafty Scrapper if you're shopping.)

Happy Scrapping! dee dee

Several Steps to Simple Canvas

2011-01-17T15:51:00.002-06:00

I taught a class this weekend at The Crafty Scrapper. 10 ladies of varying backgrounds and skill levels, but we had a fantastic time together and all of them finished with beautiful albums. This is what we made:

I was going for a very romantic and grungy Valentine look. I used pink and creamy paint and silver and diamond glitter for the cover.

I mixed Maya Mist with Tattered Rose paint.

Covered some pieces with antique German glass glitter, and stamped an image over the painted canvas.

It looked simple, but the class was packed with techniques. Hope you all like. :) Dee2

Mix it Up

2011-01-11T08:44:00.001-06:00

It's been a super busy week for me: my daughter turned five, my son has the flu, we got in a car wreck, doctor's appointments, design team work, our second car is in the shop.. Eeek! Then this weekend I am teaching at class, and Sunday we have about 30-35 people coming over for a birthday party. As you can imagine I haven't had much time to do the scrapbooking I have been hoping to get to.

I did manage to squeeze in making a mini-album. These Pink Paislee papers were calling out to me last week at The Crafty Scrapper during their 40% off sale. I knew they'd go perfectly with some embellishments that I never had the right paper for.

I just love the murky browns and blues. They have a beautiful aged appearance.

I used a lot of traditionally boy colors, but dressed everything up with flowers and bling so I think this album could be for pictures with a son or a daughter.

I think these jeweled stems and leaves really soften things up.

I mixed in my two favorite colors yellow and green. :)

I thought the Jenni Bowlin "Read This" sticker was perfect for the canvas envelope.

I am hoping something gives in my schedule so I can put together a submission for Paper Cowgirls this week. I thought I had two more weeks to get to it, but the deadline is this Saturday. Stinkers.

Happy Scrapping!

Thanks, 2011, Girl Banner

2011-01-09T11:39:00.000-06:00

Let me start by saying thanks so much for all the blog comments these last two weeks. I mean it. I seriously considered closing down my blog because I so rarely have anyone stop to comment. For now, your comments are keeping me posting.

anyway

It's 2011! My year of the stash went pretty well, but apparently it works better if you don't keep buying stuff! ;) Anyway, I am not sure what theme 2011 will take on yet, but for now I am trying to aggressively use up my chipboard stash. I got down to less traditional shaped albums which means more creativity (and work).

This will be my last gate album for a while. So many steps to making them, but they're so beautiful and original.

I love the blend of pinks of these three flowers. :) I sure wish I had a green thumb. I would grow roses like my mom used to.

I love this banner across the front. I thought it would be so sweet to make something like it life-sized in the spring for my daughter for her days outback creating her magical wonderland.

This bit of fabric was left over from a project from Katie Watson's class that I took. Love it.

This sweet thing is on eBay of you're interested. I am off for a day of kiddie board games and princess movies. My sweet daughter is turning 5 today, and I want to soak up every moment.

I'd love to hear what your word or theme for 2011 is, or if you have ideas for me! :)

Happy Scrapping! Dee2

Craft Room Overhaul

2011-01-07T00:14:00.001-06:00

Remember this shelf? I bought it at a Pottery Barn outlet last yearish for $40. I was hoping to find a second matching one over the weekend as we were back in San Marcos.

I love how it stores my paints and charms, and is also a great place for displaying my ATC collection. Well, no luck finding a second one. :( I totally regret not buying the second one the first visit. But, I did find something new for my craft room. :)

Tada! :) I had to move the other shelf to a different wall to make room for this beauty. It's about 4 feet wide. There is a cork board inside so I am going to start an inspiration wall. I tucked in the magazines I am currently reading. (Well, the craft ones anyway. We'll talk about that obsession some other day.)

So the other shelf got moved here - above the plastic paper storage.

These baskets hold the bulk of my chipboard stash.

This one holds pages leftover from completed albums.

