Six by Six Series- Episode IV: Smile

Remember when the Stars Wars series renewed itself by starting its saga all over again with prequels, leaving you wondering how will this all lead up to what I already know?! Well this series won't be filled with laser guns and jet planes, but there will be a love story and maybe even some hairy animals!

I've got about four six by six paper pads that I've been experimenting with including on my scrapbook pages and card fronts. I'm seeing other designers incorporating these miniature patterned  papers in their projects too, and hope you'll share with me in the fun of training our brains to reach for them too.

6x6 patterned papers, and 8x8 for that matter, come in a down-sized version, making them ideal for including in cardmaking, but I find that really helps to makes them more neutral when adding them to a background in scrapbooking, too. Their size is perfect for creating a quick grid of four sheets to equal 12 inches all around. If, like me, you tear a page a bit in your haste to rip it from the binding, just think of that whoops as a reminder that these papers would like a scrap piece or background underneath them. Trim off -or maybe enhance - the torn edge and you'll end up with a crisp little border frame on your page.

When selecting my prints for this layout, I looked for four busy designs with background colors going from light to dark. The little miniature cut-apart sheet provided me with some coordinated title pieces, and I used a couple of circle punches on the starbursts print for some simple confetti-like sprinkles. My Minds Eye papers are generally cream based designs, and for the journaling space I needed a really neutral piece, preferably with lines to write on. I remember using the full size version of one of the papers in a layout I made last year, and turned it over to find the same grid which would be perfect. You can see the full-size version layout here:

Have you ever experienced the rhapsody of pre-breakfast scrappin'? I spent Wednesday night at my moms house and she had that lovely 8.5"x11" enlargement of Grandma and little sister waiting to show me. Isn't this a beautiful print? It was taken last Friday while visiting with our cousin Paulette from Arizona- Hi Cousin!!!  I love that simply looking at the photo leads to a grin on my face.
While the girls ate breakfast and did a little crafting of their own, I whipped this together in less than 20 minutes. Now that's a habit that could use reinforcing! 
Thanks for stopping by my blog today. Check back throughout the week as I share the prequel pages in my six by six series, and if you happen to be at the craft store, investigate those handy pads of miniature designer papers!

Wait! Don't throw that away?

I admit, I have a problem throwing away little bits of pretty paper. So I'm not surprised that I was inspired to create my own version of enamel dots with this tiny punched circle from a cricut cut tag I used.

It doesn't look like much, but you wouldn't believe how proud I am of this little shiny dot and it's friends!


They were really easy to make, I just  added a blob of Close To My Heart's Liquid Glass to the top and let it dry overnight on a shred of wax paper. I wanted to be sure it was really dry before I touched it because sometimes I get over eager and ruin things!


This isn't a project I would necessarily recommend, as it was a tad tricky getting the paper to come off the glue tip without spreading sticky all over the place, but it was fun, and now I know how to make a very coordinated little blingie for any layout that "needs" it. And since you bothered stopping by today, now you do too!

Christmas Cards Continued

I've been concentrating so much lately on getting organized around the house that I haven't taken much time to write about it, what a bummer. But, as usual, in between my chores I have still found ways to release some creative energy, so here is another fun way I figured to use my Christmas cards received this year; enter the hole punch.

This relic of our school days still comes in useful and makes it really easy to slip just about anything into a binder, provided it can span the width of two of the binder rings. Otherwise things get a bit wobbly, which bothers me, but may not bother you?

I put all these cards in between the couple of Christmas pages I've created and I love the way they break up the monotony of my regular 12x12 album pages. For some extra visual and textural interest I added this large chipboard piece and glued on all the postage that was on the mailing envelopes. I just couldn't let all those pretty little pictures go in the garbage :-)

I accomplished two things with this dash of inspiration: 1) I got that stack of Christmas cards received off my craft desk. Who put them there anyway!? Oh yeah, me, whoops! Anyway they are cleared and there is more room for crafting yeah! and 2)Now we have the names and addresses of those thoughtful clients and family members who spent the time and postage to let us know they were thinking of us over the holidays. Every year it seems like I hear of more and more people doing away with card sending. Even Ray has made the comment a few times, but of course I still make him take my homemade cards around to all his clients heehee.

I even included an extra Christmas letter card Rainier helped me make for my Close To My Heart friends. I think this is a really neat way to include a little summary of what I thought it was important to share with people I don't see very often but think of while crafting regularly. Since I didn't do any journaling yet on my Christmas layout, I now am feeling completely guilt free about what I consider to be "unfinished business."

Last bit of this post, and then I'm going to spend some time on a new process video I'm hoping to release in conjunction with this Saturday's Valentine Die Cut Crazy Blog Hop... I've got a couple other blogs started up and put some new posts on there tonight as well. So if you're interested in what I have to say about the latest in our families lifestyle/food choices, or what I'm up to with my PartyLite business, just click on my blogger profile and you'll see them listed under my name.

Thanks for stopping by!