Calendar Favorites

My sister and I have an annual christmas tradition of creating calendars for each of our grandparents. This year I opted for a 12x12 calendar and decorated the pages with some of my favorite scrapbook designs. I plan to post many of the pages (likely in separate posts).


















January
Supplies:
Cardstock - (black) Rooney Printing; (white) Bazzill; (silver metallic) Papercut; (teal) Stampin' Up!
Patterned - (stripe and pink dot) My Minds Eye; (green dot) KI Memories; (metallic snowflake) Reminsce; (red dot) Scenic Route
Accents - (photo corners) Heidi Swapp; (chipboard snowflakes) American Crafts; (gems) Kaiser Craft; (scalloped and plain circle dicuts) Spellbinders - cut in Cuttlebug machine


















February
Supplies:
Cardstock - (red scallop) Diecuts with a View; (Dk Brown) Bazzill; (Lt Brown) Worldwin
Patterned - Pebbles Inc
Accents - ("You & Me" rub-on) Stampin' Up; (scallop chipboard) EK Success; (heart sticker) Pebbles Inc; (clock accent) Heidi Swapp; (silver brad) Making Memories; ("remember" stamp) Ali Edwards for Technique Tuesday; (ink) Staz On; (ribbon, staples, button) unknown; (label diecut) Spellbinders - cut on Cuttlebug machine



















March
Supplies:
Cardstock - (all) Bazzill
Patterned - (red swirl) My Minds Eye; (teal with white flowers) Making Memories; (floral pattern) American Crafts
Accents - (border punch) Martha Stewart; (flower diecut) Cuttlebug; (gems) Kaiser Craft



















April
Supplies:
Cardstock - (black) Rooney Printing; (white) Bazzill
Patterned - (grey/white floral) Basic Grey
Other paper - (vellum) Papercut
Accents - (diecut border) Quickutz; (paper flowers) Hero Arts; (gems) Kaiser Craft; ("love" rub-on) Stampin' Up!

Some of my favorite things....
January - love the look of the layered papers! I actually already have a page almost identical to this one in my scrapbook, so I scraplifted myself! I love the ability to use scraps to create a wonderful page. Plus I love mixing and matching the different paper brands.

February - I had to enlarge this wonderful picture of my Grandparents to match the valentine theme....let's face it, my grandma's lime green striped shirt just wouldn't have matched my paper/accent choices. I love the look of the 8x10 photo (cropped slightly for design purposes).

March - I love the effect of the Cuttlebug flower. Got the popped up and layered idea from Dawn at Picture This who had used it on a card. Also, thought it was the perfect accent since the diecut matched the design in the paper so well. I mimicked the paper design with gemstones. I think it turned out great.

April - Since this was a great picture, I didn't want to detract by using bright colors. I kept it simple with neutrals. Found the perfect Basic Grey floral pattern that was both elegant and simple. I love the effect of the diecut border - the intricate border matched perfectly with the swirls in the paper too.

Let it Snow!

I finally got started on my Christmas cards for this year. Decided I might try to do a few different styles...this is just #1. We'll see how far I get!

















Supplies: Cardstock - (white) Georgia Pacific; (blue sparkle) Bazzill; (teal) Stampin' Up!; (metallics-text weight and Mirrorcard) the Paper Cut Patterned - Basic Grey Accents - (gem stones) Kaiser Craft; (silver paper border) Doodlebug Tools - (border punch) Martha Steward; (circles and scallop circles) Spellbinders; (scroll) Quickutz; (snowflakes and snowflake embossing folder) Cuttlebug; All cut/embossed with Cuttlebug diecut machine Stamps/Ink - ("let it snow") Amuse; (black ink) Staz On

Tips: I love the sparkling blues associated with winter and decided on a snowflake themed card. I love the look of the mirrorcard...I think it adds a little dimension and a lot of elegance. When using mirrorcard to cut shapes I've found that running it through the machine twice will get you a much cleaner cut. Also, I love the look of the metallic cardstock. I used the text-weight variety for much of the card making it much lighter and keeping the cost lower. Many styles and colors are available at Picture This - I keep a small stash of these on-hand for any occasion cards too. One last note: I love Staz On ink! It allows for a very clean stamp and will dry (and not smear!) on just about any surface. Here I stamped on metallic paper which has a slick surface. It was dry within seconds!

Think Pink! (Christmas, that is)

What can I say? I'm a fan of those nontraditional christmas colors...pinks and teals and browns... Just another way to make a unique and memorable card.


Kept it simple...based on a card made by the talented crew at Amuse Art Stamps.
Found the idea on display at Picture This.
Close-up of the tree. I used my all-time favorite Spellbinders diecuts...of the oval variety. Love the look with the embossing too! The Cuttlebug rocks!
Also decided to add a little sheer snowflake - diecut from heavy-weight vellum. A subtle accent piece with a little bling.