This one has shipping tags and vintage ephemera, along with some canvas covered albums.

This one holds the oddly shaped albums. I counted 32..

This is a basket for projects I've seen on blogs and want to try, and also holds my die-cut felt collection. Still looking for a prettier way to store that.

This is my seam binding stash - all blame goes to Lisa Pace for telling me where to buy it. ;)

Some larger chipboard albums, and a chipboard cone I want to use for May Day this year if I can only remember before the day arrives. Grrr.

This is my 6x6" and 8x8" paper collection. If I like a paper line I buy it in this size for myself because it is a lot less expensive.

Next to that sits this cart that I found at a garage sale for $3. I put this sign on here to remind me to keep things simple on my projects and in my room.

That's my tour of the craft room after its overhaul this week. I can officially cross one resolution off my list. Happy Scrapping! Dee2

NYC Traveler Album :)

2010-12-24T23:08:00.000-06:00

I've been wanting to share the beginnings of my NYC birthday album. I am working on it in bits and pieces as I have time.

This is the front cover. I started with a vintage bingo card. It was already nicely aged, but I inked it a bit more and added some Platinum Stickles to the edges. That blue ribbon and the green and brown seam-binding is hand-dyed.

There is a strip of Jenni Bowlin Date Stickers down the edge. I am thinking of adding in the dates I was in NYC. I need to pick up a nice inky journaling pen. I haven't decided what to add to the tiny tag. I was thinking of looking for tiny metal numbers so I could put 30.

I added this metal frame piece in the corner after painting it rose, and then sanding it down. The fabric flower is my favorite thing about the whole album. Love the fading colors on it. The layaway tag is a garage sale find.

The inside front cover is done with pink grid paper which I just love. I think I am going to go back and add the brads to this keyhole.

I did some journaling about my flight, and layered in this pretty fabric flower. I think the black makes a nice neutral. I mixed in pages from a kraft colored journal to jot down fun memories.

I added in a dozen or so giant shipping tags for journaling, and an assortment of tags and cards I've picked up at garage sales.

This is the back cover. I wanted it to blend with the front cover, but it still needs some embellishing. :) The envelope is holding business cards and scraps from the trip that I will eventually work in.

That's it for now. I will be layering and journaling more soon. Merry Christmas everyone!

Dee2

Progressive Album

2010-12-19T15:33:00.000-06:00

Everyone is always asking me what a completed album looks like so I am going to share one I made for myself. :)

The first night of Maya Road's Artistic Journey (way back in October) we all worked on a progressive album. There were several stations set up to show newbies how to use different products, and learn new techniques. I really enjoyed it as a way to meet the different teachers and ladies attending the event. I stayed up late the first night and completed my album.

The album came pre-painted black, my least favorite color, so I added an envelope from the inside to brighten it up. I also painted the edges of both the album and envelope with white and turquoise paint, and then sanded down spots channeling my inner Katie Watson. :) I crumpled up, and then flattened the paper heart and layered from there adding a scrap of Sassafras Lass and a punched out tab.

The seam binding was pre-dyed with Maya Mist, and those ribbon flowers were made exclusively for our event. They didn't match the turquoise, but green and golden yellow are my favorite colors. :)

We were given a pre-pressed chipboard tag that said "Artistic Journey" (NICE), but I decided to layer over mine to since I knew I wasn't going to be taking pictures during the Artistic Journey. I misted chipboard letters, and combined them with my favorite October Afternoon alphabet stickers to create my title.

Cheryl Darrow showed us a few quick tips on using her metal, and I cut up the sheet and used it throughout my album. Love this chocolate bronze color metal.

I journaled a list of our favorite things to do on family night on the inside cover.

This is the page Katie Watson designed. She demonstrated how to use Maya Resist, and how to make these fabric flowers that were colored using Maya Mist.

My favorite parts were the tiny punched out leaves for the misted tree. :)

This is just a page I threw together. I wanted to use this purple flower to bring out the purple in the pics.

