Confessions of a Paperholic

I have a new design wish...to try my hand at the vintage look. I consider my style very structured...too structured. Believe me, I am not the girl who colors outside the lines. However, I envy my fellow crafters who make the vintage style look effortless and inviting. So with that in mind, I am on a mission to blend colors, texture and found treasures into my card making. Enjoy!

Recipe: 4 1/2"x4 1/2"
Paper: Authentique
Sentiment die-cut: Authentique
Bling: Prima
Rose: handmade by me (I am trying my hand at making more of the embellishments I use)
Vintage brad: Stampin' Up
Ribbon: Ribbon & Bows Oh My!

Happy Birthday, Travis! My fabulous brother-in-law turned 29! Wahoo! I hope your special day is everything you want it to be and more!

Love,

K

Recipe: 5x5

Paper: MME (Dilly Dally), DCWV, Stampin' Up
Cartridges: Sentimentals (Phone cut at 2'); Elegant Edges (Stamp cut at 3")
Alphas: Making Memories, Thickers
Twine: The Twinery
Brad: Stampin' Up

Okay, I know...I am LATE! For the last several months I have been challenging myself to create something new with the fabulous, patterned paper in my scrap drawer. Using shapes is the new "hot"thing in the scrapping world so I thought I would give circles a whirl!  I will write, it is easier to layout your design first before putting anything down permanently. Enjoy!

 Recipe: A2

Paper: DCWV, My MME (Follow Your Heart)
Cartridge: Storybook (1" circle)
Bling: Imaginisce
Brads: MME
Flower: Recollection
Alpha: Making Memories
Ribbon: Joann/Michael/Ribbons & Bows Oh My!

Hello Fellow Crafters,

It is good to be back. I have missed crafting for the last two months. The end of spring and the beginning of summer had our family jet-setting from California to Florida. I tried to hold the crafting blues at bay by visiting some of my favorite crafty blogs, but it is just not the same. I missed the creative process and playing with all that pretty paper, embellishments and other crafty goodness.

Over at Just A Scrappin' we held a design team call and had a fabulous turn out. There are now 12 designers! We are ready to rock the crafting and blogging world! This week's challenge is to create a card, layout, or project using the color green and any cartridge of your choice. Please join us for some crafty fun. And to entice you even more, we will offer blog candy every month for one lucky, participating crafter!

See you there!

K

Recipe: 5x7
Paper: MME (Lime Twist), DCWV, Recollections
Cartridge: Flower Shoppe (Mum: cut at 2 1/2, 2, 1 3/4, 1 1/2) (Leaves: cut at 2)
Elegant Edges: Stamp Frame (cut at 5")
Sentimental: Chair (cut at 3")
Brad: Basic Grey
Ribbon: Michaels

Okay, so it's true I started my crafting days as a bag lady in Okinawa, Japan. A dear friend, who was also a Stampin' Up consultant, introduced me  to the world of scrapbooking. For about two years I moved my crafting goodies from one crafting spot to another via plastic bags. Sad, but true.

By the time we moved back to the United States I had acquired a rolling tote along the way...even my husband said I needed to step up my crafting game. I stayed with the rolling tote and kitchen table as my craft space for another three years. In that time I did very little crafting...I wonder why.

The move to our current home provided me with something I did not have before, a wall in a basement. My sweet husband set-up my crafting space before he deployed knowing that just looking at all that pretty paper and cute embellishments would make me smile as a we counted down the days until his return.

The fact that I even have a space to call my own makes me smile. I now run downstairs and pull a sheet of paper or embellishments when inspiration hits me and I do not worry that the little hands of our boys will be looking for a new play toy (i.e Mommy's crafting tools). What I love most about my space is that it came together in peices.  I found new ways to utilize things we had lying around (really packed in boxes from previous moves) to use in organizing my space. Old shelves that my husband had stained for the boys' room, but never installed, became my crafting shelf for my ribbon jar and scrapbooking magazines. I love my Clip It Up ribbon organizer that houses, yes my ribbon, but also my 6x6 scrapbook pads and other embellishments (stored in plasic, resuable curtain bags).

It is not that I do not want to brach out, but space is still at a premium, so I moved vertically. My husband installed my second favorite item in my craft space--a wall peg board. I love it because I literally hang everything on my peg board. I have a hanging paper organizer, which houses my paper kits, there are hooks for a variety of embellishments, punches and a bucket to contain my samples die cuts.

Lastly, I try to remain inspired by fellow crafters or just looking at some of my own work. I feel that as crafters we spend so much time and care making special items: cards, scrapbook pages or paper projects, and then tuck them away after we have completed our goal. I hung a wooden dowel that runs the width of my peg board. It is there that I hang my compeleted cards or projects for inspiration.

Thank you for checking out my crafting space. Hope you enjoyed the tour.

Keia

Hello fellow crafters,

The Just A Scrappin' Challenge #6 "Oldie, but goodie" is to help us rekindle our love for our lost Cricut cartridges. I chose B is for Boys a Cricut I just had to have because I wanted to use it to scrap pages and cards for my boys. Well, I hunted for that cartridge (found it at Walmart) and promptly put it into by Cricut cartridge cabinet. Ah, the thrill of the hunt...now lost in a cabinet.

This card was designed for my friend's son for his 4th birthday. I tried to keep with the theme of the party. I think it worked out great. Thank you for stopping by.

Happy Scapping

Recipe: A2
Paper: DCWV, Stampin' Up
Cartridges: B is for Boy, Nate's ABCs
Cuttlebug: Happy Birthday folder
Ink: Tim Holtz (tea dye)
Brads: Basic Grey
Stamp: Mary from CardzTV (birthday sentiment)

Hello and happy Thursday,