Something New

Waterfall Mini Album

Hello and welcome! 

We have a brand new challenge for you over at Top Tip Tuesday and it's 

~Something New~

with the wonderful Brenda as our hostess. This is her first time to write the challenge post so be sure to let her know what a fab job she did. :) As the challenge title suggests we want you to use something new from your crafty stash (i.e. a new tool, paper collection, die, embellishment, etc.) and please include what your new item is in your blog post. My new item is the paper collection I used, It's Raining Cats and Dogs by Graphic 45, to create this Waterfall Mini Album for my daughter. Rosie is her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and she is absolutely adorable as you'll see. :)  

I found Ginger Ropp's easy to follow tutorial on the G45 blog and only made one exception, I added extra flaps to the waterfall to include more photos. 

I used a cardstock stick on the spine from the G45 collection.

Back

The front was adorned with a Petaloo bloom and paper roses.

A cut out from the collection was used for the title and if you 

look at the first photo you'll see I used a pull knob from Tim's 

Idea-ology line. I backed it with a G45 paper and sticker to 

fit in with my theme.

I used alpha's from the collection to spell her name out

and a border from the cardstock sticker sheet.

Inside

Left flap

I tucked these cut outs in the pocket so she could journal on them.

The edges were cropped using a We R Memory Keepers

Scallop/Cloud Corner Chomper. I alternated papers from

the collection and adhered to both sides of the flaps. 

Here's my beautiful granddog, Rosie.

Enjoying some sunshine on the deck of her

mom's apartment. Told ya she was adorable!

I love this little face, she is wise and has such soulful eyes. 

Honestly, this breed has the best disposition of any dog 

we've ever had. We miss having her around so much that 

we travel up to our daughter's apartment every other week

or two just to see Rosie and our daughter as well of course. ;)  

Yes, she is under the covers and laying her head on the pillow.

She did it all by herself and my DD woke up to find her snoozing 

away and snapped this wonderful picture. It was taken this past 

December shortly before the Christmas break and she's wearing

her Mrs. Claus dress. Too cute I tell ya!!!

Now I need to make one of these for my son and DIL of my furry grandcat, Felix. We're fortunate to have such smart, beautiful grandbabies. :-) 

SPONSOR

Prize is a $10 coupon code to the online store.

Before I close I would like to ask each of you to remember our beloved Samantha. Her mother passed away last week after a long battle with her health. Please remember her and her family in your thoughts and prayers. I know it would mean so much to her. 

We love you Samantha!

Be back later today with another design project for The Cutting Cafe.

Hugs,

Lisa 

Keep Calm, No Matter What

Shadowbox

Compendium of Curiosities 3 Challenge #19-Frayed Fabric 

Hi all! I've been a bit scarce here lately but I'm back to share my entry for CC3's 19th challenge. 

I have a confession, I wanted to throw the towel in and give up on this one. Why? Two words-sewing machine. I had to keep telling myself to "keep calm, no matter what" and just get it done. Sewing is not my thing and never will be lol. But for Tim Holtz I now have made an exception, twice. ;) If you'd like to challenge yourself with Tim's techniques in his third Compendium of Curiosities book click here to get your autographed copy.

Here are a few close ups...

I created two shadowboxes for my DH filled with mementos of his beloved uncle and aunt.  

This photo is his uncle and younger brother shortly after their arrival in America.

This is the second shadowbox and includes photos of them throughout their marriage. They traveled to Italy several times to visit family in Pisa, Italy. 

Memories throughout the years...

You can't read what's on the Idea-ology heart charm but it says "life journey." They definitely enjoyed a wonderful life journey together.  

For my frayed fabric pieces I used Tim's eclectic elements 6x6 fabric pack-Melange- and his handy dandy craft scratcher wire brush tool. Idea-ology metal products as well as Tim's paperie were used to create my shadowboxes. 

The Inspiration Emporium is sponsoring this challenge and offering the lucky winner a wonderful prize. 

That's all for me today, thanks for dropping by. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Lisa xx

Keep It Simple

I'm back to share my DT card for the first challenge of 2015 at Top Tip Tuesday. Samantha's our hostess and she'd like to see simple cards this time. I love the fact that this type of card is mail friendly but honestly I struggle with them. Fortunately an idea popped in my head when I remembered what Tim Holtz did with this very stamp from French Flight. 

Tip: Use several inks to create a watercolor effect on your stamped image. 