I have had those acrylic wings sitting on my shelf forever, and decided to finally use them with this journaling.

We inked and outlined tiny chipboard elements at Aubrey Rives station. I used them throughout the album to bring out the theme of my family being knit together.

The fabric scrap was leftover from Aubrey's station. :) I thought this tiny pop of pink was sweet with the pics of my little ones.

The background paper is from Basic Grey Basics.

I like to use shipping tags as my personal signature. :)

Just a page I put together adding in a few pieces from my stash. Those coffee colored roses for WOC are my absolute favorite flower.

I used the clock embossing piece from Ten Seconds Studio and combined it with this MR sheer clock.

This is one of my favorite pics of my family. I could scrap it over and over. :)

Layered with a MR scroll and MR turquoise ribbon.

This page was inspired by Lisa Pace. :) I took one of her classes a few months before, and kept the basic design elements from how she layered her canvas envelopes. I want to play more with doilies and see what I can do with incorporating them into my style.

Lisa showed us how to put together the ivory rose using MR ribbon, but mine did not turn out! I wrapped mine the opposite way hoping to make it look more organic, but it just turned out messy. Still liked it though. ;)

Annette P. hosted a table with all of TH Distress inks and stamps so we went to town shading and stamping. It was soothing. I then layered over it with the last of my TSS metal.

I tucked in a few receipts from adventures my family has gone on together into this envelope on the back cover.

I added a ribbon closure to the front and back pages, and then layered this envelope over the back page, and put a note to my kids inside.

So, that's what a completed album looks like. Hope that helps when you're finishing one. Maybe next year you should go on the Artistic Journey. :) Happy Scrapping!

Dee2

"Our Darling Girl"

2010-12-18T16:50:00.000-06:00

I am back from my trip to NYC, and I am working on the most beautiful traveler album. I will get pics of it soon. It will be a process to finish all the journaling, but I want to show you the process as this will be the first album I have really made just for me. In the meantime, here is an album I made a few weeks ago when I couldn't get into Christmas colors.

I love the Antique White paint for a little girl album. My bedroom furniture was this color when I was younger. I'd love to do my craftroom in this color.

I filled the album with Spring colored flowers and embellished them with pearls and gems. These older Prima flowers worked great because the album was already really chunky.

This page opens up like a booklet, and has two more photo mattes inside.

I love how this page looks like a window. I don't normally slant things as I like a nice balanced symmetrical look, but I thought it was cute here. :)

I added punched out tabs to all the pages to make them easier to flip.

Love this bit of hand-dyed ribbon.

Friendly little caterpillar from LYB, and this photo matte opens up with journaling and photo space inside.

Love this mix of colors with the muted paper. I used Antique Linen to ink all the pages.

Back cover - looks like a sweet garden. :) It's going on eBay if you're interested click HERE.

Scheduling more blog posts as I have much more to share!

Happy Scrapping. Dee2

The Day I Became a Nana

2010-12-07T15:14:00.000-06:00

I put together a super sweet Nana album this week for a friend's MIL. I decided on the color combo: turquoise, green, yellow, and sand. I'll just share a few of the pages.

I thought the title was perfect for an album about her first grandbaby. The envelope opens up, and I am hoping she has some little scraps from the hospital to tuck in there. Her grandbaby was in the hospital for the first few weeks of his life so I am sure there were bracelets aplenty.

That ribbon peeking out from under the yellow scrap is a soft ruffled velvet. I inked the letters and then covered them with vintage glass glitter. Then everything got accented with a touch of antique white paint.

I used some paper layering to create pockets for tags and scraps.

It tried to resist using flowers since this is for a boy, but I thought these were sweet colors. :)

The 2x3" matte on top opens up into a booklet, and clips on. :)

Here's another page showing how I stuff in the photo mattes to maximize space in a mini-album.

