I know...

It's been forever.

Things have been busy with school and we also "adopted" three new Japanese college students, so I haven't even been crafting. My days are filled with homework, cleaning, chauffeuring, Zumba, and fun with our family and the five Japanese students we host. It's always fun to get students who are new to the US because they are so excited! Everything is a new experience - Homecoming parade, Halloween decorations, football games...it's just a lot of fun. :)

Soooo, that's why I've been so quiet.
I do have a couple of fun cards to share though. Super easy and fun!

 The shoes are from the Witches' Brew Spellbinders set (I used American Crafts cardstock). I've never used them before, but they're pretty cute. I just free handed some tights to fit the shoes - the star paper is from a 6x6 Cosmo Cricket Mini Deck called Matilda. The background paper is from Ready Set Go by Amy Tangerine for American Crafts This collection is seriously cute! For the skirt, I layered May Arts ribbons and trim. The orange is NR38 1.5" - TEXTURED/TWO TONE and the black is WQ10 2" - WEBBED WEAVE. I adhered them with GlueArts "Adhesive Squares: Extreme Tac" and Beacon Adhesives "Fabri-Tac."

On the card below, I used the same adhesives and papers from the same collections. The trims are again May Arts as follows: The plaid is BN22 1.5" - PLAID/TWO TONE/WIRED and the stars are AX30 7/8" - SATIN/CUTOUTS.

 Here is a peek at the inside - the stamp is by Unity Stamp Co. and the witch is from the same Spellbinders set, Witches' Brew.

Thanks for taking a peek !

September

September is here! Make sure you check out the brand new issue of Scrap n' Art, because it has some amazing projects and tutorials in it.

Just check out the rotating pics on the homepage to see a FEW of the awesome things in the September issue!

I also have something of my own to share - a little bit of French country.
The paper was stamped with TPC Studios stamps (Roosters set) and an old Stampendous! French text background stamp that I picked up at Goodwill several years ago. The "Merci" and text strip at the top are clear stickers. The doily was cut with a PTI Parisian Doily die and I accented it and the top with Liquid Pearls. The ribbon is from May Arts and the lace is vintage. I used Beacon Adhesives Fabri-Tac to adhere the fabric elements and GlueArts Extreme-Tac for the rest of the card.

Merci!

Simplicity

I'm not a very simple papercrafter; I tend towards the more elaborate and fussy. Sometimes though, I think enough is enough and I end up with a super simple card like this one. That funky bow just didn't need any other help!

Maybe this is a sign of the semester to come. I'm back in college for my last semester of classes. Yea! It's definitely a process as I attempt to adjust from summer's carefree ways into the schedule of school (for the kids and for me). I might find simplicity has a bigger place in my life.

Break over

Well, that was a long enough break, don't you think? ;) Back to the wedding cards! I just got two fresh invites in the mail this past week, so the push is far from over. This is a pretty simple card that mimics a design I did earlier in the summer. I just like how the doily looks with this theme. On this card I used two of the rings (I ran to HL with a 40% off coupon in my sweaty little hand and purchased a package of them!) and went with a bolder color scheme.The background was embossed with a 5x7 Cuttlebug folder and both of the trims are from the HL wedding department.

Thanks for taking a peek!

Break

OK, even I'm getting fed up with all the baby and wedding cards - sheesh, already!

So here's a sunny card that is neither. I made it with the left-over stamped paper I had from my stamping challenge. That's still open, by the way if you want to join in! I inked around the panel and adhered it to a white card base. The doily is from Papertrey Ink and the sentiment is from Verve Stamps. The flower is a silk flower with a Glue Arts Raisen's flower center that I made for a tutorial a while back. Glue Arts Raisen's are SO cool :)

Thanks for taking a peek!

Want to be published?

If you are gearing up for fall, make sure you check out the Fall Scrap n' Art publication calls!

Scrap n’ Art is currently looking for submissions for our October 2012 issue. We are looking for your layouts, cards, altered art and out of the box creations that follow the theme ”Fall Traditions.” Are there certain traditions that you look forward to every fall? Maybe it’s the yearly state fair or the start of football season. Or are you a baseball fan and October is all about the World Series. Perhaps October signifies the start of the holiday season for you, beginning with Halloween. Whatever your fall traditions may be, we want you to share them with us! Digital, traditional or hybrid, anything goes! You can also submit as many projects as your heart desires. To submit, please follow the guidelines below. Deadline for all submissions is September 1, 2012.
To submit, please send the following information to submissions@scrapnart.com:

• Your name and email
• A photo of your project (Please include additional photos of details. Limit photo size to less than 1 MB each.)
• Title of your project
• A supply list of all items used. (Please include manufacturer and item. If in doubt, please include the information.)
• In the subject line, please put “October 2012“
• If you would like for us to include a link to your blog, please share your blog address.

Dresses and digital stamps

I'm mostly a traditional stamper, but every once in a while, I break out some digital stamps. If you want to dabble with some super cute and FREE digital stamps, be sure to check out Birds Cards! That's where I got the bodice part of the dresses I'm sharing today. There are a ton of really nice digi stamps on her site - and did you notice I said they were free? ;)

Here are two bodices I printed off on plain white cardstock. Before cutting them out, I decorated them - if you cut them out and THEN add wet substances (paint, glue, etc) they tend to warp pretty badly. If you do that while they're uncut, then the surrounding paper cuts down on the warping.  I wanted a dual color bodice for each, and here's how I achieved them:

1. On the first bodice, I used Liquid Pearls. Instead of making little pearls, I spread it all out. The top part of the bodice is Platinum and the bottom is Silver. I used a straight pin to blend them together so there wasn't a harsh line. Afterwards, I put some chunky glitter on the top.

2. On the second bodice, I covered it with Diamond Glaze and put Diamond Dust on the top of the bodice and silver hologram glitter on the bottom.

3. As you can see below, I added 3 loose pearls to the top bodice as an afterthought :) After they dried, I cut them out and fashioned dresses for them. I just marked on white cardstock where the bodice would be and then free-handed some simple dresses.

4. To embellish the dresses, I used paper punches (a daisy and a sakura blossom) and some Liquid Pearls.

 5. Then I assembled the dresses.

6. I wanted to keep the card bases pretty simple, so I just chose silver glitter cardstock and white cardstock (both from American Crafts)for the one bodice and some Webster's Pages paper for the other.

 7. After I put this bodice on, I added a doily portion to it - I'm always adding something!
Thanks for taking a peek!