Quick personal note here-I've been taking some time off to recover from surgery and it just happened to come off during the busiest time of the year. Before I let time slip away I just wanted to say how much I'll miss seeing Bettina's lovely creations at TTT. She has always inspired me and you can't imagine how excited I was to receive a Christmas card from her this year. I'll miss you Bettina and wish you the best of luck in your crafty endeavors. I'd be remiss if I did not thank my other teamies as well for the beautiful Christmas cards they sent me. I plan to put each one on my inspiration board so I can enjoy them all year long. Thanks so much for making my holidays brighter ladies!

SPONSOR

Prize is a $10.00 gift certificate to The Sweet Stamps store.

We are looking forward to seeing your clean and simple (CAS) style cards.  

Good luck everyone and I hope 2015 will be your best year ever!

Lisa xx

Got Pictures?

CD Holder-Front

Hi there! I've got a fun project to share with you today that features the CD Holder template cutting file from The Cutting Cafe. Regina gave the team the freedom to work with any cutting file/template and I chose this template because I am a woman on a mission. I fully intend to get my home organized this year and one area I struggle with is photos. We travel a lot and our daughter is a sophomore in college so there's always an opportunity to snap a photo or two. ;) 

CD Holder-Back

I used my electronic cutting machine to cut several of these in no time. If you do not own a cutting machine you can use the PDF file (included) and easily hand cut the template. Regina offers several printable labels which you can see below. 

 

The Cutting Cafe 

Have a wonderful week, wherever you are!

Lisa xx

Happy New Year!

Compendium of Curiosities #18-Pocket Pages

Hi everyone! I hope all of you enjoyed the holiday season and that you are ready to start a brand new year. I'm back from a mini blog break to share my pocket pages for the current challenge at CC3. As most of you know, Tim offers several styles of pocket pages but for today I am using the Pocket Pages Tags for my entry. I altered a Worn Cover album for challenge #13 and it holds my tags for Tim's 12 Tags of 2014. 

I love the idea of using his other pocket pages to create memory books or keepsake travel books so I'm sure one will pop up sometime this year. :) If Santa forgot to bring you Tim's third book in the Compendium of Curiosities series you can always order your own autographed copy here.

A few more of my tag pages...

Before I go I'd like to thank the Curiosity Crew for choosing my Woodlands and Tinsel Twine entry for Challenge #17 as their Honorable Mention. Such a wonderful way to start the new year! :)

Thank You Ladies!!!

Lisa xx

Merry Christmas!

Credit: Google Nativity Wallpaper

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I want to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!

I'm so grateful for this crafty community and certainly appreciate those of you who prayed for me during my recent surgery. All is going very well and I'm blessed beyond measure to have so many wonderful blog and Facebook buddies.

God Bless,

Lisa xx

  

O Christmas Tree!

Compendium of Curiosities 3 Challenge #17 

Hi everyone! Can you believe I'm linking my project up early lol. I'm having my gallbladder taken out on Wednesday and did not want to let this challenge pass me up so I kicked it into high gear. I love Tim's process for altering his woodland trees and the tinsel as well. You can check it out on pg. 60 of his CC3 book and if you are looking for a last minute gift click here to get an autographed copy from Tim.

I rummaged around in my alterables stash and came up with some items to use for my project. 

The box is an old Christmas card box and it made a great base, the Brie cheese container serves as a platform for my two trees and JOY letterpress letters and the picture frame was a thrift store find some time ago. Each was given a coat of Gesso then I added white felt to the card box base and sprinkled distress glitter over it. A Graphic 45's 12 Days of Christmas border decorates the edges.

The Brie cheese box was covered with Tim's tissue wrap, given a dusting of spun sugar distress glitter and the edge was wrapped in ribbon. The picture frame was  painted with a silver metallic Adirondack Paint Dabber.

The silver tinsel was altered using Tim's technique and I added vintage Victorian tissue wrap to each of the frames. I altered plastic beads to add to my woodlands trees and a mirrored star adorns the top of each one.

I love Tim's letterpress letters and was so happy to receive a pack in the prize package I won for my Faded Layers Tag. They're great like they are or you can alter them to fit in with your color scheme with a dab of paint. This was a super fun project to make!

The Inspiration Emporium is sponsoring this challenge and offering a 

to one lucky winner. 

That's all for me today, my family and I would appreciate your prayers for a speedy recovery from my surgery. Thanks so much!

Lisa 

xx