She wanted mostly horizontal mattes which is hard in a 6x6 so I put in a few 2x3" mattes. Love the way this layout turned out. The lighting on the pictures is a little off. The background paper is a rich orange so it doesn't look too girly. :)

Used some Maya Mist on the scroll - so much easier than painting. I also added in a lot of tiny rub-ons for detailing. Do you see the "Love you" off to the right?

A peek of the back. I added a shaded envelope to tuck a few more scraps into, and stamped over it. I actually made this stamp in Aubrey's class at the Artistic Journey, but didn't end up using it on my album. I think it was waiting to be used here. :)

That's it for today! I have a sweeeeeeeeet girl album I hope to share pictures of soon. Happy scrapping!

Dee2

In Our Family

2010-12-03T18:20:00.000-06:00

This is a Dick and Jane vintage style custom order I created last month with pics of 6 kids in mind.

I themed it "In Our Family We" and tried to give some direction to the photos with things they like to do together.

Loved the colors of this page and I included so many embellishments. I hope it's a page they find something new even after looking at it a few times.

I used vellum pockets and for stamping. I also did a lot of outlining and shading to give everything a cohesive look since I pulled supplies from 10 different companies.

I tried to keep brown and green with accents of red and blue as my general color scheme for all the pages.

I included a ton of tags behind photo mattes. I like journaling on tags better than on the page just in case there is a handwriting malfunction. :)

Lots of paper punching and layering, and tiny embellishments to bring out the family theme.

Love the warm colors on this page. I relied on a lot of Maya Mist for all the chipboard pieces I included.

The family had six kids so I thought this would be a cute page to put a pic of each of them.

I tried to make it interactive with things to open up, pull out, and fold over.

I made my hubby laugh because I included these sweet characters, but I didn't know what the family looked like so I wondered if they would still like them if it was an African-American family. But hard to be more Dick and Jane than this. ;)

Swoon. Don't those colors look beautiful together? I have been hanging onto that green snap since the first month I started scrapbooking. I also added a piece of film strip ribbon to clip photos or scraps to.

I used up some lace I had left over from Halloween projects, and by leftover I mean highly coveted and hard to let go of. ;)

I tried to incorporate a lof of texture since I can't make the pages too chunky. There are bits of felt, fabric, lace, etc.

Another full page shot. I mixed in mattes for all the standard sized photos.

A lot of Maya Road went into this project: tags, rub-ons, ink, chipboard, ribbon.

I loved these colors together. Funny, I am sad thinking of that tiny scrap of velvet ribbon I used. There is a greedy ribbon-hoarder living in my heart. Haha.

Well, don't want to overwhelm you with pics. Hope you like, and spend some time scrapping your family over the holidays. Merry Christmas!

My Christmas Wish

2010-12-02T20:51:00.000-06:00

I will be teaching again this weekend at The Crafty Scrapper in Waxahachie. This is the sweet album I made to match my Christmas banner.

I love how the black matting turned out. I didn't have it on there at first, but now it really pops.

My main squeeze playing around in the hats at Target last year. My Christmas wish is to get to spend more time with him. :)

The little Maya Road kraft tag pulls out for journaling space. I love these little crepe paper medallions.

There is a blank acrylic page over my pic with the kids. I am planning to stamp it with a Tim Holtz Christmas stamp. Hopefully I can find something that looks good from both sides. :)

M and I at my friend's wedding right before we went in. I loved how the layered scroll and snowflake turned out.

Sofie's first Christmas. :) I made my own snowflake mask to get the image on the background paper.

Aww. Blue had a comb-over last Christmas. I am so happy he now has a full head of hair!

Merry Christmas and happy scrapping everyone.

If You Can

2010-12-01T00:43:00.000-06:00

Every few months I get the urge to clean, purge, and organize our home. I scour cabinets and closets, categorize books and magazines, systematize medicines, and ruthlessly look every clingy stuffed animal in its pitiful eyes.

I think the compulsion comes from years of chaos growing up when I would obsessively clean to try to take some burden off my parents and brother. I felt a tangible sense of control after rearranging and assessing and the physical space achieved after getting rid of things freed up precious mental and emotional “space.”

