Washi Tape Tag Card

1. Fold a piece of Pink Cardstock in half to create a 4.25x5.5” card

2. Center and Adhere a Large Pink Patterned Paper block.

3. Select and Adhere an Alternate Patterned Paper block to the front of your card.

4.  Adhere a Large Pink Doily.

5. Adhere a Paper Flower of your choice centered over the Doily.

6. Adhere a Heart Die Cut to the left of the Paper Flower.

7. Wrap the Small Tag Die Cut with a piece of Black Butterfly Washi Tape.

Wrap ends to the back of the tag.

8. Adhere the Tag on top of and to the right of the Heart.

9. Adhere a Pink Rhinestone Gem to the Tag top.

10. Adhere a coordinating Small Paper Strip to the inside of your card.

11. Sign the back!

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RVLife Meets Scrapbooking

There are so many times a day I stop and smile, thinking about how much I love the lifestyle we've chosen. Our space may be smaller but it seems easier to keep clean since we have fewer possessions. When we yell, it's not across the house at each other. When the kids are bored, we can send them outside (or threaten them with more schoolwork bwahaha). Our kitchen is now large enough that Ray and I can do dishes and cook at the same time! There is just one piece of my everyday "normal" that seems to be missing and makes my heart pine for the old place,  and that is...

SCRAPBOOKING.

Not that I don't have supplies along for the ride, oh you know I didn't leave home without them! A lot less if them, yes, but I like to think of that as a great reason to (someday) shop for more. No, what I'm talking about is the luxury I had and yes, took for granted, of being able to make a page at the slightest hint of inspiration. With an open door to my craft room and it's fountain of papers, embellishments and adhesives sitting out at the ready, I could easily start a page on a whim and complete it at my leisure. I loved it when my desk was clean and beckoning to me whenever I went to the bathroom, washed clothes, or, well it didn't matter where I was, the room's siren call would not be long resisted!

Now I must be more thoughtful about how I spend my time when it comes to crafting. Despite having more time on my hands than ever before, I must enjoy that time with my family. I must enjoy the great outdoors outside my door as never before! I have very little time when a hefty baby us not in my arms, and as much as I'd like him to help me, I can't have him touching the things I use i.e. adhesives, etc. It's not a sacrifice I mind making, BUT I do miss the 24/7 make fests I've been in the habit of creating for myself the last decade. I feel like so much of this chapter in our family's life story is being forgotten as it goes undocumented. Guiltily I think, "it's up to me to record all this fun we are having!"

All of this pining made this layout even more satisfying to create. It's the first page I've made since we moved into our moterhime, and the first picture of August I've scrapbooked. This little dude has me completely wrapped around his chubby finger and the sentiment on that large sticker is a nod to our connectivity. On his head he has a small hemangioma that his pediatrician told me is part of his placenta that broke off and was absorbed within the womb... so I like to think we share a special bond and cherish him all the more because of it ♡

So what gets in the way of your creativity? Is it physical, mental, or a combination. I urge you to break the block and "make" some time to follow your passions! Thanks for stopping to get crafty with me today,
♡

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Red Velvet

Next in my series of How She Dunnits, I have the Red Velvet Cupcake Card.

Starting with a white cardstock base cut at 8.5x11" and folded in half, I adhered a 4x5.25" block of red and white polka dot patterned paper flush with the bottom edge. To this I added a pretty white doily I got for free in a large package of 144 doilys in four colors from a gal on the Key Peninsula Buy Nothing site. Boy, do I love free embellishments, and this card features four of them. 
I had a little bit of red velvet paper left from an art journalling class I taught at KPMS last October. A half inch strip of that, notched at either end, made a striking base for my next layer. I love the monochromatic red on red and white on white mixed together.
See that white cardstock circle stamped in red ink with "from the heart ♡"- both free, including the ink! Thank you, Queen & Co. for the circle, Phaedra for the Tim Holz distress ink,  and another Scrappy Sister of mine for the stamp! 
This was a simple card with a lot of impact thanks to that rich red velvet paper in the middle. Any sentiment or color scheme would have made this card design shine, but I think the Red and white were excellent for Valentine's! And no, there's no cupcake involved. .. this is the Organic Anna version lol
So what is your favorite color combo for monochromatic mixes? Better yet, what's your favorite Valentine treat,   spending time with your sweetie or a sweet to eat? Comments below welcome! 