Supplies:
Cardstock - (white) Georgia Pacific; (shimmer pink and white, vellum) The Papercut
Patterned - (plain pink, pink swirl) Basic Grey
Accents - (star gem) Me & My Big Ideas; (pink gem) Kaiser Craft; (pink glitter) Martha Stewart
Tools - (flourish tree stamp and "Merry Christmas" stamp) Amuse Art Stamps; (ink) Staz On; (border punch) Martha Stewart; (scallop ovals) Spellbinders; (snowflake diecut & swirl embossing; machine) Cuttlebug

Tip: Sometimes instead of using another paper why not use vellum?! I think it adds a subtle texture and color to any project. Here I used it to punch the accent snowflake and also layered as part of the card - note the top of the card with the dotted border. It's tricky to attach vellum though (without showing). I layered the "title" on top of the vellum which allowed for a place to put my tape. Just placed a strip below the title block and it holds the card perfectly together.

Just a fun page...wanted to incorporate the colorful paper to express the fun night we had at Shanghai Bistro for my sister's bachelorette party.






















Supplies:
Cardstock - (white) Georgia Pacific; (black) Rooney Printing; (all others) Worldwin
Patterned - (dots) Stemma; (stripe and plastic black swirl bkgrd) KI Memories
Accents - (brads) Making Memories, Queen & Co., Doodlebug; (chipboard letters) American Crafts
Tools - (various circle diecuts) Spellbinders; (scallop border punch & swirly tag punch) Stampin' Up!
Other - (marker) Zig; (ink) Staz On; (swirly tag w/stripes stamp) Stampin' Up!

Fun facts: Love this new paper by KI Memories! It's called "Sheer Delights" and I just had to have some after seeing it in Creating Keepsakes magazine. (See all the styles here.)

Tip: Sometimes making your own accents can be just as fun and effective as buying! Here I made my own layered circle diecuts using various circle dies and accenting with brads. Since the colorful paper is so busy, I thought that just about any other themed accent would get lost in the mix. Super easy! Layered sequins would be another fun option. Also, I based the layout on a sketch contest at a local store. See the sketch here - notice I had to flip the page to fit my pictures. Just a little improvising, but the same idea!

Margaritas Anyone?

Some more adorable Amuse stamps! Saw them...had to have them! A perfect cheer up card!

Supplies:

Cardstock - (white - for card backing) Georgia Pacific; (black) Rooney Printing; (green and pink) Bazzill for KI Memories

Patterened - KI Memories

Accents - (glitter) Martha Stewart; (gemstone brads) Making Memories

Stamps - (margarita glass and saying) Amuse Art stamps

Ink - (black) Staz On; (light green) Ranger; (dk green) Close to My Heart

Tools - (scallop border punch) Stampin' Up; (scallop and plain circle diecuts) Spellbinders; (dotted embossing folder) Cuttlebug; Cuttlebug machine

Tips: I saw this idea at a local store (Happy Stampers)...loved the idea of using glitter to mimic the salt on the rim of the margarita glass. This is super easy to do with a glue pen and plain glitter. To add some extra shimmer, I embossed the green scallop circle using the Cuttlebug. I then stamped the pattern with a glue pad and sprinkled glitter over the top. When using an embossed pattern, you're never really sure where the glue/glitter will stick, but this adds to the fun! You may notice that I also REALLY love my spellbinders dies. These are perfect for layering! Available at Picture This or Happy Stampers in many sizes and shapes! Try them...you'll love them too!

P.S. Notice that I cut the cardstock lengthwise to create a tall flip-up style card. It's super fun to switch up the size and shapes of your cards.

Hello There!

Always on the look-out for cute stamps...no matter the occasion! Wanted to create a fun and colorful card perfect for just saying "hi"!



















Supplies:
Cardstock - (white - for card base) Georgia Pacific, (black) Rooney Printing
Patterned - (all) KI Memories
Accents - (patterned square diecut) KI Memories; (black rickrack paper border) Doodlebug; (gems) Kaiser Craft
Stamps - (phone and "hello there" saying) the Cat's Pajamas
Ink - Staz On
Tools - Cuttlebug machine and funky circles die



















Sideview: I popped up the phone/saying block with foam squares for added dimension. I also like how the circles are layered and overlapped creating a textured card front.

Tips: I love using Staz On ink! It's perfect for slick/shiny surfaces like this diecut by KI Memories. A clean stamp with no worry of smearing. I wanted to create a simple and cheery card without a lot of work...the Cuttlebug was just the ticket! I used one die to create all these circles! I punched out the three colors - one circle each and overlapped the various layers in a haphazard pattern to get a neat textured look. I loved the pattern - doodles - because it reminded me of the phone cord on the stamp. I added black gems for just a touch of bling. Lots of fun!