This week has been one of those weeks when I am craving mental space. There is so much going on in my relationships and with my (lack of) health. I wake up and try to stop the thoughts from rushing in. I have to cry out to God to protect me from my own worry and circumstances.

My house has been under assault.

I have cajoled and pressed my family into deconstructing their rooms and collections throughout the house. I sit impatiently next to them sharing the advice of one who doesn’t cherish physical objects. Most often I remind them, “if you can let it go - you should.”

Indeed. My inner turmoil is far more critical than the outward, and the answer is staring me in the face.

If you can - let it go.

If you can give our hurt and pain and stress over to God - let it go. If you can forgive and move on - you absolutely should.

But perhaps you can’t. Sometimes letting go is honestly too much to ask. So you assess. You make new boundaries. You figure out something that will work for you. It makes little sense to see a problem and just let it build day after day until you become used to living in confusion and disarray.

There are so many projects I want to tackle right now. I am ready to pass on baby clothes and gadgets to a nesting mom. I am curious how 3 feet of random belongings have piled up in the luggage closet. I want to reassess and reorder the arts and crafts cabinet, but I must deal with my spiritual house first.

It has been under assault. I need to let go of some petty things done by people I still love, and want to continue to be in fellowship with. I need to forgive myself of some failures.

Sadly, I need to put up some new boundaries. There are some people that just won’t stop hurting you until you let go of the ideal of them, and then you find that they don’t belong within your boundaries at all. Romans 12:18 “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.”

I’m shaking out rugs and sweeping behind appliances looking for thoughts and attitudes that don’t belong in someone with the mind of Christ. I am letting go of my old patterns, and clinging as hard to Jesus as I know how. I am finding that the mental space I so desperately crave can only be found in casting my cares on Him, and submitting to the establishment of His ways. He speaks across the tossing waves of my soul, and calm erupts. In Him I find rest and peace, and space to be me.

Fantasy Friday

2010-11-12T22:43:00.002-06:00

I've been working to finish up my Fall albums. I've been enjoying all the beautiful Autumn weather we're having in Dallas lately. My work has been inspired by nature walks with my kids, and from what I can see out of my craftroom window.

This is a delightful weed that sprung up under my window this last week. I love the cheery yellow sprouts when everything else is fading to a crispy brown.

Cracking leaves, brilliant shades.

Love this butterfly stamp: In Flight.

I think these are about to burst into blossom. Whatever is in there the hummingbirds love them. This is a small bush by the front door.

I'm so happy Thanksgiving is almost here. :) It's my favorite holiday. Family and friends sharing meals and PIE. It's also closely followed by my birthday. Just close enough that I can have turkey sandwiches with gravy as leftovers.

My daughter and I are going to fill this wreath with the things we've been collecting from our nature walks. We added crunchy yellow leaves today.

I am so in love with this color palette right now. Well, always, but I don't usually get to use it the rest of the year. :)

The whole feel of this came out so lush and regal. It makes me want to wrap myself in luxurious fabric and write long hand letters.

This is the friendly tree outside my window. Sadly, it never gets any chirpy birds. That is reserved for the tree outside my daughter's window at 5 am. :D

Anyway, happy scrapping!

Baby Love

2010-11-02T23:40:00.001-05:00

This album started out as a recipe album during the Artistic Journey. It was a fun class taught by Katie Watson. :) It was hard for me to get into the class because 1. I was behind on the previous class and wanted to finish, 2. I don't cook so I don't have recipes, 3. I sat next to the funniest ladies who kept distracting me! :)

I was feel extra crafty and rolled some handmade felt roses for the back. :) I kept the colors pretty neutral so it could be for a boy or a girl. I just love making baby albums. I am waiting to find out if one of my girlfriends is having a boy or a girl next month so I can make the most fab album ever. :) Anyway, this is on eBay if you're interested.

Happy Scrapping friends.