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Silly Pocket Tag Cards h

My life has been pretty hectic the last couple months, leaving very little "me," i.e. craft time. Crafting isn't just a hobby for me, it is also a source of income and more importantly, a therapeutic activity which my mind finds solace in the act of doing. So, going without has a profound and multifaceted effect; my supplies go unused, my talents are not utilized for the good of my wallet, and my creative urges go unsatisfied, leaving me restless and distracted by my desire to MAKE.
I have two upcoming excuses, er, opportunities to Have to do just that; an upcoming Yoda themed birthday painting party for a boy turning 8-and 15 of his friends!- & the Key Peninsula Cooperative Preschool ' s  now annual CraftWithAnna cardmaking fundraiser at Blend, February 10th at 6pm.
I thought it would be fun to share the 6 cards I designed for the event and tell you how I made them, in case you are looking for some inspiration or just want to know, "how'd she do that?"

My first card to share starts with a white card base. To this I've added a pink doily, offset and adhered to the top of the card in the left corner. The placement does not matter, but the bottom will get covered up so leave a fair amount sticking up.
On a red tag I layered a pink square stamped with red hearts. Through the punched hole at the tag top I tied a bit of red Silly String.
Next I ran my tape runner all along the edge and down the middle of a strip of dark red cardstock. I cut about a forearms length of that same red Silly String from Queen & Co.  I got it at convention a few years back. It's stretchy and shiny and oh so fun to use! When I wrapped the string around, I made sure to keep both ends tight against a gluey area, then I ran some more adhesive over those ends, for good measure. Before I placed this wrapped piece on my card base, I slipped that tag in behind.  Another way to say this would be that I made a paper doily, tag, twine sandwich. .. anyway there is a lot of texture going on here.
You could easily replace the Silly String with any kind of fiber; bakers twine comes immediately to my mind. How about you, what's your go-to string of choice? Do you make your tags or buy them pre cut, tie in a knot or tie in a bow- you know I wanna know, comment below :-)

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Look at my little boy playing behind his first scrapbook page! Following the traditions of his sisters already <3

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Birding In A Winter Wonderland

I met a new group of friends this afternoon in Belfair, and boy did we have a good time! Literally, there was one man/boy there :-)



YOM!



With yummy snacks to keep the holiday cheer intact and no example to hold our paintings in comparison to, the paint flew and the laughter echoed off the still-under-construction space we occupied.

 

 



Branching Out



Like Mother, Like Daughter



Our subject today was two little birds huddled up on a branch after a snowstorm, so there was a chance to talk about how to build depth and dimension with natural branch building and feather layering, how snow drifts form, and how to mimic the randomness of falling flakes too.

 

One of my students was a little ball of artistry and although she didn't create the same image as the rest of us, she did paint a lot of ornaments, a Christmas tree, and a smile on my face :-) She would have liked for me to play tag outside with her, but instead I turned on my Homeschool Mom voice and played Word Tag, a rhyming game I made up on the fly, with her! Needless to say, I think she would have enjoyed a good old fashioned game of chase more lol.



Birds of A Feather Huddled Up Together



I am looking forward to working with this group again, and they put me in such a merry mood, I decided on the way home that I'd offer $5 off any of my next class to any of my past students... so watch for a blog post with more details about that coming in a day or two.

 

Another of my students has known me long enough to help me reflect with joy about how I've been so fortunate with the way my craft "career" has progressed. The support of my friends and family, all the new people I've met, the incredible opportunities that have been and continue to be offered me... well, I'm just darn lucky to get to share my passion for making with others. Even Ray had to give me a big hug when I got home. Maybe it was out of relief-he'd been on baby watching duty for over 5 hours!- but I think it was because he's proud of the success I've been able to enjoy sharing something I'm so passionate about.

 

It's all thanks to the encouragement I continue to receive, and dear reader, that includes You!

 

Artists and Colors of Autumn

 A few pictures from Two Waters Arts Alliance's fall fundraiser <3

#PhotoGrid