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas

2010-11-01T17:25:00.000-05:00

Time to change colors in my craft room. I have so many Fall projects left to put finishing touches on, but I think I am once again woefully behind as Christmas comes hurtling at breakneck speed! :) I thought I'd kick off this years Christmas projects with one I never finished two years back. Eeee.

Yes, it's pretty vintage fabulous.

Classic reds, browns, and evergreen.

Tattered and torn vellum and tags.

Yes, I love every folded inch of that ribbon. :D

Layered goodness.

That tag comes out of the pocket, unties, and unfolds for journaling and photo space. Love it!

Hope you are nowhere near as behind as I am. We probably really only have take 5 days till Christmas. Happy scrapping!

Dee2

My October Swaps

2010-10-17T15:03:00.000-05:00

I have been taking more time to make art just for the fun of it. So worth my time! This month I wrangled some friends into a mask swap and an ATC swap.

Here is what I came up with for my mask.

I used MME Kraft patterned paper, and the swirls are cut from a piece of WeRMemoryKeepers paper.

I love the softening of the traditional black, purple, and green Halloween colors. It's hard to tell in this picture, but the inky shading looks almost orange.

The eyelashes are Maya Road rub-ons, and the star is from a paper mache wand that I cut in half and covered with flocked paper.

This next mask was made by my friend Debbie. :) I LOVE what she came up with. The eyelashes are amazing, and that creepy spider is the perfect accent.

I see she used bits of metal by Ten Seconds Studio. Very clever.

These are her ATCs. They have amazing layers, and they're so wiry and dark.

Here is my set. My theme for myself was owls because I have a ton of them that I've been hoarding. :) I love 'em.

I rolled the little felt flower and topped it with a pearl. The branch is inked and covered with Martha Stewart beads.

This one was made from the top of a left-over tag. It has a cute fold that she will be able to tuck something into. I stamped a starry background, and layered the insides with batty patterned paper.

I wanted this one to look creepy wispy spider web. I stamped a web over vellum and then covered it with a bit of glitter. The web is layered over a painted tree, and then I topped it all with brown scraps from my stash.

Hope you like. :) Happy Scrapping.

Artistic Journey

2010-10-08T14:30:00.003-05:00

October is quickly sneaking by, but it has been very productive so far. :) I have ten pages left for my custom order, and have been feverishly working to finish it by tomorrow. Here are a few projects I've squeezed in between pages.

October is breast cancer awareness month. PFOP held a joint handmade card auction to raise money for local awareness campaigns, and I contributed this card.

I also attended Maya Road's Artistic Journey at The Crafty Scrapper. It was SO much fun sitting with girlfriends and putting kits together. They all made fun of me for being slow, but I don't mind too much because I am happy with how my projects turned out.

These pics are from Lisa Pace's class. She is the sweetest, and her projects are so detailed and beautiful.

Here's a peek of my finished project. I will get a better pic in the sunlight soon.

Here's an acrylic album I made. I love the blue mixed in with the Autumnal colors. Going to put it on eBay or Etsy this week.

And I made this friendly Little Monsters paper bag album. I LOVE how it turned out. The colors are fabulous. It's on eBay if you're interested.

Oh, and I am teaching

how to make this album

tomorrow at The Crafty Scrapper. The class sold out, but you can buy a kit. :)

Happy Scrapping!

40 Year Journey

2010-09-26T15:03:00.000-05:00

Busy busy busy! :) I have been working on a 90 page custom order for the last week. I have to finish 5 pages a day to keep on track. Eeek! So, I am taking a little break from blogging, reading, facebooking.. Heehee. Here is a quick peek at what I've done so far.

Front Cover - Finished with brown striped grosgrain, trinkets, and stamped chipboard letters. I loved it so much I showed my hubby to get a stamp of approval. Haha. He tried to find the right things to say. :)

Love these heritage photos. I layered them with K&CO. papers and added shipping tags for journaling.

A simple embellishment to dress up a journaling page.

I filled in the bottom of the page with a couple of photos.

My Mind's Eye patterned paper layered with Maya Road ribbon. This page is so soft and beautiful.

I've had to come up with totally new designs to work in different sized photos and mixing in vertical and horizontal photos into one page. Now I see why people struggle at crops to get their layouts done! :)

I am loving working in the family ephemera and scraps. Immediately after starting this project I decided to start saving more from my kids adventures. Why should I buy embellishments when they're built into everyday life?

This paper from Webster's Pages went so perfectly with the Christmas and snow layouts.

I am trying to find more flat embellishments so the books don't get too bulky.

I stamped these journaling tags behind the photo with a stamp I got from participating in a swap for Maya Road's Artistic Journey. :)

I love these school pictures! They're perfect for creating a timeline to track the changes in looks and style over the years.

Weaving in patches and awards. I thought the circles looked nice juxtaposed with the rectangle photos.

Here's an idea for working with stickers that I see so many people buy and not know what to do with. Keep some flat, pop-up others, and don't be afraid to layer them over photos.

I used this metal frame to focus the on the family.

So much more I could share, but I need to get back to work. Hope you're getting time to scrap or spend with your family. :) Thanks for stopping by.

Halloween in Wonderland

2010-09-09T14:20:00.000-05:00

Fall has fully arrived in my craft room. I've surrounded myself with dragon yellow, rustic red, denim blue, dusky plum, and midnight black. *Shiver*

I made this Halloween in Wonderland album with Graphic 45's new papers. Happy sigh.

Several contrasting textures on the cover: glitter, felt, fabric, ribbon, etc.

I had fun incorporating these little Wonderland tags with twiggy twine.

I've decided the white rabbit is my favorite character. Not entirely sure why..

Love this paper with the creeping pumpkins.

Just some sneaks. Hope you like. Click here to see the rest on eBay. :)

Imagine the Impossible

2010-09-03T05:27:00.000-05:00

I carved out some craft time for myself two nights ago, and participated in simplyatc.com's second challenge.

Vintage Inspired Alice.

This is what I came up with:

Imagine the Impossible. The Red Queen Commands it.

I wanted it to look like Alice was slaying the Jabberwocky, and that the Queen of Hearts was commanding the Jabberwocky to fight and also commanding me to imagine the impossible.

I have yet to break the fast so here are my 6 impossible beliefs:

1. I will beat this disease and live a long life.

2. I will submit some of my work for publication, and be published.

3. I will live debt-free.

4. I will finish the race. I will keep the Faith.

5. I will keep going to the gym despite decided reluctance.

6. I will be the best mom I can be every day.

That's a lot of believing! Hope you like the ATC. Dee2

Keep Out

2010-09-01T17:17:00.006-05:00

Last year I taught some fun ladies at The Crafty Scrapper how to make a Halloween paper bag album, and this year I am hoping to help people see what they can do with chipboard. :)

I had so much fun layering this with paints, mists, inks, etc. It's my own little pumpkin patch. :)

I filled the album with pictures of my pixie flitting around the Dallas Arboretum last year.

She provided plenty of expression to work with. :) (This page flaps out to show more journaling and photos.)

I love the mini Maya Road banner across the top of this set of pages. I ♥ all things mini.

I wanted the ribbon to look like caution tape. You might have noticed I went crazy with all things Maya Road. Their newest release is just fabulous. I am having so much fun creating with it.

Love this orange checkered paper and silky ribbon on the back. Hope you like my peeks. I really like how this turned out.

Happy Scrapping!

Autumn is a tease

2010-08-31T23:01:00.000-05:00

One morning last week I signed into FB and read that my friend Penny had Autumn sitting on her porch flirting with cooler temps and a break from the humidity. It was so nice to have a break in the 100 degree weather even if only for a day. Autumn is my absolute favorite time of year, and I am trying to WILL it to come now. :) It makes me happy that the Crafty Scrapper has filled its shelves with Fall, Halloween, and even a bit of Christmas. I got to play with some this last week, and they are gorgeous! These first two layouts came from one kit.

These pictures are actually from the 4th of July, but I thought the creamy neutrals went so beautifully with her dress and the deck. (Boohoo, can't believe how much my pixie has grown in a year!)

Notice the new fabric Primas? Don't bother swooning, or you'll miss your chance to snatch them up. I am seriously regretting stocking up on flowers earlier this year.

I'm so sad I forgot to get a full shot of this layout. I love how it turned out. These papers are GORGEOUS. They are a great mix from several of the new lines. Sherri does a fantastic job kitting it all.

I like how my Maya Road leaf turned out. First I stamped it with a background stamp. Then I inked it with chalk inks, and added diamond glaze over the top. Made it look like a grungy fallen leaf. :)

I mixed the new Primas with handmade flowers and cute stickers from Karen Foster.

This next kit was brown and grey and I added a touch of green. It's just pictures of me and my little ones playing out front enjoying the cool weather last year.

I do like how my leaves turned out. I layered the chipboard leaf over the adhesive-backed felt leaves, dry embossed the chipboard, layered it with new Maya Road trim, and a butterfly cut from 7 Gypsies new paper.

I love this star embossed paper from Jenni Bowlin. That was from my stash. I'm getting better at the not hoarding thing. (Sort of :P)

I used the rest of the kit to make these ATCs.

Yes. I do love them. Yes, they will cause problems with my resolve not to hoard. Fear not. I have already turned them in. I promise not to weep if someone swipes them. ;)

The bird is from 7 Gypsies paper, the twig is new from Prima, and that's the MR trim again. I was feeling very Darwin at the Galapagos as I made this.

This ATC was inspired by the tag I made for the Artistic Journey last week. I used Martha Stewart's new microbeads around the window. The only thing I don't like about the microbeads is I can't go torment my hubby by wiping them on his face like I usually do with glitter. :D

Eeeeee. I still love it. I used a Maya Road chipboard window, and maya-misted the different pieces with buttercream and bronze. It came out very soft.

Hope you like. I have one more project to share with you tomorrow: a Halloween class I am hoping to teach. Happy Scrapping!

Art: A Window to My Other Side

2010-08-26T09:28:00.000-05:00

I am taking classes at The Crafty Scrapper's "Artistic Journey" in October. It's a huge event being taught by the Maya Road design team, and I am so looking forward to it. (Please oh please don't let me be sick when it rolls around!)

Anyway, they issued a challenege to make a tag detailing our personal artistic journey and then post it to the FB page in return for future goodies. :)

There was a midnight deadline to make the tag, and I started at 10:45 pm. Busy week. I had Maya Road's new window chipboard pieces out on my craft desk so I wanted to play with those. My original idea was to sew some little curtains over the tag with the window showing through, but I didn't have time. :) Break out the paper stash!

This is what I came up with. I scrounged up papers from my scrap box. I know red and teal don't typically go together, but I thought it would work if I kept the red sort of muted with the cream and black.

I have also been wanting to play around with these mini-banner pieces. They're so sweet! I hate that I didn't have two more e's so I could spell out Dee Dee. I hate when people just call me Dee (with the exception of Sherri and Becker). I know. There are bigger things to worry about.

Anyway, I am enjoying more time spent crafting just for me lately. Hope you get some craft time this weekend.

Dee DEE :D

Updating My Shops

2010-08-23T13:13:00.001-05:00

Busy days with school starting and Fall fast approaching. I've had no time to make anything for eBay, but I do have some older albums listed that I am done with. This is one I made over a year ago, and don't think I ever shared.

It's a wedding I made for the GASC that happens in Arlington every year.

I used mostly Graphic 45, kraft paper, and some vintage music papers from my stash.

I kept everything cream and black, and think it would be gorgeous with black and white photos.

I love the shape of this Maya Road album. I have a few in my stash left to play with. I need to get back to destashing!

I left this page without a photo matte so you could see the beautiful papers.

Happy Scrapping!